By R.J. Roark, author of Amelia Moon and the Sundance Shadow (middle grade fantasy, ages 9–12). Updated September 2026.
Books Like Keeper of the Lost Cities for 2026
Keeper of the Lost Cities runs nine-plus volumes, and readers who finish them are rarely done with hidden worlds, secrets about the hero, and found-family casts. The closest matches are Amari and the Night Brothers, Nevermoor, and The Marvellers — each built on a girl pulled into a concealed society that is not telling her everything. The full list below runs ten books, every age band publisher-stated and checked at the source.
Where Amelia Moon Fits for Keeper of the Lost Cities Readers
Full disclosure: this one is mine. Here is exactly who it's for.
Readers who stay with Keeper of the Lost Cities for the feeling that everyone around Sophie knows more about her than she does will find that exact engine here: Amelia inherits a pendant and a letter from her late mother, and her whole town of Sundance, Wyoming seems to be in on something about her family.
The difference: the hidden layer sits under a real town rather than a separate world — no elves, no academy, just a photograph that should not exist and neighbors who will not explain it.
Kirkus Reviews: "Sensational young heroes fuel a diverting, otherworldly tale."
Also available on Kindle
10 Books Like Keeper of the Lost Cities
Amelia Moon and the Sundance Shadow by R.J. Roark (Ages 9–12) · Book 1 of the Adventures of Amelia Moon
Full disclosure: this one is mine. Here is exactly who it's for.
Readers who stay with Keeper of the Lost Cities for the feeling that everyone around Sophie knows more about her than she does will find that exact engine here: Amelia inherits a pendant and a letter from her late mother, and her whole town of Sundance, Wyoming seems to be in on something about her family.
The necklace arrived on Amelia Moon's thirteenth birthday. So did the nightmares. All she has left of her mother is a letter, a family heirloom pendant, and questions no one in Sundance, Wyoming will answer. Then a photograph surfaces at the Historical Society, taken decades before Amelia was born — and around the neck of a woman she has never seen hangs her own necklace. With her best friend Veyla, obsessed with the world's loneliest whale and determined to leave no mystery unsolved, Amelia sets out to learn who her family really was.
Kirkus Reviews: "Sensational young heroes fuel a diverting, otherworldly tale." The Children's Book Review: "Perfect for young readers hungry for a hidden-world adventure with real-world roots."
Best for: readers 9–12 who like a mystery with a real place behind it, a best-friend team, and a small town keeping a secret.
Also available on Kindle
Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston (Ages 8–12)
Amari and the Night Brothers is the closest single-volume match to Keeper of the Lost Cities: a girl pulled out of ordinary life into a hidden supernatural society, an ability that makes the establishment nervous, and a missing family member driving everything. Where Sophie gets glittering elven cities, Amari gets the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, hidden in plain sight.
Best for: KOTLC readers who want the same discovery arc at a faster pace.
Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend (Ages 8–12)
Nevermoor gives Keeper of the Lost Cities readers the same whisked-into-wonder beat: Morrigan Crow, a cursed child, is smuggled into a hidden city by the flamboyant Jupiter North and must earn her place in an elite society through entrance trials. Like Sophie, she spends the series slowly learning why she was really brought there.
Best for: readers who loved Sophie's first tour of the Lost Cities and want that awe again.
The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton (Ages 9–12)
The Marvellers is the school-heavy pick: Ella Durand, the first Conjuror admitted to the Arcanum Training Institute, faces the same outsider pressure Sophie feels at Foxfire — talented, watched, and not quite trusted. Magical traditions drawn from around the world give its school a range all its own.
Best for: readers whose favorite parts of Keeper of the Lost Cities happen in the classroom.
Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega (Ages 8–12)
Witchlings runs the proving-yourself arc Keeper of the Lost Cities readers know: sorted as a coven-less Spare, Seven Salazar must complete an impossible task with two other castoffs or lose her magic forever. Her town has the same charm-with-secrets texture as the Lost Cities, at a much friendlier length.
Best for: younger or newer fantasy readers building toward longer series.
Fablehaven by Brandon Mull (Ages 9–12)
Fablehaven matches the rule-bound half of Keeper of the Lost Cities: Kendra and Seth discover their grandparents' estate is a hidden preserve for magical creatures, kept safe only by treaties and rules — which the creatures exploit the moment a kid breaks one. It runs darker and creepier than Sophie's world.
Best for: readers who liked the Lost Cities' laws and politics as much as the magic.
