Review: THE LOST by Sarah Beth Durst

Title: The Lost
Author: Sarah Beth Durst (@sarahbethdurst)
Published: May 2014
Series: The Lost #1
Genre: Fantasy
POV: 1st person
Pages: 352
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher & later purchased
Rating: The Royal Library, Top Shelf

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.

I've always had a strange fascination with things that are lost. We all lose things – our keys, pens, wallets, socks, earrings, and so on. But where do they go? In Durst's first adult novel, she explores a city full of lost items, places, and people. Unsurprisingly, The Lost turned out to be as intriguing a story as I hoped to find. Lauren spends her day driving to get away from problems at home, only to find herself pulling into an odd town called Lost. She quickly finds that leaving will be a challenge when the Missing Man – the only person who can help her find what she's lost – takes one glance at her and leaves. 

The town of Lost is a charming, quirky, and somewhat terrifying place. It is both familiar and bizarre, and inhabited by people from all walks of life. As a narrator, Lauren is a comforting, realistic presence who turns out to have more determination and resourcefulness than one might initially expect from her. With only a light touch of romance, Durst slowly builds the base for what will likely become an interesting relationship between Lauren and Peter. Even though this is an adult novel, older young adult literature fans will also find this story appealing. Peculiar, humorous, and evocative, The Lost is a standout story of the year. 

Highlights: Characterization is wonderful, from the tough yet adorable Claire to the odd yet surprisingly well-read Peter / Finder. Instead of wallowing, Lauren utilizes her strengths, works on her weaknesses, and tries to figure out a way home. The world of the Lost is fascinating, strange, and perfectly described in order to convey it's charm, oddness, and dangers. The romance is very light, sweet, and realistic. Even better, Durst infuses plenty of emotion in with all the entertainment. As a person who knows what it's like to watch someone you love struggle medically to live, Lauren's relationship with her mother really resonated with me. The ending is very bittersweet, and I can't wait to see what happens next. 

Lowlights: I want the sequel now?

Rating: The Royal Library, Top Shelf (5 out of 5). I love this book, so it is going on the top shelves in the royal library where everyone can see it. The Lost is exciting, imaginative, and simply a spectacular story filled with outstanding characters. I'd highly recommend this book, because it is an incredible story.

Dear Book Banners,

I started falling in love with books when I was eleven or twelve years old, and my parents happily agreed with my newly discovered hobby. They brought me to the bookstore once every few months, and would buy me two or three books of my choice. When I strolled into Borders, I walked straight for the TEEN / YOUNG ADULT section. I browsed the shelves, made my choices, and told my parents when I was done. We went to the checkout counter, paid, left, and I thanked them. Every single trip, it was the same thing. 

My parents never, not once, asked to see my book choices. 

You might think, well, maybe you had parents who expose their children to anything, appropriate or not. Or, maybe even you had terrible parents who did not care about you enough to worry about your reading material. You would be wrong in both cases. My parents have always been very protective and concerned about me. They knew where I was at all times, who I was with, what I was doing, and were always present in my life. They always made sure that I was making good choices in my life. 

So, why did my (slightly controlling) parents never check my book choices? 

It is because my parents trusted me. They trusted me to know what I was ready to read and to know right from wrong (and be able to discern both from the content of my newly purchased novels). They trusted me to make good decisions, to use books as a learning experience. They trusted me to realize that novels are not real, and that my life will not always reflect the ones presented in the story. 

I’m sure they realized, at one point or another, that some of those YA novels featured sex, drugs, alcohol, cursing, and et cetera. But, they still encouraged my reading. They trusted me to learn from those stories and from the "bad behavior" featured in some of them. They preferred to have me read about those subjects in order to learn, as opposed to shielding me and possibly leading me to make those mistakes in my own life. 

YA novels taught me that I never want to do drugs. I learned that sex should be meaningful, and it should be something both parties are prepared for (including unintended consequences, such as pregnancy or STI’s). I learned to never cheat, and even if it means failing. I learned that alcohol can make people do stupid things, and I have yet to touch even a drop, despite the fact that I am legally of age to drink. I learned that people curse, and at the end of the day, those are merely words. They cannot hurt you, unless you let them. I learned that some words can, however, hurt others who are sensitive. I learned to treat others the way I want to be treated. 

