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shayan_reads's review against another edition
2.0
I quite like Mandanna's concept, but I don't think she develops it quite successfully. Any kind of rational questioning and the basic premise of the books falls apart. Echoes, Looms, rules and regulations, hunters, all resonate with ideas from [b:Never Let Me Go|6334|Never Let Me Go|Kazuo Ishiguro|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1353048590s/6334.jpg|1499998] and [b:The Host|1656001|The Host (The Host, #1)|Stephenie Meyer|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1318009171s/1656001.jpg|3328799] but none of the questions raised about soul, and what is it to be human is done justice by the absurd plot twists, and the way he story unfolds. Characters are extremely one dimensional and unconvincing, their motivation is perpetually shrouded , and some like Lekha serve just the purpose of having the funny sidekick, best friend cliché. Ray is a parody of a angsty boyfriend, Matthew is a joke. Neither England, nor Bangalore is set up properly, and remain vague shadows against. Seems like the cold weather and cows in the middle of the roads is the only aspect the author gleaned off Wikipedia searches of both places.
Pacing is good, but overall this book is very unsatisfying.
albamastromatteo's review against another edition
5.0
I don't even want to admit how much this book made me cry.
ashesmann's review against another edition
3.0
Eve is an echo.She was created to replace a specific person if they were to ever die. She looks the same and is taught everything about that person. until it actually happens and she has to step into her other's life. Problem is she has fallen in love iwth one of her handlers and she's just too unique to give up her life. Neat idea. I couldn't really understand how she was made or on what planet they would think she was anything more than a clone. I'm glad it ends well, though not everthing is resolved.
monicamr's review against another edition
5.0
Since I got this book, I thought I’d like it and now that I’ve read it, it did not disappoint.
I’m still wondering about a few details, but the story was so unique. I expected Eva to be less emotional, more robot even, but she was a human from the start. She understood and she had her own life even if she was sharing Amarra’s. It was obvious her guardians loved her and I thought that, even if it was forbidden, her relationship with Sean was healthy. They knew each other for so long, when either of them wanted answers from the other they would ask and not tip-toe around the subject.
Mina Ma was a great. Lekha was the kind of friend Eva needed and I’m glad she was more than just an extra.
Amarra’s family was too good to Eva, even with the pain they felt about losing their daughter. Nikhil and Sasha saw the situation in different ways, Nikhil was more grown up, while Sasha, even though she was the youngest and probably didn’t understand the whole situation, that didn’t prevent her from treating Eva like a sister.
The writing was simple, but with beautifully written lines and descriptions once in a while. It was easy to follow, even with so much going on. Time flew by when I read it and I do like that when I’m into a story.
At the beginning it might have been a bit slow, but it was necessary. We needed to see how Eva lived, her relationship with Amarra and thoughts about what she is and what she was created to do. We had to know and see her and Sean’s love develop so it could grab you later when it was her time to leave.
I enjoyed Mathew, he’s one of those you would hate in real life, but as a character, he is well written and leaves you wondering ‘what’s the deal with him?’
I’d say that the last 2 or 3 chapters were rushed, but not disappointing. It’s a happy ending, but not with the usual elements that make a happy ever after, I’d say. I love that it leaves you thinking on what could happen next and if anytime Sangu Mandanna wants to write a sequel, I’d love to continue.
I’m still wondering about a few details, but the story was so unique. I expected Eva to be less emotional, more robot even, but she was a human from the start. She understood and she had her own life even if she was sharing Amarra’s. It was obvious her guardians loved her and I thought that, even if it was forbidden, her relationship with Sean was healthy. They knew each other for so long, when either of them wanted answers from the other they would ask and not tip-toe around the subject.
Mina Ma was a great. Lekha was the kind of friend Eva needed and I’m glad she was more than just an extra.
Amarra’s family was too good to Eva, even with the pain they felt about losing their daughter. Nikhil and Sasha saw the situation in different ways, Nikhil was more grown up, while Sasha, even though she was the youngest and probably didn’t understand the whole situation, that didn’t prevent her from treating Eva like a sister.
