The Lost Girl

What I Loved:
The Lost Girl has been sweeping in praise, and I can see why. Sangu Mandanna's debut is a mature, beautiful story with philosophical resonances. She touches on what it means to be human and on the nature of creation. This is a book that makes you think about the world, and what it would be like if it were just a little bit different. Though The Lost Girl didn't quite cross the border into being a story that I absolutely love, I can confidently recommend it to anyone who appreciates a thoughtful, introspective story with a bit of action.

The world herein depicted differs very little from the modern world in which we live. The only real difference is the existence of the Weavers and their Loom. Modern-day Frankensteins, not of name but of occupation work there, building humans from dust and bones. These Weavers create Echoes, copies of real human beings, insurance policies of a sort. Purchase an Echo of your beloved child and you will not have to worry about her death, because you've got a spare raised in secrecy by Guardians to know the intimate details of her life.

The process is not explained in detail, and I do admit some skepticism about how the Weavers are able to create physically identical human with the ingredients Mandanna relates, but this really doesn't detract from the story. The idea of the Echoes is less of a scientific venture than a philosophical one. What does it mean to be an Echo, to be intended to be someone else? Are they human? Do they have souls? Are they individuals? Should they have rights?

The heroine, who names herself Eva, is the Echo of Amarra, the eldest daughter of a wealthy family in Bangalore. There's no doubt that Eva is her own person. She enjoys pursuits that Amarra does not, like art, and loves a boy that Amarra does not. Amarra and Eva both resent the intrusion of the other. Eva's presence cheapens Amarra's life because she feels expendable, and like she has to share everything with Eva; Eva exists only to be an imitation of Amarra, and has to squash her individuality, her desires, her ambitions. Their relationship and the way that only one of them can truly, openly exist at once has echoes of What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang.

What Left Me Wanting More:
I rooted for Eva to get a chance at life. She has so much spirit and such a strong will to live, but she has no right to life if she doesn't follow a strict set of rules, and, even if she does, she could be killed for any number of reasons. Somehow, though, I never really connected with her or the other characters, except perhaps for Amarra's charming little brother Nikhil. I'm not really sure what was missing for me there, but that disconnect I felt kept me from completely loving the book.

My only other concern is the very end. The very last chapter made things a bit more cut-and-dried than I would have liked. I thought Mandanna was going for an unclear ending, and she does in a way, but she tied up one arc with a neat little bow that did not fit with the mood of the rest of the book. For the kind of book that The Lost Girl is, the vaguely happy ending sounded a false note for me, though I imagine most readers will thrill to it, particularly if invested in the characters.

The Final Verdict:
Sangu Mandanna is an author to watch. Her debut is powerful, beautifully-written, and full of moving philosophical questions on what it means to be human. The Lost Girl is a great read-a-like for Kat Zhang's What's Left of Me.

If you're looking for a unique, thought provoking, yet creepy tale, this book is for you!

When I first started this book I was a bit confused. I wasn't quite sure what to make of the first few pages, but I'm sure glad I kept reading. Eva is a very unique character. She was stitched together by a Weaver to be an 'echo' of a girl named Amarra, an exact replica of her. She is not allowed to have her own dreams, her own goals, she has to essentially be Amarra. Eva has to learn everything Amarra learns, read everything Amarra writes, experience things Amarra does. Yet she is not allowed to just live her own life. How intense is that? Eva doesn’t want to just be Amarra’s echo, she wants to live, to be her own person. But if she does that she faces being unstitched, which essentially means she will no longer exist. I was completely sucked into this book. I could not imagine how horrific that would be to be created just to be someone’s replacement. *shutter*

I’m not giving anything away when I tell you that Amarra dies and Eva then has to live Amarra’s life. She has to make all Amarra’s friends and family believe she is Amarra, or she could be killed herself. I mean seriously, how stressful would that be?! I could not put this book down. I needed to know what happens to Eva. I absolutely loved the beginning of the book, where Eva is sort of living her own life. Well, she’s not free, but she hasn’t replaced Amarra yet. I loved her relationship with her caretaker, Mina Ma. What a beautiful relationship the two have. Mina Ma is like the southern grandma you always wanted. She is strict with Eva, yet loving, giving and kind. I also enjoyed Eva’s relationship with Sean. I loved how real their relationship was and I felt so sad when Eva had to leave them all to become Amarra. To make matters even worse, she wasn’t allowed to contact them at all. She was literally all on her own and had to leave her past life completely behind. The emotions this book brought out in me surprised me. I was so mad for Eva. How unfair her life was and she was treated so poorly because of what she was.

I enjoyed the twists in the book and didn’t see them coming at all. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I’m really looking forward to the second book. Great debut novel by Sangu Mandanna. I’m looking forward to reading her future books!