Scan barcode
meganac's review
5.0
"Can we be certain of anyone's soul, human or otherwise?"
This is a powerful story about identity, death, grief, fundamental rights, and the value of human life. It's told through the eyes of a rebellious, passionate, impulsive girl named Eva. Eva was created to replace a girl named Amarra if she were ever to die, and so her life, from afar, is Amarra's - she is forbidden to have her own name (but chooses one anyway), she must eat what Amarra eats, watch what Amarra watches, learn what Amarra learns, read what Amarra reads, and love Amarra's family and boyfriend as Amarra does. When Amarra passes away in a car accident, Eva is flown to India to convince everyone that Amarra is still alive. She must be Amarra to the world. What follows is an agonizingly tense world.
As Amarra's echo, Eva's existence is illegal in India. If anyone outside of the family learns that she isn't really Amarra, and they tell, she could face death. The Weavers who created Eva are watching, just in case she screws up. There are hunters who hate people like Eva and search them out to kill them. And Amarra's family is grieving and adjusting to the loss of their daughter/sister and the presence of her copy. I was held in suspense, constantly waiting for the worst to happen.
Eva struggles with the desire to be her own person, to have her own identity and her own life. In a world where people said the copies that the Weavers made weren't human, had no soul, and were monsters that didn't deserve to be alive, she fights for her own space to exist.
Other reviewers stated that there were many plot holes. There were a few, but I was easily able to reason them out in my imagination or explain them with Eva's impulsive nature. There's a little bit of romance, but it isn't the whole story and it definitely isn't overpowering. The author has stated that The Lost Girl was supposed to have sequel, so she left loose ends, but now it's a standalone. I loved the way it was left. The ending was perfect.
Recommendations: I'd recommend this to people who like [b:Hold Me Like a Breath|18584521|Hold Me Like a Breath (Once Upon a Crime Family, #1)|Tiffany Schmidt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1443434262s/18584521.jpg|26321682] and stories with raw characters. Those who like books to guide their thinking through difficult ethical questions would also benefit.
Noteworthy Content: there wasn't anything that I thought parents would object to. The romance is very light and not racy, and there wasn't any language.
This is a powerful story about identity, death, grief, fundamental rights, and the value of human life. It's told through the eyes of a rebellious, passionate, impulsive girl named Eva. Eva was created to replace a girl named Amarra if she were ever to die, and so her life, from afar, is Amarra's - she is forbidden to have her own name (but chooses one anyway), she must eat what Amarra eats, watch what Amarra watches, learn what Amarra learns, read what Amarra reads, and love Amarra's family and boyfriend as Amarra does. When Amarra passes away in a car accident, Eva is flown to India to convince everyone that Amarra is still alive. She must be Amarra to the world. What follows is an agonizingly tense world.
As Amarra's echo, Eva's existence is illegal in India. If anyone outside of the family learns that she isn't really Amarra, and they tell, she could face death. The Weavers who created Eva are watching, just in case she screws up. There are hunters who hate people like Eva and search them out to kill them. And Amarra's family is grieving and adjusting to the loss of their daughter/sister and the presence of her copy. I was held in suspense, constantly waiting for the worst to happen.
Eva struggles with the desire to be her own person, to have her own identity and her own life. In a world where people said the copies that the Weavers made weren't human, had no soul, and were monsters that didn't deserve to be alive, she fights for her own space to exist.
Other reviewers stated that there were many plot holes. There were a few, but I was easily able to reason them out in my imagination or explain them with Eva's impulsive nature. There's a little bit of romance, but it isn't the whole story and it definitely isn't overpowering. The author has stated that The Lost Girl was supposed to have sequel, so she left loose ends, but now it's a standalone. I loved the way it was left. The ending was perfect.
Recommendations: I'd recommend this to people who like [b:Hold Me Like a Breath|18584521|Hold Me Like a Breath (Once Upon a Crime Family, #1)|Tiffany Schmidt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1443434262s/18584521.jpg|26321682] and stories with raw characters. Those who like books to guide their thinking through difficult ethical questions would also benefit.
Noteworthy Content: there wasn't anything that I thought parents would object to. The romance is very light and not racy, and there wasn't any language.
trisha_thomas's review
3.0
I'm not sure why this book and I did not love each other. Something about the timing, maybe? something about the pacing of the book. The first 1/2 is pretty slow as it builds everything up for the reader. To me, it just seemed a little too much.
But once you get to know all the characters and the new life and the everyone finds out the truth. The pacing picks up and it gets very interesting from there.
and it's a very scary but interesting idea. If you could make an "echo" of each person you love - so in the event you lost them, you could just get the "echo" of them delivered to you....would you?
as much as I love my husband, my kids, my mom, my brother. My answer is no. I would not be willing to take 2nd best to what I know and love. You can't duplicate a person.
