The Lost Daughters of China received generally appreciative reviews. Eleanor J. Bader in Library Journal praises Evans's "riveting" examination of misogyny in China, pointing out that Evans does not "demonize" the Chinese people: "Instead, she eloquently assesses the conditions that force couples to abandon their offspring and chronicles the emotional anguish that accompanies the decision to give up a child."

For Vanessa Bush in Booklist, Evans "brings a mother's and a reporter's perspectives to this moving account of China's troubling [population] policy." The reviewer for Publishers Weekly, however, has mixed feelings. He or she finds the book strongest when Evans describes the way she and her new daughter quickly created a loving bond. But other sections of the book, in the reviewer's opinion, are not so strong. When Evans describes Chinese history and culture, her "lack of familiarity with China" leads her to rely on secondary...