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raemelle's review
4.0
Very entertaining. I enjoyed reading this alternate-present story. Though there were actually quite a lot of unanswered questions, and tiny plot holes that bugged me.
Some slight spoilers below, but nothing especially crucial to the plot.
For instance, if echos are so illegal in India, why would they put a distinctive mark in such a visible place as the back of her neck?
How the heck is she connected to her original’s thoughts and dreams? I would have like at least an attempt of an answer beyond the idea that they put some of Amarra’s consciousness in her..?
Why would anyone even begin to think a clone would just magically take on their original’s soul?
Why would they raise her in England if they knew she’d need to live in India, adopt an Indian accent, and have skin that looked like it saw more sun? India is a big place. They could have hidden her there since they had to hide her anyway.
Why would parents put their children through the messed up situation of writing letters to their fricking clones to keep them apprised of what’s going on in case they suddenly die?
Are echos not allowed to read Frankenstein in general, or is Eva specifically not allowed to because Amarra hadn’t?
They let her lead her own life anyway, but she can’t finish Bridget Jones’s Diary because her original didn’t finish it?
Why don’t they put a tracker inside an echo when it’s created, instead of waiting until it’s time for it to go live with the original family?
So Amarra’s boyfriend is also beat up in the car accident, yet even though Eva meets him only two weeks afterwards, there’s no mention of any casts or scars. And why aren’t her friends more curious about her lack of scars?
And how the heck does Matthew know where she is all the time? Even after the tracker is removed? How does he “know everything”?
As far as I can tell, the only thing that’s different between this world and our world is the addition of this mysterious technology. Everything else is very normal present-day. That was a bit off-putting.
Some slight spoilers below, but nothing especially crucial to the plot.
For instance, if echos are so illegal in India, why would they put a distinctive mark in such a visible place as the back of her neck?
How the heck is she connected to her original’s thoughts and dreams? I would have like at least an attempt of an answer beyond the idea that they put some of Amarra’s consciousness in her..?
Why would anyone even begin to think a clone would just magically take on their original’s soul?
Why would they raise her in England if they knew she’d need to live in India, adopt an Indian accent, and have skin that looked like it saw more sun? India is a big place. They could have hidden her there since they had to hide her anyway.
Why would parents put their children through the messed up situation of writing letters to their fricking clones to keep them apprised of what’s going on in case they suddenly die?
Are echos not allowed to read Frankenstein in general, or is Eva specifically not allowed to because Amarra hadn’t?
They let her lead her own life anyway, but she can’t finish Bridget Jones’s Diary because her original didn’t finish it?
Why don’t they put a tracker inside an echo when it’s created, instead of waiting until it’s time for it to go live with the original family?
So Amarra’s boyfriend is also beat up in the car accident, yet even though Eva meets him only two weeks afterwards, there’s no mention of any casts or scars. And why aren’t her friends more curious about her lack of scars?
And how the heck does Matthew know where she is all the time? Even after the tracker is removed? How does he “know everything”?
As far as I can tell, the only thing that’s different between this world and our world is the addition of this mysterious technology. Everything else is very normal present-day. That was a bit off-putting.
danicapage's review
4.0
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
Disclaimers: I received this book for review as part of the DAC tours. Thanks Tara and Lisa for this wonderful opportunity.
My Overall Thoughts/Impressions: Wow! This book had such an original idea and was unlike anything I have ever read before. That automatically set this up to be a book I loved. Any book that presents a new idea in such a compelling idea automatically makes it on the top of my list.
I loved the characters Eva, Sean, Ray, and Mina Ma. Basically, every character left their mark. Their were some characters I wish had been more developed, but they were all so delightful to read about and left me thoroughly entertained.
Then there was the writing style. I adored this writing style. I used to be so prejudiced against novels written in first person and then I read so many incredible novels written in this perspective that I had to change my mind. Mandanna's writing style left me breathless. It was beautiful and allowed me to delve into Eva's mind.
Eva's life isn't her own. She can't do anything her other doesn't do and she has to do everything that her other wants to. But what happens when love enters the picture? Can you really share love? And then there was the question of whether or not Eva even has a soul and is worth saving.
This book was touching, poignant, entertaining, fast paced, and incredibly written. Basically this book was everything that a good book should be.
In Summary: Mandanna's debut novel was absolutely brilliant. She created an original story that is bound to stick with all those who read it. Beautiful prose mixed with intriguing characters. Definitely one I recommend.
The Wrap-up: This was a book that I couldn't put down. I just had to keep turning the pages until the very end and now I can't wait to see what happens next. This book and this author have definitely caught my attention and I can't wait to see what Mandanna comes up with next.
Love,
Danica Page
Disclaimers: I received this book for review as part of the DAC tours. Thanks Tara and Lisa for this wonderful opportunity.
My Overall Thoughts/Impressions: Wow! This book had such an original idea and was unlike anything I have ever read before. That automatically set this up to be a book I loved. Any book that presents a new idea in such a compelling idea automatically makes it on the top of my list.
