The Lost Story: The gorgeous, heartwarming grown-up fairytale by the beloved author of The Wishing Game

by Meg Shaffer

'This wildly imaginative book speaks to every reader who yearns for a more magical world' - THAO THAI, author of Banyan Moon

'If you'd like to dream instead of a parallel world where love and loyalty and friendship are the magic that transforms the least of us into genuine heroes, then Meg Shaffer's The Lost Story is the book you've been waiting for' - RICHARD RUSSO, author of Empire Falls

From the author of the bestselling novel The Wishing Game comes a Narnia-inspired fairy tale for grown-ups who still knock on the back of wardrobe doors . . . just in case.

Once upon a time, two boys went missing in the woods. Six months later, they reappeared, with no explanation for where they'd been or how they'd survived.

Fifteen years on, Rafe is a reclusive artist with no memory of what happened during those months, despite the scars he bears. Meanwhile, Jeremy is a famed missing persons investigator. With his uncanny abilities, he is the one person who can help vet tech Emilie Wendell find her long-lost sister, who vanished in the very same forest as Rafe and Jeremy.

Jeremy also keeps a secret: the fantastical truth about the magical realm they made home for those six months. And it's there they may find Emilie's sister.

Alongside Emilie, Rafe and Jeremy must return to the enchanted world they left behind - for only then can they get back everything and everyone they've lost.

'Wholly moving . . . reminded me that even as an adult, if you look hard enough, you can find the child still inside you' - Jodi Picoult, author of Mad Honey, on The Wishing Game

'A heartwarming, page-turning story of found family [and] love triumphing over indifference' - Melissa Albert, author of The Hazel Wood, on The Wishing Game

'A dreamy, inventive novel . . . Full of the power of imagination, it's one of my favourite books of the year' - Sarah Addison Allen, author of Other Birds, on The Wishing Game

'A meditation on the power of hope when all else seems lost' - Kirkus Reviews on The Wishing Game

• ISBN10: 1529436311
• ISBN13: 9781529436310
• Publish Date: 18 July 2024 (first published 16 July 2024)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Arcadia Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

Book Summary:

Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell are famous. As teenagers, they went missing for months, only to randomly show up, providing no explanation for their absence. Now, Jeremy is making a new name for himself, as his talent lies in finding missing women and girls.

That’s where Emilie Wendell comes into play. Following the death of her adoptive mother, Emilie learned that she had a sister. Only her sister has been missing for over a decade. Her only chance at finding the family she has left is with Jeremy.

My Review:

When I saw Meg Shaffer (author of The Wishing Game) had another book coming our way, you better believe I scrambled to get my hands on it! Like her first novel, The Lost Story has a strong book-about-a-book vibe, but it's also so much more.

In truth, there are times when this book feels more like two wrapped into one. There's the world as described in Jeremy's past, and then there's the present, with a young girl searching for a long-lost sister. Basically, it's a magical/dark tale and a missing person's story.

Truthfully, I'm not sure which tale I liked more. I think they could have been better integrated, as the dialogue was jarring sometimes. I did enjoy the characters and the banter they quickly fell into.

Overall, I'd say that The Lost Story wasn't quite as strong as The Wishing Game. It still had a beautiful foundation, but it felt like it didn't quite live up to its potential.

Highlights:
Fantasy World
Bridge to Terabithia Vibes
Books about Books
LGBTQ+

Trigger Warnings:
Abuse
Homophobia
Familial Death

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[chymerra]

I was very excited when I saw that Meg Shaffer had a new book coming out. I loved The Wishing Game and was very curious about The Lost Story. So, when Random House sent me a widget, I jumped on it. I didn’t even read the synopsis. I hit accept and then downloaded so fast that I think it might have confused my computer (there was a pause).

Because I was so excited about this book, I went into reading it with a little trepidation. I have been burned in the past by being excited and then the book not living up to my expectations. Well, The Lost Story did live up to my expectations and then some.

The main storyline of The Lost Story follows Emilie, Jeremy, and Rafe on their quest to find out what happened fifteen years earlier and what happened to Emilie’s older sister (she disappeared in the same forest a couple of years before the boys went missing). The storyline was well-written and well-fleshed out. But, I was getting frustrated by what I thought at the time was a lack of information or insight into Jeremy and Rafe’s past. That frustration lasted until they found Shanandoah again and Jeremy could explain everything to Rafe. And when I say everything, I mean everything. I’m not going to say much past that because of spoilers.

Every so often (usually when things get serious), the Narrator interrupts and explains situations or gives humorous outtakes of what is happening. Usually, I wouldn’t say I like the shift in POV or character, but in this case, it worked. I giggled over some of the things the Narrator said or alluded to. Of course, the Narrator’s identity is revealed at the end of the book; honestly, I wasn’t shocked at who it was. I had my suspicions, and the reveal confirmed them.

The Lost Story touches upon some heavy topics (suicide, drug use, child abuse) throughout the book. The author handled those topics with grace. I was also very thankful that only a little detail (other than what happened the night Jeremy and Rafe disappeared) was given.

The main characters brought so much to this book—Emilie, with her determination to hire Jeremy to look for her sister. Jeremy was the stable one whose line of work exposed him to the horrors of missing children, teens, and adults. And Rafe, well, he was damaged, and the author wasn’t afraid to show it.

The fantasy angle of the book was terrific. This book was inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia, and it showed. Everything in Shanandoah was vivid and looked like a child had created it. Because of how vividly the author described it, I would have been happy with just a book set in Shanandoah.

The romance/LGBTQ angle was perfect. I won’t go into it except to say that I loved how the author wrote the love story. It was heartbreaking, poignant, and heartwarming all at once.

The end of The Lost Story brought tears to my eyes. The author brought closure to many of the storylines but left some open. It made me wonder if another book would be written in this world, and the end certainly made it seem that way.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books, NetGalley, and Meg Shaffer for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Lost Story. All opinions stated in this review are mine.