Eleven-year-old Fiona struggles with moving to the old town of Lost Lake, away from her friends and the only home she’s ever known. While her frustration with her sister mounts, Fiona finds a strange book at the library and realizes that her new town is full of secrets.
Fiona wishes she was anyone but Arden Crane’s little sister. The spotlight has always been on her figure-skating-star sis. But now, Fiona must deal with having to move all the way across Massachusetts just to be closer to Arden’s skating club.
As the family settles into life in the peculiar town of Lost Lake, Fiona finds refuge at the local library, which is housed in an old mansion. A strange book titled The Lost One captures Fiona’s attention—a tale of two sisters who did everything together until one of them disappeared.
Fiona finally gets a library card to check the book out but discovers that it isn’t even in the library’s system. In fact, it’s been hidden in the librarian’s office. Nothing to do but to sneak into the office and, uh, borrow the book, Fiona figures. But when she does, she finds that the story stops midway through.
Fiona plans to take the book back to the library the next day but can’t find it anywhere. It’s only later that she realizes the book mysteriously returned itself to the library.
Things are definitely getting strange.
The more Fiona digs into this odd book, the more she recognizes strange similarities that blur the lines between the story and her new town. And she also notes that she’s not the only one trying to unlock The Lost One’s secrets. A local boy named Charlie is exploring the book’s intrigues, too.
Well, two brains and two sets of eyes are probably better than one. Maybe together they’ll have a better chance of unraveling a centuries-old mystery.
None.
The Lost One contains a myth about the Searcher, a dark, mysterious figure who haunts the town and kidnaps victims.
[Spoiler Warning] Because of a tragedy in a local family’s past, ghosts haunt the old mansion-turned-library. As Fiona and Charlie unravel their stories and eventually confront them, Fiona learns the ghosts of the book’s sisters remain at the house because their tragic past keeps them from finding peace.
Fiona’s parents struggle to give as much time and attention to her as they do Arden, but they are fair and loving overall. Scheduling confusion one day, for instance, means that Fiona isn’t able to go see her friends from her old town. But Mom and Dad apologize and promise to make it up to her.
When Fiona disobeys her parents by leaving the house when she isn’t supposed to, they promptly ground her. She sneaks out again, intent on solving the mystery, but avoids detection because her sister decides to stay silent.
Fiona respects and likes the librarian, Ms. Miranda. However, they also clash when Ms. Miranda tries to dissuade Fiona from investigating more about The Lost One.
In The Lost One, characters Hazel and Pearl receive very little discipline from their parents, who are preoccupied with their status and social engagements. As a result, Mrs. Rawlins, the family’s housekeeper, is the one who disciplines the girls. However, they often disobey her and lie to get out of trouble.
In The Lost One, a young girl is accidentally drowned. While trapped in the library, a character lures Fiona into a cistern in the basement to drown her, but Fiona quickly escapes with Arden’s help.
None.
Who in your family do you struggle to get along with? How could you work on making your relationship with that person better?
Is it ever hard for you to forgive others? Why does God tell us we need to forgive? Is there anyone you’re staying mad at instead of forgiving?
Take a look at Ephesians 4:2, Proverbs 24:29 and Hebrews 13:16. How do you think those scriptural encouragements might ease tensions with family members if you applied them?
Get free discussion questions for books at focusonthefamily.com/magazine/thriving-family-book-discussion-questions.
Long Lost is a well-written mystery that explores forgiveness and sibling relationships. However, it also contains suspenseful scenes with supernatural, ghostly elements that create a haunting and at times creepy atmosphere.
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Review by Rachel Pfeiffer