I loved the characters Eva, Sean, Ray, and Mina Ma. Basically, every character left their mark. Their were some characters I wish had been more developed, but they were all so delightful to read about and left me thoroughly entertained.
Then there was the writing style. I adored this writing style. I used to be so prejudiced against novels written in first person and then I read so many incredible novels written in this perspective that I had to change my mind. Mandanna's writing style left me breathless. It was beautiful and allowed me to delve into Eva's mind.
Eva's life isn't her own. She can't do anything her other doesn't do and she has to do everything that her other wants to. But what happens when love enters the picture? Can you really share love? And then there was the question of whether or not Eva even has a soul and is worth saving.
This book was touching, poignant, entertaining, fast paced, and incredibly written. Basically this book was everything that a good book should be.
In Summary: Mandanna's debut novel was absolutely brilliant. She created an original story that is bound to stick with all those who read it. Beautiful prose mixed with intriguing characters. Definitely one I recommend.
The Wrap-up: This was a book that I couldn't put down. I just had to keep turning the pages until the very end and now I can't wait to see what happens next. This book and this author have definitely caught my attention and I can't wait to see what Mandanna comes up with next.
Love,
Danica Page
cpaigej's review
3.0
The plot of this book was very clever. The characters were perfect and beautifully "illustrated". The idea of the book was a little hard to follow at the beginning but a couple chapters in I understood it. This book is a fantastic mix of love, action, and suspense. And I recommend reading it.
pollyroth's review
5.0
Never have I felt so much heartbreak for a character. Eva brought tears to my eyes when she left her life to live someone else's. Thinking about how long she went without seeing anyone she loved killed something inside me. Her fears and hopes and dreams are so human, it's impossible to think anyone would ever say she wasn't.
Every single side character in the book was so fully developed, they each could have had their own book. Ammara, the girl in the letters; Sean, the boy back home; Mina Ma, the fierce mother; even Nikihil, the boy wise beyond his years. They all had stories and personalities and together created an unforgettable book.
Every single side character in the book was so fully developed, they each could have had their own book. Ammara, the girl in the letters; Sean, the boy back home; Mina Ma, the fierce mother; even Nikihil, the boy wise beyond his years. They all had stories and personalities and together created an unforgettable book.
aprilbooksandwine's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
paigelm's review
3.0
She is a copy, albeit an incomplete or different copy from her original, but Eva's purpose in life is to be the exact copy of the girl she is copied from. She not only looks like Amarra, the girl that she spends her life learning about, but she has to learn to look and act like her. When the Amarra's life is terminated, she has to go become her, live with parents, date her boyfriend, befriend her friends. The chance of success, of convincing everyone that Amarra is not dead, but reborn into another body is less than slim. What a messed up life to live always having to be someone else, and then when you finally are expected to it becomes a painful experience, living up to the expectations of someone you never were.
People love echoes and people hate them. They are hunted by random radicals. They are controlled by the overwhelming power that the "Loom" has. Echoes are created in the Loom and they only ever leave the Loom once, hardly twice, for if they return it is because the an echo is returning to fill a Sleep Order, because the way they acted or what they did was not close enough to their original copy.
Some of the metaphors and dilemmas that were brought up in the echo world were terrifying and seemed to achievable in the way we live with the mantra we do about certain classes, races, and castes of people. The movement of society to "other" people, creates these highly immoral situations where we would not allow certain treatment to happen to someone who looks or acts like us, or that we understand, but we would allow it to happen to people that we do not understand. Additionally, there is a great underlying discussion of how we treat death as a society and how to move on from that experience.
People love echoes and people hate them. They are hunted by random radicals. They are controlled by the overwhelming power that the "Loom" has. Echoes are created in the Loom and they only ever leave the Loom once, hardly twice, for if they return it is because the an echo is returning to fill a Sleep Order, because the way they acted or what they did was not close enough to their original copy.
Some of the metaphors and dilemmas that were brought up in the echo world were terrifying and seemed to achievable in the way we live with the mantra we do about certain classes, races, and castes of people. The movement of society to "other" people, creates these highly immoral situations where we would not allow certain treatment to happen to someone who looks or acts like us, or that we understand, but we would allow it to happen to people that we do not understand. Additionally, there is a great underlying discussion of how we treat death as a society and how to move on from that experience.
krismoon's review
4.0
I would give this book five stars EASY, but the ending is so goddamn British, I'm pretending it didn't exist. A climax is NOT getting the main characters together in a room and talking. After all the awesome action leading up to all that talking, and how miraculously easy everything turned out.
La lalalala pretending that ending had a ton of action lalalalala
La lalalala pretending that ending had a ton of action lalalalala
ellen's review
4.0
this was such a unique concept
also indian female protagonist??? yes.
I love Sean and oh my goodness I love lekha
LEKHA MY LOVE YOURE THE BEST FRIEND EVER
yeah this was wild
also indian female protagonist??? yes.
I love Sean and oh my goodness I love lekha
LEKHA MY LOVE YOURE THE BEST FRIEND EVER
yeah this was wild