The Lost Girl - Sangu Mandanna

 

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. 

What a concept.  

I remember being sixteen -- it was hard enough figuring out how to be myself, I can't imaging fighting those instincts and HAVING to be somebody else.  Sure, there are days when I wish there were two of me but I say that as me...not the echo.  And trying to put myself in Eva's shoes had me thinking about this book for weeks after I turned the last page. 

And now as a parent, I can't imagine anything worse than losing a child.  But what if you could have a replacement made, one that would be an exact replica of what you loved and held and cherished?  Could you ever get past knowing that it wasn't really your child, even if it was.  And would it be?  Would having the constant reminder of what you have lost be better than having to rely on memories?  So many things to think about. 

Mandanna writes a story that has a little bit of everything -- family, love, secrets, danger, suspense -- and writes it really really well.  The ending has me clamoring for a sequel, but then there is part of me that wants it to be a stand alone. It makes the ending that much more powerful.  Gah - I want both!  If this is her debut novel, I can't wait to see what she has up her sleeve for future works.