The Lost by Sarah Beth Durst
Series: The Lost #1
Published by Harlequin MIRA on May 20, 2014
Pages: 384
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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Lost your way? 

Your dreams?  

Yourself? 

Welcome to Lost. 

It was supposed to be a small escape. A few hours driving before turning around and heading home. But once you arrive in Lost...well, it's a place you really can't leave. Not until you're Found. Only the Missing Man can send you home. And he took one look at Lauren Chase and disappeared. 

So Lauren is now trapped in the town where all lost things go-luggage, keys, dreams, lives-where nothing is permanent, where the locals go feral and where the only people who don't want to kill her are a handsome wild man called the Finder and a knife-wielding six-year-old girl. The only road out of town is engulfed by an impassable dust storm, and escape is impossible.... 

Until Lauren decides nothing-and no one-is going to keep her here anymore. 

Sarah Beth Durst’s first novel for adults definitely lived up to it’s potential.  While it’s clear that this is a novel meant for adults, the crossover YA potential is there, especially from an author who is so well versed in the YA world.

What happens to lost things; wallets, car keys, toys, etc.?  They end up in Lost, just like Lauren Chase.  Lauren has lost her way, in more ways than one.  When she ends up in Lost, all she wants to do is go home but that decision is up to the Missing Man who takes one look at her and hightails it out of town.  Now, Lauren isn’t the only one who can’t leave and the townspeople aren’t exactly happy that they are all stuck in Lost as well.  The only people willing to help Lauren are a knife-wielding little girl and a man called the Finder.  Lauren has to figure out what it is she’s lost, find the Missing Man, and find her way home, before it’s too late for someone she loves very much.

Lauren is an easy character to connect with.  She’s lost her dreams, her way, and her sense of hope.  Who hasn’t felt like that at some point in life?  The town of Lost is there to help her find all these things and more.  Lauren is a strong willed person though and she’s not willing to accept that she’s stuck in Lost with no way out except for with the help of the Missing Man.  She’s not used to relying on other people and that’s not going to change now.  Sure she has a little help along the way from Claire and the Finder, but she never relies fully on them.  She’s smart, she’s tough, and she’s willing to work for what she wants.  Claire and the Finder are there to help her figure out the ways of Lost but they don’t want to help her leave.  Claire is the little sister that Lauren never had and the bond between them is immediate and real.  Their relationship was absolutely adorable.  The Finder’s relationship with Lauren was a bit more complicated.  There is definitely attraction between the two of them but they both know that it can’t really go anywhere with Lauren planning to eventually find her way home.  Still, he’s willing to stick around and show her how to defend herself and also to fend for herself.  He was an interesting character but really an all around good guy.

The rest of the townspeople were a little weird.  Well, maybe a lot weird.  They were hostile and ferocious and they did not like that Lauren ran off the Missing Man.  It’s pretty clear early on in the book that you do not want to get on these people’s bad sides and that’s exactly where Lauren ends up.  And while it became clear relatively early on that Claire was a friend to Lauren, thinking about a knife wielding six-year-old is kind of terrifying.

The story is beyond unique.  Lost things end up in Lost but so do people that have lost dreams and hopes and so many other things.  It’s a much deeper story than I originally thought and while that did slow the pace down a bit, it made me end up liking it a lot more than I expected.  It’s definitely not a fast-paced story that you will breeze through but instead it’s a story that will really make you think, long after you’ve actually finished the book.

Overall, The Lost is a great start to this new trilogy from Sarah Beth Durst.  I’ve become majorly invested in the lives of all the characters and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next installment.

What others are saying about The Lost:

There Were Books Involved’s review: “The potential in that idea is huge… and for me, The Lost totally delivered.”

Novel Novice’s review: “Truthfully, there just aren’t enough words for me to say how much I loved The Lost by Sarah Beth Durst.”

The Social Potato’s review: “This is sadly not a book I can recommend to everyone because even though I wish the whole world would read it, it will not work out for many readers (which is evident from all the mixed reviews), but I will say this, if you want eerie, give this book a shot.”