The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer

Photo of the cover of The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer, photo credit Amazon

4.75 stars

Meg Shaffer advertises The Lost Story as inspired by Narnia, and this book certainly fits the description. Shaffer even references The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis, which heavily influenced this book. The Lost Story is a nostalgia soaked tale for fans of accidentally wandering into the wondrous unknown.

As Shaffer tells the tale of Rafe, Jeremy, and Emilie being drawn into the mystical land of Shanandoah (Shaffer’s Narnia), she fulfills every childish fantasy of the perfect mystical world – complete with unicorns, heroes, and of course, monsters. As Shaffer herself points out, there would be no heroes without monsters.

While Shanandoah captures the fantastical otherworldiness of Narnia, it spins the classic trope found in Alice in Wonderland and other works in a way that feels original. From the rescued boys speaking in a language that sounds like “dry leaves rustling”, to being led to Shanandoah again by a red crow in Red Crow State Forest, to evergreen trees in a variety of pastels that are “a thousand feet too tall, the trunks a hundred feet too thick”, and a small white unicorn who falls asleep in Jeremy’s lap, the earliest encounters with Shanandoah manage to strike the perfect balance between comfortable familiarity and compelling novelty.

"“The crow sang another song full of secrets… and the song the crow sang was one that said the world was about to change.” pg. 67, The Lost Story

While the tale contains nearly every classic fantasy trope and element, the story does so in a way that invites the reader to remember and delight in their childhood whimsies – invitingly self-indulgent.

This is fitting for a story that, at its core, is about rediscovering the adventures of childhood and the magic of stories. From the first few chapters I was invested in the mystery of what happened to Jeremy and Rafe fifteen years ago. As we learn the answers to that, and the question of what happened to Shannon Yates, Shaffer seamlessly transitions from mystery to adventure. 

Rafe and Jeremy are captivating characters. Their complicated history makes for an intriguing dynamic as they tackle everything that happened to them fifteen years ago and since then. Rafe’s journey throughout the story was particularly touching. He has a strong, clear character arc as he struggles with losing his memories of their time being lost, and grapples with his family demons (literally and figuratively). Similarly, Jeremy begins the story by grappling with the loss of Shenandoah and Rafe, and the guilt over Rafe’s suffering from not knowing what happened all those years ago. By the end of the story, Jeremy and Rafe’s relationship is repaired, and both seem to make peace with everything that’s happened. 

Comparatively, Emilie’s character arc lacks the same depth of development. At the beginning of the novel, Emilie is a bit of a coward who is struggling with her direction in life and looking for her sister who disappeared in Red Crow years ago. By the end of the novel (without spoiling it), while some events do get resolution, Emilie's identity and motivations are so tied up in other people that her character arc feels like it accomplishes little besides demonstrating the message “be brave”. Her goals and relationships feel like they take the backseat to Rafe and Jeremy. The character details of her pet rat and love of Stevie Nicks are intriguing, but even with the added history with her mother and her search for her lost sister, they feel like details that loosely interact to create the outline of a character and their journey that isn’t fully colored in. Despite this, Emilie isn't totally underdeveloped. The story is so well done, it doesn’t significantly hamper the reader’s ability to enjoy the story. 

Photo of "Storyterller's Corner" on pg. 58 of The Lost Story

The story and its theme aren’t subtle – but much like the fictional world of Shanandoah, the novel doesn’t take itself too seriously. The omniscient narrator, who interrupts the story from “Storyteller’s Corner”, brings a casual sense of humor to the story. The story teller’s interjections prevent the direct messaging from feeling like the author is beating the reader over the head with a club labeled “this is the point”, and more like a classic childhood fable with a life moral at its heart. Shaffer will have readers feeling like they’re listening to their parents read them a book while they’re in bed once again (probably Narnia, seriously, “inspired by” is being conservative). 

With The Lost Story, Shaffer argues that books are magic, and expertly illustrates her point with a novel that truly feels magical.

Recommended for: People looking for an escape, anyone feeling especially nostalgic or missing the versions of themselves they were in childhood, those who at one point believed (or still do believe) unicorns exist, fantasy readers, those in need of a hug, enjoyers of all things slightly cheesy, and fans of Narnia

Not recommended for: Those looking for a grimdark fantasy story or political intrigue, people who say "What about Men's Mental Health Awareness Month?" under posts about Pride Month and then do nothing to support men's mental health, people recently broken up with who don't want to be reminded love exists, and people who think fiction is silly (this book is silly and will not cure you of that notion)