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Books › The Lost Days (Emily the Strange #1)

Cover of The Lost Days (Emily the Strange #1)

The Lost Days (Emily the Strange #1)

142 pages

A delightfully deadpan, spooky-cute romp through amnesia, armed with snark, slingshots, and four black cats.

What it feels like

Reading this book feels like flipping through the secret, heavily doodled diary of the coolest, weirdest girl in school. It moves at a brisk, chaotic clip, driven by a delightfully deadpan narrative voice that treats amnesia and golems with the same sarcastic shrug as a bad hair day. The atmosphere is thoroughly spooky-cute, steeped in a mild, accessible goth aesthetic where black cats and DIY particle accelerators reign supreme. It is less about solving a traditional mystery and more about the joyful, rebellious reclamation of one's own eccentric identity. Snarky, list-heavy, and unapologetically strange, it is a perfect fit for young outsiders, nostalgic adults, and anyone who finds comfort in the delightfully bizarre.

Mood
  • spooky-cute
  • surreal
  • eccentric
  • mildly gothic
Tone
  • sarcastic
  • deadpan
  • irreverent
  • quirky
Pace
brisk
Themes
embracing weirdness · creative rebellion · finding one's identity · the power of independence
The writing
Snarky, list-heavy, and playfully cynical, blending journal entries with highly visual, eccentric observations.
The arc
Begins in disoriented amnesia and builds to a triumphant, unapologetic reclamation of a delightfully strange identity.
Who it's for
Outsiders, young goths, and anyone who prefers the company of black cats and weird science over fitting in.
Content notes
  • amnesia
  • mild cartoon violence

About the book

13 Elements you will find in the first Emily the Strange novel:

1. Mystery 2. A beautiful golem 3. Souped-up slingshots 4. Four black cats 5. Amnesia 6. Calamity Poker 7. Angry ponies 8. A shady truant officer 9. Top-13 lists 10. A sandstorm generator 11. DoppelgAngers 12. A secret mission 13. Earwigs

Emily the Strange: 13 years old. Able to leap tall buildings, probably, if she felt like it. More likely to be napping with her four black cats; or cobbling together a particle accelerator out of lint, lentils, and safety pins; or rocking out on drums/ guitar/saxophone/zither; or painting a swirling feral sewer mural; or forcing someone to say "swirling feral sewer mural" 13 times fast... and pointing and laughing

Description from Open Library.

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