The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani (Ages 8–12)
The School for Good and Evil takes the hidden-institution formula somewhere sharper: best friends Sophie and Agatha are sorted into schools for fairy-tale heroes and villains — each, they are certain, into the wrong one. It carries more bite and betrayal than Keeper of the Lost Cities, with the same best-friendship under strain at its core.
Best for: older readers in the band ready for a more cynical take on destiny.
Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi (Ages 8–12)
Aru Shah and the End of Time swaps elves for Hindu mythology but keeps the Keeper of the Lost Cities spine: an ordinary-seeming girl learns she matters enormously to a hidden world, and inherits allies, enemies, and expectations all at once. Five books, complete, and funnier than Sophie's saga.
Best for: readers who want the chosen-one discovery with a finished series and more jokes.
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (Ages 10–14)
The Girl Who Drank the Moon is the quiet one: Luna, raised by a witch after being abandoned as a baby, grows into a magic she cannot yet control while the adults around her keep the truth of her origin locked away. Secrets-about-the-heroine is pure Keeper of the Lost Cities; the slow, folkloric voice is its own. A Newbery Medal winner, and the list's one standalone.
Best for: readers ages 10 and up who want the mystery without the sprawl.
The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer (Ages 8–12)
The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell is the gentlest entry: twins Alex and Conner fall into a world where fairy tales are real and must gather the pieces of a spell to get home. It shares the hidden-world wonder and the warmth of Keeper of the Lost Cities, with simpler stakes suited to the younger half of the band.
Best for: readers 8–10, or KOTLC fans with younger siblings ready to start a series of their own.
| Book / Series | Ages · Length |
|---|---|
| Amelia Moon and the Sundance Shadow town-wide secret about the heroine's family | 9–12 Book 1 of a series |
| Amari and the Night Brothers hidden bureau, feared talent, missing brother | 8–12 series, ongoing |
| Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow hidden city, trials, secrets about the heroine | 8–12 4 books |
| The Marvellers outsider at a magical school, global traditions | 9–12 series, ongoing |
| Witchlings underdog proving arc, town with secrets | 8–12 5 books |
| Fablehaven rule-bound preserve, darker and creepier | 9–12 5 books + sequel series |
| The School for Good and Evil sorted friendships, sharper edge | 8–12 6 books |
| Aru Shah and the End of Time hidden mythological world, chosen-one discovery | 8–12 5 books, complete |
| The Girl Who Drank the Moon origin kept secret, lyrical standalone | 10–14 standalone |
| The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell fairy-tale world, gentlest stakes on the list | 8–12 6 books |
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a book similar to Keeper of the Lost Cities?
The core KOTLC formula is a hidden society, a young hero the reader discovers it alongside, and secrets about that hero which the adults dole out slowly. The best read-alikes add the found-family element: friendships formed inside the hidden world that carry the emotional weight.
What ages are these books for?
Every pick on this list carries a publisher-stated age band, shown with each entry. Most fall at 8-12 or 9-12, matching Keeper of the Lost Cities itself. The Girl Who Drank the Moon runs 10-14, the oldest band here.
Keeper of the Lost Cities is long. Which picks are shorter commitments?
The Girl Who Drank the Moon is a complete standalone, Nevermoor currently runs four books, and Witchlings runs five. Aru Shah is finished at five books, so its full arc can be read without waiting on sequels.
Are there newer books like Keeper of the Lost Cities?
Amelia Moon and the Sundance Shadow (2026) is the newest pick here, a middle grade fantasy for ages 9-12 about a girl in Sundance, Wyoming who inherits a pendant and a letter from her late mother and realizes her whole town is keeping something about her family. The Marvellers (2022) and Witchlings (2022) are also recent.
Which of these series are complete?
Aru Shah is finished at five books, The School for Good and Evil at six, and The Land of Stories at six. Fablehaven wraps its original five-book arc before continuing in a sequel series. Amari, The Marvellers, Nevermoor, and Keeper of the Lost Cities itself are still ongoing.
About the Book
Amelia Moon and the Sundance Shadow is a middle grade fantasy novel by R.J. Roark for readers ages 9 to 12. It is set in Sundance, Wyoming, and is the first book in the Adventures of Amelia Moon series, published by Inner Citadel on February 3, 2026. The story follows thirteen-year-old Amelia Moon, who receives a family heirloom pendant and a letter from her late mother, and, with her best friend Veyla, begins to uncover what the town has been keeping about her family. It was positively reviewed by Kirkus Reviews, Foreword Reviews, and The Children's Book Review. It is available as a Kindle ebook and directly from ameliamoon.com.
Learn more on the about the book page, or start at the Amelia Moon homepage.
More lists like this one: