The Lost Story (Hardback)
  • The Lost Story (Hardback)
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The Lost Story (Hardback)

(author)
£20.00
Hardback 352 Pages
Published: 18/07/2024
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Waterstones Says

Luminous and magical, Shaffer's Narnia-inspired fantasy of found family hinges on the quest to find a woman who vanished in a mysterious forest. 

'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 FallsFrom 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

Publisher: Quercus Publishing
ISBN: 9781529436310
Number of pages: 352
Weight: 560 g
Dimensions: 232 x 158 x 36 mm


MEDIA REVIEWS

If our sad, brutal, cynical, cowardly, unkind, exhausting world is too much for you, 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. And here's the real magic. When you return from that enchanted place to the world you wanted to escape from, you'll find it's changed. Why? Because you have - Richard Russo, author of EMPIRE FALLS

Readers will find this an absolutely immersive pleasure to read. Shaffer delivers an unforgettable and nostalgic experience, especially for fans of The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis or fairy-tale retellings - Library Journal (starred)

Meg Shaffer's The Lost Story is a gorgeously wrought tale of yearning, grief and hope . . . Layered atop it all, a delicious smattering of meta-narrative keeps the story feeling less like a tragedy and more like the warmhearted fairy tale that it is, reminding us that there is likely a happy ending (at least of sorts) waiting for us at the end of it all - BookPage (starred review)

Shaffer manages to capture the joys and magic of childhood innocence alongside the wisdom that comes with age and the heartache and scars that make it difficult to go home again. The taut mystery keeps the pages of this love letter to the fantasy genre flying. Readers will be transfixed - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Meg Shaffer's second novel is both a fairytale for grown-ups and a love story. Recommended reading for anyone seeking to reawaken a sense of wonder - Southern Book Review

There's a fundamental psychology at the heart of this book that is its biggest triumph. And it sits perfectly alongside its central mystery - unspooled with cheerful self-awareness and a lot of wit - SFX

Jeremy, Rafe, and Emilie all embark on a wild and magical adventure that makes for a perfect cozy fantasy read, reminiscent of the childhood books we grew up loving - HuffPost

This soothing novel will appeal to fans of classic and portal fantasies, where other fantastic worlds are lying under our own, just waiting to be discovered - Booklist

Meg Shaffer's The Lost Story is one of those extraordinary novels that nestles its way right into your heart. With all the elements we love in a timeless tale-mystery, adventure, romance, a lushly beautiful setting-this wildly imaginative book speaks to every reader who yearns for a world more magical than any they've experienced. Shaffer's warm and wry prose lures a reader right in, inviting them into a land where unlikely heroes and villains roam, where unfinished stories might finally find their endings. If you've ever been lost-and haven't we all?-The Lost Story will make you feel as if you've come home - Thao Thai, author of Banyan Moon

Readers will find this an absolutely immersive pleasure to read. Shaffer delivers an unforgettable and nostalgic experiene, expecially for fans of The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis or fairy-tale retellings - Library Journal (starred)

Shaffer manages to capture the joys and magic of childhood innocence alongside the wisdom that comes with age and the heartache and scars that make it difficult to go home again. The taut mystery keeps the pages of this love letter to the fantasy genre flying. Readers will be transfixed. - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Meg Shaffer's second novel is both a fairytale for grown-ups and a love story. Recommended reading for anyone seeking to reawaken a sense of wonder. - Southern Book Review

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“Fairytale set in WV”

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer is a fairytale that takes place in West Virginia. Two boys, Jeremy and Rafe, go missing in a state forest and are found six months later with no recollection of what happened. The story... More

Hardback edition
Helpful? Upvote 4

“Fairy tales are real”

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer

When Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing when they were fifteen, they were typical scrawny teenage boys. Six months later, Jeremy walks out of the forest carrying Rafe over his... More

Hardback edition
Helpful? Upvote 4

“Needed More Depth”

2.5/5⭐️

I loved Shaffer’s debut The Wishing Game, but unfortunately this fantasy/romance just didn’t hit the same note for me.

The first half was an OK as the storyline/characters were developed (two boys go... More

Hardback edition
Helpful? Upvote 4

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