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hmclaughlan's review against another edition
5.0
The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer is a delightfully fun fairy tale full of quirky characters and adventure. After the recent death of her mother, Emilie decides she wants to find her biological sister Shannon, who has been missing since she was a young teen. Emilie seeks out Jeremy Cox, who is well known for being able to find missing people, to ask him for help. Jeremy agrees to help Emilie, but says they need the help of his old friend Rafe, as Jeremy and Rafe also went missing in the same area of forest Shannon disappeared into when they were teens.
I really liked this book, it was a fun read, and I loved the dynamic between the characters. The only complaint that I really had while reading, was that it did at times read more YA, and the characters acted much younger than their written ages.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of The Lost Story in exchange for my honest review.
I really liked this book, it was a fun read, and I loved the dynamic between the characters. The only complaint that I really had while reading, was that it did at times read more YA, and the characters acted much younger than their written ages.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of The Lost Story in exchange for my honest review.
actual_hobbit's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an galley of this book!
Incredible storytelling with rich emotional moments and enough childlike wonder and adventure to keep you smiling. This is my favorite book of the summer and one of the best I've read this year. Full review to come!
Incredible storytelling with rich emotional moments and enough childlike wonder and adventure to keep you smiling. This is my favorite book of the summer and one of the best I've read this year. Full review to come!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Violence
Minor: Suicide
thisbrittreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
katie_helf96's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This is an amazing story!! The novel starts with a nurse and her boyfriend finding two boys, Jeremy and Rafe, who were missing for six months in Red Crow Forest in West Virginia.
Fifteen years later, Emelie, an adopted child who has just lost her mother to cancer, searches for surviving family through a DNA ancestry website. Emelie learns that she had a half-sister who went missing in Red Crow Forest a long time ago. In order to get closure and properly bury her sister, Emelie tracks down Jeremy, who has spent his adult life finding lost or kidnapped girls. Together, Rafe, Jeremy, and Emelie venture back into Red Crow Forest to find Emelie’s sister, Shannon. Turns out, forests are truly magical…..
P.S. Please write a sequel, Meg Shaffer!!
Fifteen years later, Emelie, an adopted child who has just lost her mother to cancer, searches for surviving family through a DNA ancestry website. Emelie learns that she had a half-sister who went missing in Red Crow Forest a long time ago. In order to get closure and properly bury her sister, Emelie tracks down Jeremy, who has spent his adult life finding lost or kidnapped girls. Together, Rafe, Jeremy, and Emelie venture back into Red Crow Forest to find Emelie’s sister, Shannon. Turns out, forests are truly magical…..
P.S. Please write a sequel, Meg Shaffer!!
holliemerrick's review against another edition
5.0
The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer is magic. The story is inspired by the Chronicles of Narnia as if it were a real life fairytale. It will take you to other worlds and glimmer with magic.
Emilie has a half sister who was lost in the woods as a teenage. After losing her mother, Emilie is inspired to ask Jeremy, an investigator who finds lost women all over the world, to help her locate her sister.
The Lost Story was beautifully written. I was so excited to read it after loving The Wishing game. Meg Shaffer makes these fantasy-ish story’s come to life. As a child I loved the children’s movie The Hugga Bunch and this story reminded me of it. It was nostalgic and made me smile. It was happy and hopeful and truly glittered. There are no words to capture how this story made me feel.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing, Ballantine for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. I can’t wait to read what Meg Shaffer writes next!
ninij's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House-Ballantine Books for the Advanced Reader Copy, in exchange for my honest review.
I loved Meg Shaffer’s Book The Wishing Game, and was very excited to read her latest novel.
The story focuses on Jeremy & Rafe, who once went missing but came back to their normal lives but were unable to explain where they had been. Now estranged, they are brough back together when a girl asks Jeremy for help in locating her long-lost sister.
The story is just as it is described, an adult fairy tale. It was delightful overall.
Personally, I felt that the flow of the story was a bit choppy and at times predictable but still a great ride. The writing paints a vivid picture of the land of Shanandoah. It evokes Wonderland or Narnia in the best way with a modern twist. And continues the message that “Love is Love,” and it always wins.
I really enjoyed the Storyteller Corner inserts as a perfect omniscient narrator.
If you need a little magic in your life, this book is for you.
4.5 stars.
I loved Meg Shaffer’s Book The Wishing Game, and was very excited to read her latest novel.
The story focuses on Jeremy & Rafe, who once went missing but came back to their normal lives but were unable to explain where they had been. Now estranged, they are brough back together when a girl asks Jeremy for help in locating her long-lost sister.
The story is just as it is described, an adult fairy tale. It was delightful overall.
Personally, I felt that the flow of the story was a bit choppy and at times predictable but still a great ride. The writing paints a vivid picture of the land of Shanandoah. It evokes Wonderland or Narnia in the best way with a modern twist. And continues the message that “Love is Love,” and it always wins.
I really enjoyed the Storyteller Corner inserts as a perfect omniscient narrator.
If you need a little magic in your life, this book is for you.
4.5 stars.
ciara_isreading's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
4.0
Thank you Netgalley & the publisher for an advanced copy of 'The Lost Story' by Meg Shaffer in exchange for my honest review!
Gah, I loved this so much! The premise is so good: two teenage boys go missing in Red Crow Forest and show up 6 months later, no recollection of where they've been, and not nearly as malnourished as one would think. Fast forward 15 years... Emilie is looking for her long lost half sister who disappeared two decades ago. So she seeks out someone who's known for finding missing girls, and who's been lost himself once before. What happened to the lost boys? Where did they go? What happened to Emilie's sister? I can't tell you too much more or I'll spoil it.