I learned how to be the best version of myself through YA literature that is routinely challenged for banned for featuring “adult” or “questionable” content.

Now, I am a college student with two Associate degrees, and I will also (hopefully) earn a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature this spring. And, honestly, I feel that I have done well in life so far. I know I owe that to my parents, but also to the novels I read as a teenager. Those stories shaped who I am, and I will always be grateful for them. I will always be grateful to my parents for never telling me “You can’t read this” and even more grateful that they let me read anything and everything. Instead of censoring, they let me learn and grow through literature. They let me read about the "uglier" side of life, and I am a better person for it. 

I understand why some adults are nervous when it comes to letting their teenagers read YA novels that have cursing, sex, abuse, and etc. I understand completely. But, many of these topics are already in every teenager’s daily life. 

I had friends who had sex as teenagers. I decided to wait. 

I had friends who drank alcohol and did drugs as teenagers. I refused. 

I had friends who cursed like sailors as teenagers. I…well, I cursed as a teenager. Barely. 

The truth is that you cannot protect teenagers and children from everything. 

Literature is a safe haven. Let them read, and discuss it with them. Better yet, let them read, and allow them the chance to discover right from wrong on their own. If you cannot do that, I’m sorry. I wish you could, for the sake of your child(ren), who could learn so much from those novels that you are currently waving in the air and urging other adults to ban from schools and libraries. 

If you do censor your children’s reading material, I hope that you do not extend this censorship to public schools or libraries. You do not have to right to take books away from other people. I would never walk up to you and tell you what you or your child can and cannot read. If I did, you would be annoyed with me. Furious, even. I realize you only want to help, but you are hurting many teenagers by taking away literature that can change their lives for the better. 

I read YA books with “questionable” content, adult books with adult content, and classics as a teenager. Thanks to those novels, I made good life choices as a teenager, and I still try to do so as an adult. Reading those novels did not turn me into some sex-crazed, alcoholic, cursing, abusive person. They turned me into a young woman who tries to live happily and healthily, who always tries to be kind to others, and who strives to learn as much as possible. 

I think I turned out pretty well. I think your teenager will turn out pretty well, too, so long as you give them the opportunity to learn from literature. While sharing darker issues with your child is scary, it will help them grow. I hope you give them a chance to do so. I hope you look at literature and see it as a tool for learning, not as the enemy. 

I hope you embrace literature, because literature will never hurt you. Literature will show you mistakes you should avoid in life and teach you new ideas and perspectives. But, at the end of the day, YOU are the only person who can decide what you will learn from every story. There is not a single book that will force you to believe or behave in positive or disagreeable ways. You make that choice, all on your own. 

SOME BOOKS THAT I READ AS A TEENAGER (Both YA and Adult Literature): 

PRIVATE series by Kate Brian

ALL AMERICAN GIRL / READY OR NOT by Meg Cabot

More Meg Cabot books. I adored her novels. 

SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson

HARRY POTTER series by JK Rowling

DREAMLAND by Sarah Dessen

THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER by Sarah Dessen (and other Dessen novels)

WINTERGIRLS by Laurie Halse Anderson

ENDER'S GAME by Orson Scott Card

THE OUTSIDERS by S.E. Hinton

THE GIVER by Lois Lowry

GOSSIP GIRL by Cecily von Ziegesar

THE BERMUDEZ TRIANGLE by Maureen Johnson

DEVILISH by Maureen Johnson

ERAGON by Christopher Paolini

THE LUXE by Anna Godbersen

THE JOY LUCK CLUB by Amy Tan

JANE EYRE by Charlotte Bronte

THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN by Mark Twain

THE THINGS THEY CARRIED by Tim O'Brien

THE DA VINCI CODE by Dan Brown

ROMEO AND JULIET by William Shakespeare

MACBETH by William Shakespeare

THE SCARLET LETTER by Nathaniel Hawthorne

MOBY DICK by Herman Melville

THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald 

OF MICE AND MEN by John Steinback

THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD by Zora Neale Hurston

THE GRAPES OF WRATH by John Steinback

LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding

NIGHT by Elie Weisel 

IN COLD BLOOD by Truman Capote

HONEST ILLUSIONS by Nora Roberts

THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL by Philippa Gregory

And many more!

