The Lost Girl

A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2019
Mythopoeic Award Finalist
A Minnesota Book Award Finalist
An IndieBound Indie Next List Pick
A Junior Library Guild Selection

When you’re an identical twin, your story always starts with someone else. For Iris, that means her story starts with Lark. Iris has always been the grounded, capable, and rational one; Lark has been inventive, dreamy, and brilliant—and from their first moments in the world together, they’ve never left each other’s side. Everyone around them realized early on what the two sisters already knew: they had better outcomes when they were together.

When fifth grade arrives, however, it is decided that Iris and Lark should be split into different classrooms, and something breaks in them both. Iris is no longer so confident; Lark retreats into herself as she deals with challenges at school. And at the same time, something strange is happening in the city around them, things both great and small going missing without a trace. As Iris begins to understand that anything can be lost in the blink of an eye, she decides it’s up to her to find a way to keep her sister safe.

Anne Ursu, author of the National Book Award nominee The Real Boy, returns with another staggering, heartbreaking story of the power of fantasy, the limits of love, and the struggles we face to cope with the change inherent in growing up.

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A beautiful, timeless tale of love conquering darkness in the midst of mystery and the angst of change. A must-have for any middle grade collection.
—School Library Journal, starred review

… fairy-tale elements and real-life monsters, while taking great care to cast girls in an empowering light and as authors (and heroes) of their own stories. It is a layered, mysterious tale that will speak to many and brushes the world with magic.
—Booklist, starred review

This suspenseful mystery offers a story of empowerment, showing how one girl with the help of others can triumph.
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

Ursu unleashes a sharp, timely, age-appropriate critique of the myriad ways in which patriarchal culture devalues female agency, especially that of young girls. The novel finely balances the importance of self-reliance with the power of collective action.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

The Lost Girl is a jewel of a book—hard, bright, sharp, and precious. It reminds us of the boundless and subversive power of sisterhood and the inherent magic of girls.
—Kelly Barnhill, Newbery-Medal winning author of The Girl Who Drank the Moon

I raced through The Lost Girl, breathless. And when I was finished, I found myself full of hope. It’s a beautiful, riveting, important book.
—Laurel Snyder, award-winning author of Orphan Island

When the world makes no sense, I read books by Anne Ursu. When the world makes all the wrong kinds of sense, I read books by Anne Ursu. If you crave a story with the wit, wisdom, and magic to unriddle the world, then you need to read The Lost Girl by Anne Ursu.
—William Alexander, award-winning author of A Festival of Ghosts