Best friends Jeremy and Rafe go missing in a forest near their homes in West Virginia when they are teenagers and reappear six months later with no explanation of what had happened to them. There are things that don't add up, like them being in remarkably good health for people who were apparently living in the woods for that long, but mostly their parents are so pleased to have them back that they don't ask questions. Years later, Jeremy and Rafe are no longer friends and have lived wildly different lives. Rafe is now a recluse and Jeremy finds missing people for a living.

When Jeremy is approached by a young woman named Emilie whose older sister went missing in that same forest many years ago, the last thing he wants to do is return. And yet, it isn't for the reasons you would expect. In fact, he'd love nothing more than to return to the other world they had lived in for those six months, but doing so means opening up some old wounds and inflicting even more pain on his childhood best friend.

This is a great book. There is fantasy and knights and a queen and all sorts of make-believe things come to life - like red crows. unicorns, and mermaids. The main characters are all flawed and likable at the same time and they make an interesting team when they set out on their quest to reunite Emilie with her sister.

For anyone who might like content warnings, there is mention of child abuse, domestic violence, substance abuse, suicidal thoughts, and depression.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved Shaffers writing in The Wishing Game and based on all the reviews for this current book The Lost Story, I wanted to love it. Unfortunately, I found the story to have a lackluster plot and characters that fell short.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing-Ballantine for my ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

4 stars! I loved the Wishing Game, so I was really excited for this book. It didn’t disappoint. It was a fun magical realism story.

Great story. I originally started this book at the end of last year, but I couldn't really enjoy it and I'm so glad I chose to pick it up at a later time. This book deserves attention. It's whimsical and sweet. I was really invested in Rafe and Jeremy. It works well both as a physical read and a listen. I highly recommend this to others!

15 years ago, Jeremy and Rafe got lost in a forest only to be found 6 months later with no explanation and seemingly no memories of what happened. Now, Jeremy makes a living finding lost girls (and women) and Emilie hires him to find the half-sister she just found out she has, a girl who disappeared 20 years ago in the same forest where Jeremy and Rafe had disappeared. Jeremy's insistence that Rafe is the only one who can help them find her is the beginning of an adventure full of memories, magic, and love.

It's a weird mix of children's story and adult storytelling that works wonders in getting so many real emotions and issues across even as the characters are in the middle of some very fairy tale-like shenanigans. Emilie, Rafe, and Jeremy are all characters you can connect with easily. Rafe in particular has so much trauma that I cheered when he finally joined Jeremy and Emilie because it meant that he was going to get the hug he so obviously needed.

The plot is magical, the topics are difficult but handled with grace, and the characters and themes will stay with you long after you turn the last page. This is a must-read.

Delighted thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the magical read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc! I really enjoyed The Wishing Game, so I was excited to get to this one as well!

Jeremy and Rafe (Ralph) were 15 year old boys who went missing in the Red Crow State Forest. The boys were gone for six months before making their return, and oddly, seemed to be in better shape than before. Their miraculous return made national news, and Jeremy developed a calling for finding missing people- specifically girls and women, and only those who wanted to be found.

Jeremy is well-known for his ability to find people, which is why Emilie seeks his help to find her half sister, who’s been missing for 20 years and Emilie has never even met. When Emilie shows Jeremy a picture, he’s shocked to realize he recognizes her-not only that, but she’s someone he knows. When Emilie reveals that her sister went missing in Red Crow, Jeremy is resistant to the idea of going back. However, he convinces Rafe to tag along, and the three set off on a journey in the forest to find Shannon.

This book is so magical and wonderful, in a similar way to The Wishing Game but also very different. The best way to describe The Lost Story is it truly is a fairytale for adults- it has magic without there being the complex world building of fantasy novels, but still bad things are able to happen to the characters so it’s not fluff. I really enjoyed reading it. I recommend this to fans of magic, fairytales, or anyone looking to escape this world for a while.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book since the Wishing Game was one of my favorite books of 2023. It was a really fun fairy tale in a completely different land and time than the Wishing Game. Some parts of it were a little slow moving for me, but I thought it was a fun approach to an adult fairy tale and magical realism without too much fantasy world building. I can't wait to see what else the author writes next!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC!

This book was a balm. Absolutely adored the structure of it, how it was presented with a narrator. Fell in love with all of the characters, loved how fleshed out they were. And what a love story! Oh, my heart. This became one of my comfort books, and I really hope there is going to be a sequel - it works as a standalone, but I would be delighted to get back into this world. So good.

A beautiful, almost poetic book about life and its heartaches and how a little bit of fantasy can change how we look at everything.

Jeremy and Rafe are teenage boys when they go missing and the suddenly reappear months later in the woods of West Virginia. No one knows where they've been and they say they can't remember. Soon Jeremy is whisked back to London with his mother and Rafe is left to face the locals who doubt the disappearance and question the boys' motives. Plus Rafe is haunted by his lack of memories.

Years go by and a girl comes to Jeremy and asks him to help her find her sister. She went missing in the same woods he and his friend disappeared and were found in years before. He reluctantly takes the job and that's where it gets interesting. Things aren't cut and dry in this story. There's definitely something mystical going on.

It's a really well-written book with a good storyline and solid character development.

Thank you to NetGalley for the early copy.

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer offers a heartwarming yet bittersweet journey, blending nostalgia, self-discovery, and the complexities of relationships. Set against the backdrop of a mysterious lost manuscript, the novel centers on the protagonist, who embarks on a quest to uncover hidden truths about her past and the people she loves. Shaffer’s writing is evocative, and the way she weaves in themes of personal growth and the impact of untold stories is truly compelling.

