The Lost Story
Meg Shaffer
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. 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.
Finally getting to the fantastical part! Surprised it took so long to get here, the build up was pretty drawn out.. hope there's enough pages left to get satisfying payoff on the world in the woods and all the little clues we've been given so far.
0This is such a fun and intriguing story! The Storyteller’s Corner excerpts are something special 🤩
1Your rating:
0This was so tender and heartwarming! A great palate cleanser read after some heavier books. Not sure if this qualifies as magical realism, but it definitely takes the fantastical and plants it firmly in the physical "real" world; an exercise in imagination for adults.
0A Captivating World of Wonder
Spoiler Alert: This review contains plot details that some readers might prefer to discover on their own .
The Lost Story was my first introduction to this author, and it left quite an impression. The book begins with two teenage boys, Ralph (Rafe) Howell and Jeremy Cox, who mysteriously vanish during a field trip in West Virginia’s fictional Red Crow State Forest. After six months of exhaustive searching, hope fades, and they are presumed lost—until the unthinkable happens: they suddenly reappear.
Where have they been? One of the boys refuses to answer, while the other seems genuinely clueless. Even stranger is their condition—they don’t look like they’ve suffered at all. On the contrary, they appear stronger, healthier, even … changed.
Fast forward 15 years: Jeremy has become a specialist in finding missing girls and women, while Rafe, after a harder recovery, has pursued a career in art. Once inseparable, the two have drifted apart. When Emilie, a young woman searching for her missing sister Shannon, seeks Jeremy’s help, he knows he can’t solve the mystery alone. Jeremy reaches out to Rafe, the one person who might hold the key to unlocking the truth. Their search forces them to confront their shared past—and re-enter the magical, mysterious world they left behind: Shanandoah
This story is an enchanting blend of heartwarming character development and a vividly magical setting. The author weaves humor and emotion seamlessly, creating a tale that’s as intelligent as it is heartfelt. The relationship between Jeremy and Rafe is especially poignant, and their journey of rediscovery—both of themselves and each other—is as gripping as the central mystery.
If you enjoy books with big heart, delightful characters, and a touch of magic, I highly recommend The Lost Story. The audiobook, narrated wonderfully by Jorjeana Marie, adds an extra layer of charm, though the story shines in any format. It’s such a rare gem that I found myself wishing it were longer—a true testament to the author’s skill.
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