The Lost Story

The Lost Story is captivating and feels like a fairy tale- except with a darker twist. It follows two boys who discover a magical world, but do not stay; instead, they return home. Then, as adults, they are drawn back into that mysterious world. As the story unfolds, they are met with adventure, memories, and many challenges.

I loved how it explored the idea we all have - what if the magical places of our childhood were real, and what if we could go back. It's heartfelt, a little haunting, and filled with nostalgia, yet also really moving in how the author handles themes of friendship, love, and second chances. If you enjoyed The Book of Doors, The Midnight Library, or this author's debut novel, The Wishing Game, you'll also enjoy this one.

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.

Penguin Random House/Ballantine Books | Jul 16, 2024 | 352 -ages | ISBN:9780593598870 | Fantasy

1. This novel draws inspiration from The Chronicles of Narnia. What scenes and details reminded you of the iconic C.S. Lewis series? How were the books different from each other?

2. A key theme in The Lost Story is heroism. Discuss the different types of heroes, or acts of heroism, you found in the novel. What makes a character heroic?

3. How does each character in The Lost Story handle fear? How do they overcome it?

4. Jeremy and Rafe go missing together as boys. How does their shared experience impact their relationship with each other and the outside world at large? What did you make of the fact that their romantic relationship can exist in one world, but not the other?

5. Explore the nature of loss in this novel-the death of a loved one, a falling out with a dear friend, the loss of memory. What does The Lost Story suggest about the power of our own imagination in the face of grief?

6. Discuss the themes of losing and finding throughout the story. What does it mean to be lost? What does it mean to be found?

7. Jeremy returns home with the unexplainable ability to find missing people. If you had the chance to choose a special ability, what would it be?

8. In many ways, Jeremy, Rafe, and Emilie are all searching for family. What does the novel have to say about the families we aren't born into, but find along the way?

9. So much of The Lost Story is about storytelling. What makes a great story or fairytale?

10. Sisterhood is at the heart of Emilie and Skya's story. How are the sisters different and the same? How does the story explore how powerful the bonds of sisterhood are, even across worlds?

11. If you could ask Meg Shaffer one question about The Lost Story-about the writing process, the characters, or the plot-what would it be?

12. You are casting the movie adaptation of The Lost Story. Who do you choose to play Jeremy, Rafe, Emilie, and Skya?

Book Club Talking Points:
This book is excellent for a book club. It's intense at times, but also has an intriguing mystery. You can discuss the importance of storytelling and family, as well as how stories influence us. There will also be many favorite moments to discuss. Great for book clubs that like fantasy.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - 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

AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

"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, Pulitzer Prise-winning author of Empire Falls and the North Bath Trilogy

"Shaffer manages to capture the joys and magic of childhood innocence alongside the wisdom that comes with age. The taut mystery keeps the pages of this love letter to the fantasy genre flying. Readers will be transfixed."-Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A spiritual epilogue to C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, Meg Shaffer's The Lost Story explores what happens after you return from a magical realm."-BookPage, starred review

"Readers will find this an absolutely immersive pleasure to read. Shaffer delivers an unforgettable and nostalgic experience."-Library Journal, starred review

"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 wildly imaginative book speaks to every reader who yearns for a more magical world."-Thao Thai, author of Banyan Moon

"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