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The Lost Story

The gorgeous, heartwarming grown-up fairytale by the beloved author of The Wishing Game

Meg Shaffer author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Quercus Publishing

Published:18th Jul '24

Should be back in stock very soon

The Lost Story cover

In The Lost Story, two boys return from the woods with no memories, leading to a quest for lost connections and magical realms.

In The Lost Story, two boys vanish into the woods, only to reappear six months later without any memory of their time away. As they grow older, Rafe becomes a reclusive artist haunted by the scars of his past, while Jeremy emerges as a renowned missing persons investigator. Their lives take an unexpected turn when Emilie Wendell, a vet tech searching for her long-lost sister, seeks Jeremy's help. The mystery deepens as they uncover a connection to the enchanted realm where they spent those lost months.

As the trio embarks on a journey back to the magical world they once inhabited, they confront the secrets that have shaped their lives. The story beautifully intertwines themes of friendship, loyalty, and the transformative power of love. The Lost Story invites readers to explore the idea that even in adulthood, one can find the wonder and magic that resides within. The enchanting narrative captures the essence of childhood dreams and the longing for connection.

Ultimately, The Lost Story is a heartwarming tale that speaks to the universal desire for belonging and the courage to face one's past. It reminds us that the bonds we forge can lead us back to the people we’ve lost and the magic we’ve forgotten. With its imaginative plot and relatable characters, this novel resonates with anyone who has ever wished for a touch of magic in their lives.

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 extraordinarynovels 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 *
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 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 *
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 *

ISBN: 9781529436310

Dimensions: 232mm x 158mm x 36mm

Weight: 560g

352 pages