[review] The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna (2012)

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best of the year, book, book review, dystopian, ethics, philosophical, philosophy, recommended, young adult, young adult fiction

The Lost Girl (2012)
by Sangu Mandanna
Hardcover Edition
Publication Date: August 28th 2012
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (Imprint of HarperCollins)
Buy a copy via Amazon.
Synopsis from Goodreads.

Eva’s life is not her own. She is a creation, an abomination–an echo. She was made by the Weavers as a copy of someone else, expected to replace a girl named Amarra, her “other,” if she ever died. Eva spends every day studying that girl from far away, learning what Amarra does, what she eats, what it’s like to kiss her boyfriend, Ray. So when Amarra is killed in a car crash, Eva should be ready.

But sixteen years of studying never prepared her for this.

Now she must abandon everything and everyone she’s ever known–the guardians who raised her, the boy she’s forbidden to love–to move to India and convince the world that Amarra is still alive.

My Thoughts:
If you are going to read one young-adult dystopian novel this year, make it Sangu Mandanna’s The Lost Girl. Mandanna has woven an unforgettable masterpiece, complete with a creative, thought-provoking plot, moving, complex characters, a strong heroine, and a tiny bit of romance. I went in with low expectations, but The Lost Girl took my breath (along with a few tears) away, proving itself to be a hidden gem in YA fiction this year–and one I can’t recommend enough.