This post was inspired by Banned Books Week

Visit ALA for more information

Top 7 Comments I've Received From Adult's Who DON'T Read YA (And My Brief Thoughts On YA Being "Embarrassing")

Sometimes, I read YA novels in public (scandalous, I know). Other times, I go to the bookstore or library and browse the YA shelves. And sometimes, the most ridiculous statements come out of other people's mouths when see me reading or perusing a YA novel.

Let's get something straight here: I am an adult, but I am still young (almost 22). But, even I still receive comments whenever I read YA in public, from people who seem to think it's strange for someone in college to read teen literature. These are some of the more popular random comments I've received:

1.  "You do know that's for children, right?"

Thank you. I had no idea. I thought THE HUNGER GAMES was a new diet trend. My mistake. 

2.  "Isn't that story a little immature for you?"

I laughed at this statement, because I was reading BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY at the time - that book is far from immature. It's thoughtful, intense...such an excellent, moving story. 

3.  "I read a YA novel once. It wasn't deep or complex, unlike (insert very literary adult novel title), which I'm currently reading. Now that's a stimulating story."

I honestly didn't know how to respond to this person. I was too surprised by the statement to formulate a decent thought. But honestly, anyone that doesn't find YA to be deep has not read the right book. 

4.  "Do you read YA because you have a hard time reading more difficult and complex texts?"

Yeah, they might have called me an idiot to my face (in an underhanded way), but I didn't feel the need to explain myself or my reading choices. I'm happy with the A grades I'm earning as an English major, so his statement didn't bother me. What bothered me was the idea that all YA lit is "easy" and uncomplicated, because there are many YA novels with layers and meaning. 

5.  "So you must love Twilight then, right?"

Um, no. TWILIGHT is not the worst book ever, but it doesn't live up to the best of the best. All YA lit is NOT like TWILIGHT! *sighs*

6.  "Maybe you should try reading a novel that is actually educational and worth your time."

I'm 80% sure I said something like "I already am, but thank you so much for your concern" ;)

7.  "I cannot believe you're reading that in public. I would be so embarrassed to be caught reading a book for teens!"

And this, dear readers, is the one statement that always makes me sad. I usually just respond with my usual "Life's too short to worry about everyone else and their opinions of you - read what you want and forget everyone else if they don't like it" but it saddens me how often this conversation pops up. 

  

  

  

It seems as though, for the most part, people who do not regularly read YA have this inaccurate view of Young Adult literature. They think it's for kids, it's immature, it requires zero thought to read, that it's exactly like TWILIGHT, and that everyone will mock you for reading such uninspiring and meaningless stories. To anyone that thinks YA is like that...wow. I feel sorry for those people, because they are missing out on some of the more exceptional YA novels based on a couple bad experiences by not reading the right book for them.

YA literature isn't perfect (is anything?), but it is moving, meaningful, hilarious, sad, heartbreaking, and nothing to be embarrassed about, even if the book features a girl-in-a-pretty-dress (SWEET EVIL), a couple making out or almost making out (ACROSS THE UNIVERSE has the most gorgeous example of this that even makes me forget how much I hate this trend), an embarrassing title (like ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS), or even strange clouds that make it look like you're reading something very immature (I'm looking at you, THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, but I still adore you), or some other typical YA cover and title trend.

So, the next time you try to hide that YA book cover or title from everyone else when you're out reading somewhere in public, remember why you read YA, and read it proudly. Because if we don't start reading YA with confidence, then how can we expect non-YA readers to take us and our preferred genre seriously? This post is my reminder to never be that woman who hides her reading material in public because she's embarrassed, but to be the one that reads them proudly - no matter what anyone thinks.

Have you ever had anyone say something crazy to you about YA lit when they catch you reading it in public?  What are your thoughts on YA being "embarrassing" for older readers?

All images from Goodreads.