The lost by Sarah Beth Durst

The lost by Sarah Beth Durst

Published by Harlequin MIRA

Genre fantasy contemporary(?)

Pages 350

It was only meant to be a brief detour. But then Lauren finds herself trapped in a town called Lost on the edge of a desert, filled with things abandoned, broken and thrown away. And when she tries to escape, impassable dust storms and something unexplainable lead her back to Lost again and again. The residents she meets there tell her she's going to have to figure out just what she's missing--and what she's running from--before she can leave. So now Lauren's on a new search for a purpose and a destiny. And maybe, just maybe, she'll be found...

Against the backdrop of this desolate and mystical town, Sarah Beth Durst writes an arresting, fantastical novel of one woman's impossible journey...and her quest to find her fate.

What I thought

Overall this book was great. I really enjoyed this book and I will most definitely continue reading this series. Sarah Beth Durst writing was good and funny. Eventhough this book does contain a serious subject, she carried it lightly. Whereas I cry reading John Greens "The Fault In Our Stars" <In which John Green obviously wants the reader to feel all emotions> I didn't cry reading the Lost.  Eventhough this book contains the same subject <only in the Lost it's not the main subject, it's a second story woven into the story itself>.

I gave this book four out of five stars, just because I'm still confused about the world Sarah Beth Durst has created. I really liked this book, the story and the characters, but I would have changed some tiny things. The first thing I wanted to talk about are the characters. 

Sarah Beth Durst has done an explicit job of creating characters and mapping out the world. In my imagination it just all makes sense as far as looks go. Lauren was a funny girl and not as naive as some girls can be in young adult books. The other main characters <Claire and Peter> where lovely decribed and seemed so nice aswell. 

The only thing that I found quite annoying was the way Lauren sometimes handled situations. Now I don't know how I would handle the situations and I'd probably react the same way Lauren does. But sometimes she could annoy me just slightly. Another thing I really can't get my head around is the world Sarah has created. As I said above, it made the mosts of sense in my head. But just as far as looks go. Don't get me wrong, but I just don't understand this world. 

// This part can contain spoilers //: 

Going through a dust storm Lauren somehow gets herself in the city Lost. She gets to know a lot of people, even almost having a relationship with the Finder called Peter. When Lauren is in this city <which she is for a long time>  I got the feeling this world was real. Eventhough I found myself wondering " How could there be a city in which people find what their lost and go to this special person 'the missing man' to get back to their lives out of the city.  And how would they do this, going into another city and returning.  Some people were there for a couple of years. Does their live stop when they end up in Lost?" When Lauren get's out of Lost and she ends up laying in a coma in the same hospital as her mother, I really didn't understand it anymore. Sarah Beth Durst makes us think that this city Lost is imaginary. Lauren would have been in a dream, a dream that seems so real. Maybe this city will make more sense in the second book? 

At the end of the book I really wanted to continue with the series, I wanted to know more about Lauren. About Peter and Claire. I recommend getting both book one "the Lost" and two "the Missing" when entering this new lovely world. Totally loved this book. The characters, the concept and the writing. Defenitely check this series out if you haven't already!

Have you read this book? What did you think? 

Let me know in the comments down below. 

                                                       x Zoë