The writing was simple, but with beautifully written lines and descriptions once in a while. It was easy to follow, even with so much going on. Time flew by when I read it and I do like that when I’m into a story.
At the beginning it might have been a bit slow, but it was necessary. We needed to see how Eva lived, her relationship with Amarra and thoughts about what she is and what she was created to do. We had to know and see her and Sean’s love develop so it could grab you later when it was her time to leave.
I enjoyed Mathew, he’s one of those you would hate in real life, but as a character, he is well written and leaves you wondering ‘what’s the deal with him?’
I’d say that the last 2 or 3 chapters were rushed, but not disappointing. It’s a happy ending, but not with the usual elements that make a happy ever after, I’d say. I love that it leaves you thinking on what could happen next and if anytime Sangu Mandanna wants to write a sequel, I’d love to continue.
poorcate's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars. I feel like I'm being overly harsh just because I'm getting tired of reading about scrappy young women who don't listen to the advice of people who love them and who do stupid, rash things constantly. Though to be fair to Eva, she's a much more layered character than most I've encountered lately (I'm looking at you Saba) and she actually learns and grows over the course of the novel. My main problem with this book was that I couldn't buy into the Loom. Not even a little bit. I was fine with the central premise of replacement children but everything about the Loom felt false (how the children were made, the over-the-top villain Weavers, the laws, how the Loom fit into society). Which is too bad, because the story is good and many of the big issues, such as love, family, grief and friendship, are handled nicely.
Probably should go back and take a star away from Blood Red Road and Belle Epoque, just to be fair...
Probably should go back and take a star away from Blood Red Road and Belle Epoque, just to be fair...
tepidgirlsummer's review against another edition
5.0
Sometimes when I review a book I spend a ridiculous amount of time waffling about what rating to give it. Usually if I give something five stars it’s because it’s a 4.5 star book and I rounded up. But The Lost Girl is not a 4.5 star book. It is not a book whose rating and impact I had to consider. The whole time I was reading this book, I knew. I knew I loved it and that Eva’s story would stay with me for a long time. It isn’t five stars “for what it is”; it is five stars because it is an incredible book and deserves every bit of that rating. I have never encountered such an engrossing, beautifully-written novel which deals so poignantly with the topics of love, grief, and humanity.
Eva is an Echo, made in the image of her Other, Amarra, with the intention of taking Amarra’s place when she dies. Created at the Loom by one of the Weavers, Eva’s entire life is spent learning to be Amarra. She watches videos, reads notes, takes tests, perfects Amarra’s accent, studies Amarra’s family and friends. Eva’s life is not her own and for her to be herself is an unpardonable crime; to try to escape it all could result in a Sleep Order and her destruction. If anyone finds out Eva’s an Echo, she’ll be treated as an outcast and possibly killed—and that’s assuming she’s in a country where it’s even legal for her to exist. To the world, Eva is an abomination.
Despite all this and in spite of her restlessness, Eva has a relatively peaceful existence in England. She has a loving family in Mina Ma and her Guardians and a friendship/forbidden love with Sean, a Guardian roughly her age. She considers herself real, individual—human. When she is unexpectedly called to India to take Amarra’s place, Eva tries to be a good Amarra, but through a series of unfortunate events she is faced with a choice: accept her fate or fight for her freedom.
This was a heartbreaking read. Within the first two chapters, I felt claustrophobic on behalf of Eva. I can’t imagine being in that position, having everyone hate me just because I was made at a Loom instead of in a womb. It’s the ultimate in “I didn’t ask to be born!,” only instead of fighting with your mom about curfew you’re fighting for your right to exist because some people you’ve never met had you made to take their daughter’s place when she dies so they’ll never have to live without her. And how must it have felt to be Amarra, knowing every day of your life that someone out in the world is ready to take your place the moment you die? I felt the injustice of being created as a replacement and of being so easily replaced right along with the two girls.
