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The Lost Story: A Novel
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Inspired by C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, this wild and wondrous novel is a fairy tale for grown-ups who still knock on the back of wardrobes—just in case—from the author of The Wishing Game.
“This is the book you’ve been waiting for.”—Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Empire Falls and the North Bath Trilogy
AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
As boys, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in a vast West Virginia state forest, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they’d gone or how they’d survived.
Fifteen years after their miraculous homecoming, Rafe is a reclusive artist who still bears scars inside and out but has no memory of what happened during those months. Meanwhile, Jeremy has become a famed missing persons’ investigator. With his uncanny abilities, he is the one person who can help vet tech Emilie Wendell find her sister, who vanished in the very same forest as Rafe and Jeremy.
Jeremy alone knows the fantastical truth about the disappearances, for while the rest of the world was searching for them, the two missing boys were in a magical realm filled with impossible beauty and terrible danger. He believes it is there that they will find Emilie’s sister. However, Jeremy has kept Rafe in the dark since their return for his own inscrutable reasons. But the time for burying secrets comes to an end as the quest for Emilie’s sister begins. The former lost boys must confront their shared past, no matter how traumatic the memories.
Alongside the headstrong Emilie, Rafe and Jeremy must return to the enchanted world they called home for six months—for only then can they get back everything and everyone they’ve lost.
“This is the book you’ve been waiting for.”—Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Empire Falls and the North Bath Trilogy
AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
As boys, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in a vast West Virginia state forest, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they’d gone or how they’d survived.
Fifteen years after their miraculous homecoming, Rafe is a reclusive artist who still bears scars inside and out but has no memory of what happened during those months. Meanwhile, Jeremy has become a famed missing persons’ investigator. With his uncanny abilities, he is the one person who can help vet tech Emilie Wendell find her sister, who vanished in the very same forest as Rafe and Jeremy.
Jeremy alone knows the fantastical truth about the disappearances, for while the rest of the world was searching for them, the two missing boys were in a magical realm filled with impossible beauty and terrible danger. He believes it is there that they will find Emilie’s sister. However, Jeremy has kept Rafe in the dark since their return for his own inscrutable reasons. But the time for burying secrets comes to an end as the quest for Emilie’s sister begins. The former lost boys must confront their shared past, no matter how traumatic the memories.
Alongside the headstrong Emilie, Rafe and Jeremy must return to the enchanted world they called home for six months—for only then can they get back everything and everyone they’ve lost.
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Community Reviews
Another perfect story from Meg! I really enjoyed this book. After I read The Wishing Game, I knew I found a new favorite author. This book has the same feel as TWG~ found family, magic, and creating a beautiful life. I loved the Stevie Nicks references, the LGBTQ+ rep, and everything about Shanandoah. I wanted to spend more time in this world, and would love a sequel (golden apple Christmas cake, anyone?!)
There are some incredible lines in this novel, Meg is one of those writers that is just naturally spectacular at the craft. I love the worlds she dreams up & truly canât wait for her 2026 novel!
There are some incredible lines in this novel, Meg is one of those writers that is just naturally spectacular at the craft. I love the worlds she dreams up & truly canât wait for her 2026 novel!
Best feature: author’s attempt at creating adult fairy tale and clever spin in how it became “real.”
Worst feature: author failed to make me care about the fates of the main characters. None of them ever seemed in genuine peril.
Promising concept but lacking in execution. I will be interested to see this author’s growth in skills as this reads like a writer willing to take risks with unusual techniques, but still early in her process.
I wanted to like this book a little more than I did. It was a cute story, but I felt like in some ways it was too long and in others it was too short. The author goes into great detail to describe the characters personal relationships over and over, but then only minimally describes the fantasy land they are in. I was OK with the Storyteller's Corner sections of the book at first, but they quickly got annoying as they ruined the flow of the story. They also bothered me because they seemed to be a device the author used when she wanted to tell parts of the story without having to work them into the actual plot, which just felt kind of lazy.
TW: homophobia, domestic violence
TW: homophobia, domestic violence
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book!
I read Shafferâs other book and was really excited to be approved for this one as well. Her previous work was good but I did have a few problems with it. Not the case here. This book is great! I loved the characters, the scene building, the narrator. It didnât give YA book but it brought back magic from childhood fantasy books I havenât visited in a long time. That is really difficult to do in a category that can easily become overly simplistic. There was the right amount of humor, seriousness, and mystery that all felt tied together and reasonable. Queer representation also didnât feel forced at all (which can also be difficult to do).
The only thing I wished at the end was that there was more of it to read. 5/5, awesome second novel for Shaffer.
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