But once you get to know all the characters and the new life and the everyone finds out the truth. The pacing picks up and it gets very interesting from there.
and it's a very scary but interesting idea. If you could make an "echo" of each person you love - so in the event you lost them, you could just get the "echo" of them delivered to you....would you?
as much as I love my husband, my kids, my mom, my brother. My answer is no. I would not be willing to take 2nd best to what I know and love. You can't duplicate a person.
megatsunami's review
2.0
Interesting plot setup and well written scenes, but many plot holes and thin characterization.
allisonjpmiller's review
5.0
The premise of The Lost Girl is so good it'd be impossible for a single novel to answer every question it raises. Although Mandanna doesn't explore the loose threads of the echoes and the Loom to the detailed extent I would've liked, this hardly detracts from the novel itself, which is tightly and beautifully written. When I finished, I was faced with that weird envy/awe that comes with reading something that's such a resounding success on multiple levels. Wow.
Mandanna makes no secret of the fact that she was inspired to write this book after reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, but her spin on the idea of "stitching life from dust" is compelling and fresh in its own right. The sense that it is wrong for the echoes to exist at all, contrasted with their undeniable humanity, provides an eerie tension throughout the novel. You hate the Weavers – the self-made gods who create the echoes and then dictate every aspect of their lives. You sympathize deeply with their creations. But as a reader, I found layers and shades in these impulses by the end. I wasn't left with anything remotely black-and-white.
I didn't know what to think of Eva at first, but I grew to love her as she began to define herself apart from Amarra, while still accepting the parts of her identity that will always be tied to her "other." In many ways, this is the perfect coming-of-age metaphor. I appreciated the almost fable-like quality of the story's world. Enough is explained that the internal logic holds together, but plenty more remains a mystery, and that's fine; it's simply not necessary for the tale Mandanna is telling.
I also loved Sean. He is realistically drawn, a boy that could actually exist in our world, and yet he's given enough spark to make him equally believable as Eva's catalyst.
I find myself disappointed (gasp!) that this isn't the first of a series... at least, it doesn't look like it will be. I want more where this came from! I already miss the world and the characters. Sigh.
Mandanna makes no secret of the fact that she was inspired to write this book after reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, but her spin on the idea of "stitching life from dust" is compelling and fresh in its own right. The sense that it is wrong for the echoes to exist at all, contrasted with their undeniable humanity, provides an eerie tension throughout the novel. You hate the Weavers – the self-made gods who create the echoes and then dictate every aspect of their lives. You sympathize deeply with their creations. But as a reader, I found layers and shades in these impulses by the end. I wasn't left with anything remotely black-and-white.
I didn't know what to think of Eva at first, but I grew to love her as she began to define herself apart from Amarra, while still accepting the parts of her identity that will always be tied to her "other." In many ways, this is the perfect coming-of-age metaphor. I appreciated the almost fable-like quality of the story's world. Enough is explained that the internal logic holds together, but plenty more remains a mystery, and that's fine; it's simply not necessary for the tale Mandanna is telling.
I also loved Sean. He is realistically drawn, a boy that could actually exist in our world, and yet he's given enough spark to make him equally believable as Eva's catalyst.
I find myself disappointed (gasp!) that this isn't the first of a series... at least, it doesn't look like it will be. I want more where this came from! I already miss the world and the characters. Sigh.
carlyroth10's review
5.0
So, I might have given my sister some sass for this book recommendation. I asked for something sad, romantic, but not too mushy. She gave me the perfect book.
Recently I haven’t been a fan of the dystopian books, just because they seem to repeat themselves, but this book took alternate realities to a whole new level. The beginning/build up’s are usually the most painful part of the book, but in this books case, it was the best. It perfectly put down a foundation for how much Eva truly loves her family and Sean.
This book wouldn’t strike you as the sad type, but my god it was heart reaching. Not only does Eva have to become Amarra completely, she also has to leave behind everybody she lives to go live with people she hardly knows. You feel with Eva and her heartbreak and it’s just.... sad.
The character development was amazing. The author made every. single. character an actual character and not just a blob. Nikhil and Sasha were perfectly characterized, Matthew somehow ended up being my favorite character of them all, I could go all day with every single person you meet in the book and how well they were characterized.
Recently I haven’t been a fan of the dystopian books, just because they seem to repeat themselves, but this book took alternate realities to a whole new level. The beginning/build up’s are usually the most painful part of the book, but in this books case, it was the best. It perfectly put down a foundation for how much Eva truly loves her family and Sean.
This book wouldn’t strike you as the sad type, but my god it was heart reaching. Not only does Eva have to become Amarra completely, she also has to leave behind everybody she lives to go live with people she hardly knows. You feel with Eva and her heartbreak and it’s just.... sad.
The character development was amazing. The author made every. single. character an actual character and not just a blob. Nikhil and Sasha were perfectly characterized, Matthew somehow ended up being my favorite character of them all, I could go all day with every single person you meet in the book and how well they were characterized.
rinku's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Child death, Grief, Car accident, Confinement, and Bullying
Minor: Death of parent
cancourtneyread's review
4.0
It was good, not great. And not quite what I was expecting, but I did enjoy it.
lexieb's review
4.0
It's strange, how sometimes it's the supernatural stories that can say the most about humanity.
leavingsealevel's review
3.0
Disliked the beginning and almost stopped reading, was meh about the middle, got really into it and couldn't put it down at the end.