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The Lost by Sarah Beth Durst: Interview and Review!

Monday, November 10, 2014



1) What made you come up with the concept for Lost?

Do you ever sit at a traffic light and wonder what would happen if you simply did not go where you planned to go?   You plan to turn left, but instead you drive straight, and keep driving and driving and driving ...   That's where the idea for THE LOST came from.   It's about a woman Whose life feels empty.   One day, she simply drives, and she ends up in a town full of only lost things and lost people.

Began writing the novel with a brainstormed list of all the things That Could be lost: keys, socks, pencils, Paperclips, books, lunches, dogs, children, memories, dreams, minds ...   And it all grew from there.

2) What is the worst thing you have lost?

Perfect days.   There are so many days I wish That I could capture in a bottle to experience later.   Sometimes they're just ordinary days where the sun is shining Especially nicely, writing is going well, my family is around me, and I have ice cream for dessert ...   I think the worst thing about time passing is that you can not hold onto Those days as hard as you try to.   The details slip, fuzz, and an unknown more a Retelling of the day, than the day itself.

3) Which character would you be if you could be in your novel?

I'd really rather not be in Lost.   I'm fond of the real world.   But I can tell you That my favorite character is Claire.   She's a six year old girl in a princess dress who carries a teddy bear and a rather sharp knife.   She was not in the original outline for the story, but as I was writing it, she walked out of the crowd, Lauren Took by the hand, and saved her from an angry mob ...   and Became a major character.

4) What is your favorite trait of the main character?

I love that she cares about doing the right thing.

5) Will there be a sequel?

Yes!   THE LOST is the first book in a trilogy.   The second book, THE MISSING, comes out in December, and the third book, THE FOUND, comes out next April.   This is my first trilogy, and I'm really excited about it!   All three books follow Lauren, as she finds her destiny ... and Determines the fate of Lost.


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.


Goodreads Summary

I absolutely adored this book.  Since I was younger, I always wondered where my lost objects and where certain lost people (cited in the media) ended up.  This book offers up an inventive explanation and one I can't wait to explore in any sequels (and I am promised a trilogy!).  Lauren ends up in a conveniently named town, Lost, and must find what she is missing if she ever intends to get out of the dismal town.  While stuck in Lost, Lauren discovers a few people that she takes an interest in as well as possible reasons for why she is stuck.  She must ask for help from the mysterious Missing Man and deal with the reality that her mother is dying.  

I really loved Lauren's character.  I thought that she was strong and, at times, willfully bull-headed.  I liked her open-mindedness and determined nature.  Lauren is a dependable character; her main desire in life is to return from Lost to care for her dying mother.  The other characters in this book remind me a little of characters from the tale Alice in Wonderland.  The setting and the scenes in the book made me feel like I went down a rabbit hole of sorts with Lauren.  This book is highly recommended to young adult/adult readers.

5 Stars





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1 comments:

  1. Beth W said...:

    Oh yay! I just got this one and I'm excited to read it. I hear such wonderful things about it. :)