Title: The Lost Story
Author: Meg Schaffer
Genre: Fantasy/ Mystery/ Romance
Published: 2024
Description: As boys, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went
missing in a vast West Virginia 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 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.
Jermy alone knows that 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 hurrying 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 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.
Review: “The Lost Story” by Meg Schaffer is a magical fantasy and romance novel,
inspired by “The Chronicles of Narnia”, about Rafe and Jeremy who disappeared
into a magical world when they were kids and returned after six months. Not knowing
what happened to them. But Jeremy does remember. And now, as adults, they have
to go back to find Emilie’s sister who went lost in that same forest.
When I read somewhere that it’s Narnia for adults, they didn’t need to
say more. I was in. The story begins with Emilie, asking Jeremy and Rafe for
help, to find her sister. She went missing in the same area as the guys did,
when they were kids. It’s a part love story, part fairytale for adults, set in
two worlds: ours and the magical world of Shenandoah.
The dynamic between the three main characters Is compelling, I especially
loved the bond between Rafe and Jeremy. But none of three really stand out
individually. The novel explores themes like friendship, acceptance, grief and
hope. There is also a focus on dealing with the past and reconnecting after
years of separation.
It’s very clear that “The Chronicles of Narnia” was an inspiration for
this novel. It’s the story that would happen if you decided to stay in the
magical world. I could also see it being compared to “Peter Pan”.
Although I liked the overall story and concept, the book didn’t really
have a major impact on me. It has a slow start and I was missing the emotional
depth, despite the fact that the characters are well developed. I expected it
to have a bigger emotional impact. I’m curious to Meg Schaffer’s previous book,
“The Wishing Game”, which I want to read. Because I loved her writing. And I do
feel there will be a lot of people who would love this book. It just wasn’t me.
Rating: 3/ 5
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten