Published in 2013, Exile is the second book in Shannon Messenger’s ongoing middle grade/young adult fantasy series, Keeper of the Lost Cities. The novel follows 13-year-old elf Sophie Foster as she develops a bond with a telepathic, winged horse-like animal, Silveny, and strives to unravel secrets about her past, her creators, and why they made her as they did—all while navigating the challenges of a new school and friendships.

The Keeper series currently includes nine books as well as a special edition book that features two perspectives, those of the protagonist, Sophie, and her friend and fan-favorite love interest, Keefe. A second special edition, told from Keefe’s perspective, is scheduled for release in November 2024, and a 10th book in the main series is also planned. The series has been on the New York Times Bestseller list, and Warner Bros. has acquired film rights. Messenger also authored the three-book Sky Fall series.

This guide refers to the Aladdin Books e-book edition.

Plot Summary

Narrated in the third-person limited omniscient point of view from Sophie’s perspective, the novel opens with a Preface. It depicts Sophie preparing to drink a vial of poison, risking her life to save others from a fate worse than death.

Chapter 1 flashes back to the day Sophie encounters a one-of-a-kind magical creature, a winged horse with a silver horn named Silveny. Shy and elusive, Silveny is the solution the elves have sought for 1,000 years: a female alicorn to pair with the one male alicorn in existence, thus resetting the timeline to extinction. Sophie takes her back to Havenfield, the home of her parents, Grady and Edaline Ruewen, and the site of the animal rehabilitation center they run.

While accompanying them on their annual visit to their daughter’s resting place, Sophie stumbles on a tree planted in her own memory when she was presumed dead. Another disturbing discovery soon follows: The Black Swan organization has left her a clue, a compass charm inscribed, “Let the past be your guide”

(55).

News of Silveny’s discovery draws the 12 elvin Councillors to Havenfield. Sophie’s antagonist, Councillor Bronte, objects to entrusting such an important creature to a teen whose origins are questionable, but Silveny, who communicates with Sophie telepathically, won’t allow anyone else to approach her. The Councillors allow Silveny to stay at Havenfield but insist on monitoring her progress closely.

A new school year is starting, and Sophie is annoyed to learn that she must dance in a mastodon costume at the opening ceremonies. In addition, she’s nervous about sharing her telepathy training sessions (which are usually one-on-one) with her crush, Fitz. Sophie’s classmate Dex has a crush on her and is jealous of the sessions, particularly because he resents the nobility for the snobbish exclusion of those without talents, like his father. Fitz’s friend Keefe is an Empath, so he can read emotions. He grows close to Silveny, which brings him closer to Sophie.

Alden, who is a Telepath, asks Sophie to join him on a special mission to Exile, the prison for all nonhuman species. He must perform a memory break on Fintan Pyren, an Ancient elf whom the Council accuses of hiding secrets. The memory break will shatter Fintan’s mind, and Alden needs a guide to ensure that he safely exists Fintan’s broken mind. Although nervous, Sophie agrees after Alden assures her that she has the strongest mind of any elf.

During the session, however, Fintan, a Pyrokinetic (one of the banned talents) draws heat out of Alden’s body to burn him, and Sophie momentarily loses contact with him. His mind is empty, but She fills it with memories of his loved ones to bring him back. As they leave Exile, they pass the cell of Prentice, a Telepath whose mind was shattered during a memory break. Although Alden didn’t perform it, he feels responsible since he accused Prentice of withholding essential secrets.

Wondering if the Black Swan intended her to find Prentice, Sophie impulsively enters his mind. The chaos within threatens to subsume her, but she finds a quiet nook where she suspects part of him is preserved. Also, she sees Jolie, who tells her to trust and “follow the pretty bird across the sky” (169), and a man with teal eyes just like Alden’s, who tells her not to worry. When she emerges from Prentice’s mind and tells Alden what she saw and heard, he recognizes the last words he spoke to Prentice and then collapses. Entering his mind, she pulls him back, and they leap to Everglen, his family estate, but Sophie fades in the process.

At the Foxfire opening ceremonies, Sophie gets through her dance and, while watching the older students perform, sees Prentice’s son, Wylie. She asks Alden if Wylie blames her for what happened to his father, since the secrets Prentice was accused of withholding related to Sophie. Alden tells her that Wylie blames him, not Sophie. After the ceremony, he collapses again.

The next day, Sophie visits Everglen and learns that Alden’s mind may be broken beyond repair. She reveals what happened, and Fitz blames her. Healer Elwin says Alden is experiencing guilt, which destroys the mind. She feels responsible, but he urges her not to take on guilt that will consume her as it has Alden. His loss is a terrible blow to the elvin community, and the Councillors want to present Silveny at the Sanctuary give the elves hope and restore calm, quelling the steadily growing unrest. Privately, Sophie resolves to heal Alden.

She investigates her past, hoping to understand her powers better. She believes she can harness some remaining piece of Alden and Prentice to restore them. Sophie has been plagued by headaches brought on by direct exposure to light and realizes they may connect to why she fades when she light leaps. Her suspicion that something is wrong with her intensifies when, during her inflicting training with Bronte, he enters her supposedly impenetrable mind and inflicts pain.

At a seed planting for Alden, Sophie comes face to face with Wylie, who tells her she was supposed to fix Prentice. Later, the Black Swan organization leaves a message for her to stop searching for information she isn’t ready to understand. At the entrance of Silveny’s enclosure, Sophie finds another message, telling her to “face her fears.” Dex and Keefe help her return to the cave where she was kidnapped, and she finds another message from the Black Swan, which repeats Jolie’s words: “Follow the pretty bird across the sky” (330).

Putting the pieces together, Sophie understands that she must allow the compass charm to lead her to the Black Swan. With her parents’ permission, she and Keefe fly on Silveny to meet the organization’s operative, Mr. Forkle. He tells her that she must drink limbium (to which she’s fatally allergic), followed by an antidote, to reset her mind, restoring its impenetrability and enabling her to enter and heal broken minds. Sophie accepts the risk. After this ordeal, she and Keefe are attacked while attempting to return to Havenfield. Forkle and the dwarves fight off the attackers, but Silveny is injured and can’t fly. Sophie discovers that she can teleport and returns with Keefe and Silveny to Havenfield.

The Councillors are furious when they learn that Silveny was injured, but Sophie assures them that she can present Silveny at the Sanctuary to provide the spectacle they’re relying on to restore calm. She heals Alden’s mind and, on the appointed day, teleports Silveny to the Sanctuary to thunderous applause and celebration. As the novel ends, Silveny is secure, and Sophie is happily surrounded by her friends, having learned one reason for why she was created.