Frankly, the idea of creating a person who looks and acts exactly like your child to come in and take her place in the event of her death is gross. But the way Mandanna wrote it, I could see where Amarra’s parents were coming from when they made that decision, and my heart ached for them when having their daughter’s Echo around didn’t turn out to be anything like what they’d hoped. When we suffer the loss of a loved one, our grief can become almost sentient—a big, hulking shadow following us everywhere, breathing down our neck. Our loss is always there. Mandanna captured that feeling perfectly, and because of that it was impossible for me to view Amarra’s parents as the bad guys. They were merely two brokenhearted parents trying to do right by their daughter. Their choices were selfish, yet that selfishness was hopelessly interwoven with love.
Oh, and you know how I loves me some beautiful prose? Here, have a taste:
But maybe that’s what the dead do. They stay. They linger. Benign and sweet and painful. They don't need us. They echo all by themselves.
“Your life is dangling by a thread. And I’m scrabbling to hold on, but it keeps slipping through my fingers. I’m here because I can’t stand not to be. It’s not some big noble sacrifice. I want to be here. I don’t like the world without you. I need you to be alive.”
The cottage by the lake is now over the hill and far away, and Jonathan and Ophelia and the other little ducks are there, and if I dream hard enough maybe, like the song, I will go after them and find them and one day all the little ducks will come back.
Sangu Mandanna is definitely an author to watch. With The Lost Girl, she has created a vivid world in which Frankenstein’s Monster is born every day. She explores what it means to love, to grieve, to belong, and to be human. Every character, from Eva down to Sasha, had an impact on me. The ending is written so the story can stand on its own; however a sequel would also fit. So I’ll be over here, re-reading this book and keeping my fingers crossed for another one. Or another Sangu Mandanna book about anything. The life and times of a speck of lint, maybe. I’m not about to be picky.
Eva is an Echo, made in the image of her Other, Amarra, with the intention of taking Amarra’s place when she dies. Created at the Loom by one of the Weavers, Eva’s entire life is spent learning to be Amarra. She watches videos, reads notes, takes tests, perfects Amarra’s accent, studies Amarra’s family and friends. Eva’s life is not her own and for her to be herself is an unpardonable crime; to try to escape it all could result in a Sleep Order and her destruction. If anyone finds out Eva’s an Echo, she’ll be treated as an outcast and possibly killed—and that’s assuming she’s in a country where it’s even legal for her to exist. To the world, Eva is an abomination.
Despite all this and in spite of her restlessness, Eva has a relatively peaceful existence in England. She has a loving family in Mina Ma and her Guardians and a friendship/forbidden love with Sean, a Guardian roughly her age. She considers herself real, individual—human. When she is unexpectedly called to India to take Amarra’s place, Eva tries to be a good Amarra, but through a series of unfortunate events she is faced with a choice: accept her fate or fight for her freedom.
This was a heartbreaking read. Within the first two chapters, I felt claustrophobic on behalf of Eva. I can’t imagine being in that position, having everyone hate me just because I was made at a Loom instead of in a womb. It’s the ultimate in “I didn’t ask to be born!,” only instead of fighting with your mom about curfew you’re fighting for your right to exist because some people you’ve never met had you made to take their daughter’s place when she dies so they’ll never have to live without her. And how must it have felt to be Amarra, knowing every day of your life that someone out in the world is ready to take your place the moment you die? I felt the injustice of being created as a replacement and of being so easily replaced right along with the two girls.
Frankly, the idea of creating a person who looks and acts exactly like your child to come in and take her place in the event of her death is gross. But the way Mandanna wrote it, I could see where Amarra’s parents were coming from when they made that decision, and my heart ached for them when having their daughter’s Echo around didn’t turn out to be anything like what they’d hoped. When we suffer the loss of a loved one, our grief can become almost sentient—a big, hulking shadow following us everywhere, breathing down our neck. Our loss is always there. Mandanna captured that feeling perfectly, and because of that it was impossible for me to view Amarra’s parents as the bad guys. They were merely two brokenhearted parents trying to do right by their daughter. Their choices were selfish, yet that selfishness was hopelessly interwoven with love.
