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maddiek02's review against another edition
3.0
I loved the concept and the first part of the book was interesting. During the end my interest sort of fizzled out, which is disappointed because it really could've been an amazing book! There were a few plot holes and untied ends and a few parts were confusing. Interesting, but it definitely could've been better.
morgandhu's review against another edition
3.0
Sangu Mandanna's debut YA novel The Lost Girl tells the story of a young woman who is an echo, a being deliberately created and trained to replace another person if they die. Her 'other' - the person she is living only to take the place of - is a girl called Amarra, whose parents commissioned an echo because they could not bear the thought if a life without their daughter. Genetically identical to her other, she receives daily information about events in Amarra's life, which she must memorise. She can read only the books Amarra reads, study only what Amarra studies, learn only the hobbies and skills Amarra learns.
But she is powerfully aware of herself as a separate individual - she has her own interests (one of which, art, she secretly pursues when her guardians and trainers are not around) and she has given herself a name of her own - Eva.
She lives on borrowed time - if her other's parents change their minds about having an echo of their daughter, then she will simply be terminated. If she is found breaking the regulations set for echoes by the Loom - the secretive organisation which creates echoes - she will be terminated. And there are 'hunters' - vigilantes who hate the idea of the echoes - who will kill her if they find out what she is.
Eva's life is quiet - except when she takes risks and breaks the rules, fortunate in having guardians who don't report her. Until the day Amarra dies, and she must travel halfway around the world, from England, where she was created and trained, to Bangalore, where Amarra's parents wait for their daughter brought back to life. But can she become Amarra? And if she cannot - can she ever find a way to be herself?
Reading the set-up for the novel's action, I kept thinking of the clones in Kazuo Ishiguro's novel Never Let Me Go - another novel about artificially created people who are defined solely by what their existence means to others, who are not granted the status of humanity on their own. And who nonetheless are real people, despite being created to serve.
The course of Eva's struggle to escape what she was made to be, to have her own life, is full of danger, betrayal and loss, and the author leaves us with an ambiguous ending. But whatever one imagines happens after the last page is turned - and none of the possibilities are without pain and sacrifice - Eva has at least won the opportunity to make her own decisions.
missprint's review against another edition
4.0
Quite likely a 4.5.
Absolutely loved this book; the depths of character and feeling that the author dove into, and her willingness to tackle sticky, impossible questions of self, grief, and the wishes of the dead (versus the wishes of the living). Do you have ownership of a stolen life/self, if you were *made* to steal it - to the point where it became your own?
I'm terribly disappointed that it seems like this was not picked up for a sequel. I wish there were some way to have one. Not just for the loose ends that are left in "Lost Girl," but because Eva and her families (both familiar and guardian) and even her enemies were characters I wanted to stay with and follow for story after story.
Absolutely loved this book; the depths of character and feeling that the author dove into, and her willingness to tackle sticky, impossible questions of self, grief, and the wishes of the dead (versus the wishes of the living). Do you have ownership of a stolen life/self, if you were *made* to steal it - to the point where it became your own?
I'm terribly disappointed that it seems like this was not picked up for a sequel. I wish there were some way to have one. Not just for the loose ends that are left in "Lost Girl," but because Eva and her families (both familiar and guardian) and even her enemies were characters I wanted to stay with and follow for story after story.
cirrolew's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting sci-fi concept. Kinda like the reverse of 'Never Let Me Go'.
perpetualpageturner's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars -- just a few small (to me) things that bothered me enough to make it not quite 5 stars.
leahjanespeare's review against another edition
4.0
I've had this on my shelf for about two years. What finally prompted me to read it was Beth Revis's new series of blog posts about diversity, especially in YA literature. To open our eyes beyond an American setting with only white characters. I plan on grabbing some more titles she has recommended, like The Summer Prince, which is also collecting dust on my shelf.
The setting is in India and England (not America), and the cast of characters are ethnically diverse. Do you know how hard to find that is in YA lit nowadays? These two things made the book such a breath of fresh air!
I especially enjoyed Eva's relationships with her familiars. It's an uneasy living situation, knowing you're inhabiting the dead person's room that you were created to replace…and her interactions with each family member, mother, father, little sister and brother, are all different and show individual ways of grieving and loss. They never had a really normal conversation unfortunately. As far as coming back to school as Amarra and having to pretend she wasn't someone else, that's hard to even imagine for me. It was weird, some of her best friends couldn't tell at all, and then the odd acquaintance comes up to her all "you're not her" and that's interesting to think about. If your echo did a well enough job studying you, would your friends recognize an imposter?
The book also takes place through almost two years, which allowed for some very genuine relationships. The sic-fi of the story is explained well and without any info dumps. I read this pretty quickly, but absorbed all plot explanations. (the full history of "echoes" is split up into pretty much the whole first third of the book)
The Lost Girl is a strong standalone that'll make you think a little more about death and ethics, than you would normally like. I felt every one of Eva's troubled emotions like they were my own, and her thoughts bring up issues of morality that are thought provoking.
The setting is in India and England (not America), and the cast of characters are ethnically diverse. Do you know how hard to find that is in YA lit nowadays? These two things made the book such a breath of fresh air!
I especially enjoyed Eva's relationships with her familiars. It's an uneasy living situation, knowing you're inhabiting the dead person's room that you were created to replace…and her interactions with each family member, mother, father, little sister and brother, are all different and show individual ways of grieving and loss. They never had a really normal conversation unfortunately. As far as coming back to school as Amarra and having to pretend she wasn't someone else, that's hard to even imagine for me. It was weird, some of her best friends couldn't tell at all, and then the odd acquaintance comes up to her all "you're not her" and that's interesting to think about. If your echo did a well enough job studying you, would your friends recognize an imposter?
The book also takes place through almost two years, which allowed for some very genuine relationships. The sic-fi of the story is explained well and without any info dumps. I read this pretty quickly, but absorbed all plot explanations. (the full history of "echoes" is split up into pretty much the whole first third of the book)
The Lost Girl is a strong standalone that'll make you think a little more about death and ethics, than you would normally like. I felt every one of Eva's troubled emotions like they were my own, and her thoughts bring up issues of morality that are thought provoking.
kirbylover16's review against another edition
5.0
A truly amazing book. This takes the question what makes us humans human? The book even takes a interest in frankenstein. I would completely suggest this book to anybody that likes books with depth. I wish there was more to read.
exlibrise65af's review against another edition
4.0
This was SO GOOD and I cannot wait for the next in the series.