The Lost Girl

August 20, 2012
Fifteen-year-old Eva is the ultimate insurance policy: she's an echo, created by the "Weavers" to be an exact replica of her original, an Indian girl named Amarra. Eva's entire life has been dedicated to studying Amarra's life; should Amarra die, Eva will replace her, with only Amarra's family the wiser. Shortly after Eva and Amarra turn 16, Eva is ripped from everything and everyone she holds dear to move from England to India, where echoes are illegal, to fulfill her purpose. Mandanna's debut novel is lovely and at times heartbreaking, though there are some hiccups with her premise. Given the danger surrounding the discovery of an echo, Eva's upbringing doesn't seem nearly strict enough, her exposure to British culture and slang only opening the door for potential slipups (it's similarly puzzling why the Weavers would brand echoes with an identifying mark in a fairly visible spot on their bodies). But the novel rises above these and other illogical moments, offering a thoughtful study of both a girl's search for her identity and the human reaction to death. Ages 13âup. Agent: Melissa Sarver, Elizabeth Kaplan Agency.

July 1, 2012
A compelling novel of a girl created to "replace" another in the event of her death. She has always known that she is an "echo," stitched by the Weavers from bits of a girl called Amarra to step into her place should her original die. Though Amarra lives half a world away, in Bangalore, her echo has grown up in her shadow. She has a clutch of guardians who work for the Loom, keeping her safe and grooming her for the day she might be needed. They also love her and allow her small rebellions, like the name--Eva--she chooses for herself. But she is forbidden to read Frankenstein. Being an echo is dangerous, even where they are legal; many regard them as soulless monsters, and some even hunt them to death. And if her original's family decides they do not want her, she is subject to a Sleep Order: "unstitching." Mandanna sets Eva's story in present-day England and India, a deliberately and effectively jarring choice. She keeps the Loom's technology a mystery, indicating its workings through glimpses and never using the prosaic "clone," and focuses on Eva's experience. Both an interrogation of bioethics and a mesmerizing quest for identity, this debut succeeds through its careful development of the oh-so-human Eva and those around her. A provocative and page-turning thriller/romance that gets at the heart of what it means to be human. (Science fiction. 13 & up)

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December 1, 2012

Gr 8 Up-Eva is an "echo." She was created to take the place of a girl named Amarra, who lives in India with her family. Should Amarra die, Eva will replace her so that her family will not have to suffer her loss. This means that Eva must study the girl, know her likes and dislikes, and experience as much of her existence as she can, right down to getting the same tattoo. But Eva has a life of her own in England, including a guardian who loves her and a boy who may be more than a friend. When she is called to take Amarra's place, she begins a journey of self-discovery and danger. Echoes are illegal in India, and one wrong move could mean the end of not only Eva's life, but also disaster for Amarra's family. She must avoid vigilantes who kill echoes, play her part in her new family, and pretend to love Amarra's boyfriend, Ray. While this book has an intriguing premise, it gets lost in the details, both in terms of the specifics of how echoes are pieced together by the "weavers" and the implausibility that Amarra's friends and the media in India would not be aware of her death. How is it that Ray, who was driving the car when she was killed, wasn't questioned by the police? This question and others show the many plot holes. The frequent climaxes frustrate more than add intensity, leaving the ambiguous ending lackluster.-Necia Blundy, Marlborough Public Library, MA

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2012
Grades 8-11 Evaa man-made yet human echo of Bangaloran native Amarra, created to step in if Amarra's life is cut shortis entirely circumscribed by her other's experiences, even to the extent that when Amarra gets tattooed as an act of rebellion, Eva is branded with an identical mark whether she wants it or not. When Amarra dies in a car accident, Eva is sent to take her place, knowing that if the deception is discovered it means her death. Debut author Mandanna prefaces this absorbing novel by quoting from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, hinting that readers are being introduced to a monster, and then delivers a sympathetic central character deeply immersed in two worlds of friends and loved ones. The story is moving without being sentimental, and Eva's attempts to evade her captors provide action that will broaden the book's appeal to both sexes.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)