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Title details for The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer - Available

The Lost Story

A Novel

by Meg Shaffer
Jorjeana Marie
Audiobook (Includes supplementary content)
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available
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
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 audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF that contains a map and recipes from the book.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    July 16, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593740040
      • File size: 298701 KB
      • Duration: 10:22:17

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from July 29, 2024
      Shaffer (The Wishing Game) plays on portal fantasy nostalgia in this brilliant riff on the Chronicles of Narnia. Emilie Wendell is mourning the loss of her adoptive mother when she discovers she has a half-sister who was kidnapped 20 years ago. She begs the help of famous missing-persons investigator Jeremy Cox. Jeremy and his high school best friend, Rafe Howell, were lost as teenagers in West Virginia’s Red Crow State Park and emerged six months later completely changed. Rafe, now an artist, can’t remember what happened, and ever since the incident his drawings have returned to a fantastical world he can’t explain. Jeremy knows the truth—that they went through a portal into that other realm—but he’s bound by a promise not to reveal the truth to Rafe. When Rafe joins in the search for Emilia’s long-lost sister, the investigation takes both men back to the wondrous but deadly world they once loved. 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. Agent: Amy Tannenbaum, Jane Rotrosen Agency.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Jorjeana Marie's captivating narration brings this Narnia-inspired gateway fantasy to life. Grieving the recent loss of her mother, vet tech Emilie Wendell vows to find the half-sister she never knew, who disappeared in a West Virginia forest years ago. Desperate for a lead, she enlists the help of Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell--estranged friends who emerged from the same forest after an unexplained disappearance 15 years earlier. Marie tells the story with a gentleness and warmth that add to its nostalgic premise. She provides distinct voices for all three leads, as well as the characters they encounter on their dangerous journey. The result is an immersive experience that mirrors Emilie's descent into a dark yet enchanting realm and her companions' traumatic memories. C.J.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      September 13, 2024

      As teenagers, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in West Virginia's Red Crow State Park and mysteriously reappeared six months later. Fifteen years later, Rafe can't remember anything about what happened, and Jeremy has become a missing persons investigator. Now, vet tech Emilie Wendel needs their help finding the sister she never knew she had. Unfortunately for the men, Emilie's sister was lost in the same woods. If they are to locate her, they must return to that unsettling place that others know as the Red Crow Woods, but for them will always be a magical kingdom where sword fights, archery, doorways for discovery, and fantastical creatures reveal truths and hold adventure. Though narrator Jorjeana Marie nails her portraits of Emilie and the omniscient Storyteller, the men's voices sound very much alike, to the point where the characters start to blend together. VERDICT Shaffer's (The Wishing Game) second novel presents a marvelous fairy-tale world, channeling the nostalgic wonder of C.S. Lewis's Narnia. Despite some similarities in the characters' voices, this enchanting portal story is highly recommended.--Richard Winters

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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