However, while the premise is intriguing, the pacing of the novel occasionally drags. There are moments where the narrative feels a bit repetitive, and the emotional beats, while sincere, sometimes take longer to develop than necessary. Some characters felt underdeveloped, and I wished for more depth in their arcs, especially the secondary ones. That said, Shaffer excels in creating vivid settings and capturing the complex emotions tied to memory and loss.

Despite a few pacing issues, The Lost Story is a thoughtful, touching read that explores the power of uncovering the past and how it shapes our future. It’s a book that will resonate with those who appreciate quiet introspection and a deep dive into the intricacies of human connection. A solid read, though not without its flaws. 3.5 rounded to 4 stars.

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer. This is NOT my typical kind of book but I needed a fantasy for a reading challenge. I was pleasantly surprised by the book. The suspense and fantasy went well together. The ending tied everything up. It was a medium paced book but I wanted to keep reading! I enjoyed this book!

I had such high hopes for this book. I absodevoured The Wishimg Game, but this one fell flat. It was more of a romance story about pining for a lost love than anything. I will read the authors other works in the future, but can't say I would recommend this specific book.

Thank you to Meg Shaffer, Random House Publishing/Ballantine Books, and Net Galley for an eARC of The Lost Story!

3.5/5

The Lost Story is a cute a quirky fairy tale about a girl named Emily who seeks help from a boy named Jeremy to find her sister who she's never met and disappeared 20 years prior. Jeremy and his best friend Ralph also went missing when they were younger, but were found a few month later. Jeremy has not seen Ralph since they returned from being missing, but Jeremy knows he'll need Ralph's help with find Emily's sister so he rekindles their connection. Then the three go into the woods to find Emily's sister.

This was a very feel good story. While it covers some serious topics, there were very few moments where I thought something bad was going to happen and change the direction the story was headed. The characters all became best friends nearly instantly and the witty banter had me laughing out loud. I liked the descriptions of the forest in West Virginia and how the author slowly hinted at the true nature of Ralph and Jeremy's relationship. I loved hearing stories from their childhood and seeing their relationship regrow after so many years apart. The boys had a very adorable friendship with the girls and it was just truly heartwarming.

My overall thoughts: A cute story with great imagery. If you like magical realism and witty banter with queer representation, this would probably be a good book for you!

The found family trope is central to fleshing out "The Lost Story" by Meg Shaffer, and the execution of that portion was great.

However, I just didn't love this book. I think my expectations were too high after absolutely loving "The Wishing Game."

This one is filled with magical realism but it felt like it took too long to really get going for me. It also almost felt like two different books slapped together at times.

I did enjoy that we got a glimpse into a LGBTQ+ romance in the process, but I don't think that it felt fleshed out enough either.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for selecting me for this ARC.

"The Lost Story" is a sweet tale of the power of imagination and how stories can change your life.

Emily wants to find out what happened to her sister who disappeared 20 years ago. She asks for the help of Jeremy, who is renowned for finding lost people. This search takes Emily on a journey she never imagined, and takes Jeremy back to a time he thought he'd imagined.

It's fun, the narrator breaks the fourth wall between different parts of the book, and I love every scene that involves Rafe and Jeremy. Emily wasn't my favorite character, and I think that's why this was more of a three-star read for me. The plot also slowed way down towards the end, which made it a little harder to get through.

This was the biggest disappointment of 2024. It was advertised in a very dishonest way, specifically for fans of C.S. Lewis. As with other popular books I have read, I would have loved to know ahead of halfway through the book that I am reading LGBT material. To say this was inspired by Narnia was a GIANT stretch…

Meg Shaffer has done it again! The Lost Story is a breathtaking, nostalgic adventure that blends magic, loss, and redemption into a fairy tale for grown-ups. Inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia, this book taps into that deep longing for the fantastical worlds we once believed in, making it perfect for anyone who still checks the back of wardrobes—just in case.

Jeremy and Rafe’s story is heartbreaking and beautiful. Their mysterious six-month disappearance as children left them changed, but only Jeremy remembers what happened. When Emilie Wendell comes searching for her missing sister, they must return to the enchanted realm they once called home. The journey is haunting, full of wonder, danger, and emotional depth that kept me turning pages late into the night.

Shaffer’s writing is mesmerizing, painting vivid imagery of a world that feels both dreamlike and real. The descriptions of the Painted Sea and towering, pastel-colored trees made me ache for a place that doesn’t exist outside these pages. The book explores themes of grief, trauma, and healing while weaving in a sense of adventure that feels timeless.

Fans of The Wishing Game will love this, but The Lost Story stands on its own as a masterpiece of modern fairytale storytelling. I adored every moment and didn’t want it to end. This is a book that lingers in your heart long after you finish. Highly recommended for those who love magic, found family, and second chances.

I have always been so intrigued and captivated by magical stories, ever since I was a child. Whether it was taking off to Neverland, falling down a rabbit hole, stumbling into a fairy circle or stepping through a wardrobe, I have always loved the idea of escaping this real world to go to one completely different from anything I've ever known. I still have a soft spot for these stories, which is evident by how much I've loved both of the works by Meg Shaffer that I've read.

The Wishing Game had aspects of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and The Lost Story reminds me quite a bit of Narnia and the Wizard of Oz which I grew up watching/reading and absolutely loving, so of course I loved this. From the found family aspect (which I'm finding more and more of in stories) to the adventure, I was hooked through this entire book and am so thankful to have read it.

An adolescent queer fantasy book, this was a medium paced read which I enjoyed. The characters were lovable.