There are two earths that are identical in every way. There are two cities, two people, two of everything. But only one can survive. Second earth is disappearing every day because there cannot be two identical people. One must die!
Lirael is taken from an orphanage at age six and is moved to ‘the cottages’, a hiding place on earth one where she learns everything about her duplicate and is being trained to be a ruthless, sleeper assassin who will have to kill the ‘other Lirael’ so she can take her place.
Lirael finds that even though her trainers have done everything they can to make her ruthless and unfeeling she cannot bury her ethical and emotional struggles like they want. Once she has killed her duplicate and is living in her family she finds that she still has feelings that she was trained to not feel. When she meets up with others from the cottages she is pulled in two different directions. Which is right? Can she go against everything she was trained to believe? Will death come no matter what choice she makes?
453 pages. ISBN:9780062381279 Ages 14+
Recommended by Joleen Waltman Media Generalist Idaho USA
