Upcoming Release Review: The Lost Girl

The Lost Girl
by Anne Ursu

Age Range: 8-12

Release Date: February 12, 2019

Walden Pond Press

9780062275097

“[M]ost of all, this is a story of the two sisters, and what they did when the monsters really came.”*

Anne Ursu has certainly been busy lately. The important work she has been doing to make the book industry a better place for women is impressive and this work is marvelously reflected in her newest novel, making it a truly important tale for boys and girls alike to read. Don’t misread me. The Lost Girl is not a preachy message wrapped up in the guise of a story. It is a story, a fabulous story of the best kind. The sort with a purpose and a message so strong and profound that it is truly the tale’s heartbeat. The sort of story that should make its reader strive to be better.

But let’s start at the beginning. Iris and Lark are identical twins. This is all anyone ever seems to know about them. They are the same because they look the same. They must have ESP and their mom must mix them up sometimes, right? And though the sisters think of themselves as a unit, that is only because they are better when they are together. Because 

they are individuals and most certainly not because they are interchangeable.

When they are forced to be in separate classrooms for the first time in their lives (“for their own good” as the adults tell them), Iris knows this is a horrible idea. Who will protect Lark when bullies torment her and she shrinks in on herself? Who will coax her out of her own head and make her feel grounded again? This is and always has been Iris’s job, and she frets terribly when Lark is out of her sight. Plus, what’s up with that strange new antique shop that just opened? With the sign outside that says only “We Are Here”? What on earth does that mean?

There is so much to unpack in the loveliness that is The Lost Girl. At the heart of it are Iris and Lark, who always rely on each other. Iris is the strong one, the confident one, the one who speaks up. But what if those things just aren’t true? What happens when that piece of her seems to be gone when Lark is no longer next to her? We as readers are initially led to believe “the lost girl” refers to Lark. The dreamy twin, the sensitive one. The one who gets lost in her own head and has a harder time in the real world. The one in real danger of becoming “lost”. The brilliance of Ursu’s storytelling and character development is how the title really refers to them both. Iris’s sense of self is severely shaken when separated from her sister, and she begins to question who she even is without her.

The pulse behind the beating heart of this story is the role girls are led to believe they should be playing in our world. This is so deftly portrayed, so excellently laid out, you will find yourself constantly moving between “Yeah, that’s true!” and taking the profound words to heart to keep. The beauty behind this is the realization that no girl has to go in alone.

We learn (as if we didn’t know already) that there are girls and there are monsters. The monsters will rail, will take their anger out on you and somehow convince you it’s your fault you were in their way to begin with. That you shouldn’t have gotten yourself into the situation. Been smarter. Been more careful. So what do you do? You raise your voice and you stomp your feet. You call them out for the monster they are. “Sometimes the monsters come harder when you dare stomp. Sometimes you need to bring the whole house down.”* After all, when girls get together and use the voices they are told to keep quiet, there is nothing they can’t do.

The Lost Girl is the rare sort of story that you wish you could devour and slowly savor all at the same time. It is a tale of love, of introspection, of magic, of crows, of monsters, and of sisterhood. So devour it or savor it, but let it sit with you. This stunning piece of work has a lot to say. The Lost Girl hit the shelves of your local bookstore on February 12th.

*Quotes taken from ARC (advance reader's copy) and may change in final printing.