This was both whimsical, mysterious, funny, and heartfelt. Best friendships, queer relationships, and a world unlike our own. I highly recommend! Immediately adding Meg's other book to my TBR :)
This is out 7/16!
Gah, I loved this so much! The premise is so good: two teenage boys go missing in Red Crow Forest and show up 6 months later, no recollection of where they've been, and not nearly as malnourished as one would think. Fast forward 15 years... Emilie is looking for her long lost half sister who disappeared two decades ago. So she seeks out someone who's known for finding missing girls, and who's been lost himself once before. What happened to the lost boys? Where did they go? What happened to Emilie's sister? I can't tell you too much more or I'll spoil it.
This was both whimsical, mysterious, funny, and heartfelt. Best friendships, queer relationships, and a world unlike our own. I highly recommend! Immediately adding Meg's other book to my TBR :)
This is out 7/16!
carmen_angelica's review against another edition
4.5
I LOVED this book. The characters, the world, and just the general vibes were incredible.
This book is basically about what happens when two friends disappear into a Narnia-like world in their childhood, only for one to have no memory of this and for them to return fifteen years later in order to find a girl's lost sister.
This story was so beautiful. You love all the characters and the way that they care for each other. It depicts beautiful family, friend, and romantic relationships. This book is much more character driven than plot driven, so if that's your thing you might really enjoy this book. The writing style of this book is whimsical and fairytale-like, and it's the kind of book that would help you feel better after a rough day.
Basically, read this book if you grew up on Narnia, love found family, and want to read a beautiful love story.
I cannot wait for people to read this and realize how good it is. I highly highly recommend this one.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!
This book is basically about what happens when two friends disappear into a Narnia-like world in their childhood, only for one to have no memory of this and for them to return fifteen years later in order to find a girl's lost sister.
This story was so beautiful. You love all the characters and the way that they care for each other. It depicts beautiful family, friend, and romantic relationships. This book is much more character driven than plot driven, so if that's your thing you might really enjoy this book. The writing style of this book is whimsical and fairytale-like, and it's the kind of book that would help you feel better after a rough day.
Basically, read this book if you grew up on Narnia, love found family, and want to read a beautiful love story.
I cannot wait for people to read this and realize how good it is. I highly highly recommend this one.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!
teri_reads's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I absolutely LOVED The Wishing Game, so I was over the moon when I got asked (not even requested, I got asked!) to review an ARC for The Lost Story. And now, after having finished it, Meg Shaffer is squarely in the category of "Auto-Buy" authors for me.
This book is fun, sweet, full of love, and celebrates the magic of a good story. It calls back to beloved classics like Narnia, The Princess Bride, and the Wayward Children series (a personal favorite of mine).
You have 30-year-old protagonists dealing with a loss of magic from their teenage years, and how they struggled to cope either with or without the memories. As a 30 year old myself, this tugged at my heartstrings. We all wistfully look back to our younger years, wishing for a way to get some of that magic back, and this story brings that feeling to life.
I loved the interruptions from "The Storyteller", and the little moments of fourth wall break. It was a fun way to add in foreshadowing, speed longer stretches along, and generally just comment on the format of a story. For anyone who grew up loving books and fairytales (and likely never grew out of it), this made for a very sweet touch.
This story at times got a bit darker than Shaffer's first book, The Wishing Game, but for every bit that it was dark and difficult, it was even more so full of heart. Talking through family trauma, class divides (which can run so deep in a place like West Virginia), and how it is so painful to lie to the ones you love that sometimes it's easier not to speak to them at all. All of this built on the love that was so deeply rooted in every page and every word of this story.
Meg Shaffer's books fill your heart, make you believe in love again, and remind you to find light in a world that can often feel so dark. I look forward to reading everything she writes in the future.
A huge thank you again to Netgalley and Random House Ballantine for an eARC of this book.
This book is fun, sweet, full of love, and celebrates the magic of a good story. It calls back to beloved classics like Narnia, The Princess Bride, and the Wayward Children series (a personal favorite of mine).
You have 30-year-old protagonists dealing with a loss of magic from their teenage years, and how they struggled to cope either with or without the memories. As a 30 year old myself, this tugged at my heartstrings. We all wistfully look back to our younger years, wishing for a way to get some of that magic back, and this story brings that feeling to life.
I loved the interruptions from "The Storyteller", and the little moments of fourth wall break. It was a fun way to add in foreshadowing, speed longer stretches along, and generally just comment on the format of a story. For anyone who grew up loving books and fairytales (and likely never grew out of it), this made for a very sweet touch.
This story at times got a bit darker than Shaffer's first book, The Wishing Game, but for every bit that it was dark and difficult, it was even more so full of heart. Talking through family trauma, class divides (which can run so deep in a place like West Virginia), and how it is so painful to lie to the ones you love that sometimes it's easier not to speak to them at all. All of this built on the love that was so deeply rooted in every page and every word of this story.
Meg Shaffer's books fill your heart, make you believe in love again, and remind you to find light in a world that can often feel so dark. I look forward to reading everything she writes in the future.
A huge thank you again to Netgalley and Random House Ballantine for an eARC of this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse, Homophobia, and Child abuse
libreva's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I loved this! I was hooked from the first to the last page. I could read so much more of this world and these characters. I do hope we get a sequel at some point, it needs its happy ending. It does cover some dark themes, personally I think they are well done. But I can see how one thing at the end of the book might not be for everybody the kind of redemption of the father .
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Kidnapping, and Homophobia