Oh, and you know how I loves me some beautiful prose? Here, have a taste:
But maybe that’s what the dead do. They stay. They linger. Benign and sweet and painful. They don't need us. They echo all by themselves.
“Your life is dangling by a thread. And I’m scrabbling to hold on, but it keeps slipping through my fingers. I’m here because I can’t stand not to be. It’s not some big noble sacrifice. I want to be here. I don’t like the world without you. I need you to be alive.”
The cottage by the lake is now over the hill and far away, and Jonathan and Ophelia and the other little ducks are there, and if I dream hard enough maybe, like the song, I will go after them and find them and one day all the little ducks will come back.
Sangu Mandanna is definitely an author to watch. With The Lost Girl, she has created a vivid world in which Frankenstein’s Monster is born every day. She explores what it means to love, to grieve, to belong, and to be human. Every character, from Eva down to Sasha, had an impact on me. The ending is written so the story can stand on its own; however a sequel would also fit. So I’ll be over here, re-reading this book and keeping my fingers crossed for another one. Or another Sangu Mandanna book about anything. The life and times of a speck of lint, maybe. I’m not about to be picky.
julesgou's review against another edition
3.0
I had kind of put this novel off to the side and finally picked it back up.
I'm glad I did.
"The Lost Girl" is about an echo. This echo has to live someone else's life in order to replicate it. We watch as the echo grows into her own person, and realizes that she can't pretend anymore. We get to watch the echo transform and create her own identity, even though that is something she shouldn't have.
There is only one thing that I'm not sure about in this novel and that it the ending. I'm not sure how I feel about it. There was certainly some action, but the way that the action ended and the decision? I'm not sure about that. I don't know if I like it or I don't like it. I'll let you know if I ever really figure it out.
The novel flowed nicely, and there were some action scenes. The only thing is that I wanted a little bit more information on the Echos and their lives, the Loom and the Weavers. I felt like we could have received a little bit more info on that stuff. I think it would have helped put things in perspective a little bit more as well as the fact that I'm curious about what happens in countries where Echos are legal.
Definitely an interesting novel. One to check out if you are into the cloning type stuff.
I'm glad I did.
"The Lost Girl" is about an echo. This echo has to live someone else's life in order to replicate it. We watch as the echo grows into her own person, and realizes that she can't pretend anymore. We get to watch the echo transform and create her own identity, even though that is something she shouldn't have.
There is only one thing that I'm not sure about in this novel and that it the ending. I'm not sure how I feel about it. There was certainly some action, but the way that the action ended and the decision? I'm not sure about that. I don't know if I like it or I don't like it. I'll let you know if I ever really figure it out.
The novel flowed nicely, and there were some action scenes. The only thing is that I wanted a little bit more information on the Echos and their lives, the Loom and the Weavers. I felt like we could have received a little bit more info on that stuff. I think it would have helped put things in perspective a little bit more as well as the fact that I'm curious about what happens in countries where Echos are legal.
Definitely an interesting novel. One to check out if you are into the cloning type stuff.
razz_otter's review against another edition
3.0
This was okay... I was intrigued by the plot and enjoyed the look at loss and grief. I appreciated Eva's grappling with who she is vs what she was supposed to be. There were some really great pieces too this book.
And I felt like the pacing wasn't great (that ending was FAST) and more than once was surprised by a choice a character made, so either they weren't written well enough or something else was off. There were parts that didn't make sense and were never explained (why would they have tattoos in a visible place if their existence was illegal?) And I rarely find romance in young adult novels that's well done and this wasn't an exception.
And I felt like the pacing wasn't great (that ending was FAST) and more than once was surprised by a choice a character made, so either they weren't written well enough or something else was off. There were parts that didn't make sense and were never explained (why would they have tattoos in a visible place if their existence was illegal?) And I rarely find romance in young adult novels that's well done and this wasn't an exception.