The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

**2010 Debut Author Challenge List**
Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Razorbill (September 21, 2010)

Book summary: Mackie Doyle is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a Replacement--left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world.

Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.

Edward Scissorhands meets The Catcher in the Rye in this wildly imaginative and frighteningly beautiful horror novel about an unusual boy and his search for a place to belong.

My review: I've heard said at conferences some in publishing believe there's too much emphasis put on fantasy for the children's market; ever since the success of Harry Potter, authors are writing too much fantastical fiction and not enough contemporary. There are too many vampires, too many werewolves, fairies, and now, angels. The reader in me has only one thing to say is--bring it on! I love fantasy and paranormal and if writers have created something wonderful, I want to make the choice whether to read it or not. And since I began reading YA novels I have discovered a plethora of terrific books. The Replacement is one.

I wasn't sure what to make of this story at first. What was Mackie exactly? Why did the smell of blood and iron sicken him so? Pushing my questions aside I delved into the story and was quite taken by it. Mackie turns out to be a "replacement," a child of the Others who are never named (but I believe are some type of Fey). He took the place of a human baby and his family, knowing he wasn't their flesh and blood, raised him as their own.

What made Mackie's character endearing was his vulnerability and hesitancy. Tate, his classmate and the girl he realizes he's crushing on, has just buried her younger sister, Natalie. But she's convinced what went inside the casket was NOT her sister. She tells Mackie this and when he does find out Natalie was indeed taken and is still alive, he doesn't go running to the slag heap to rescue her. It takes time with some soul searching and an attack on his own sister, Emma, that gets him moving.

The Replacement is entertaining with its vivid supernatural underground world and is touching at the same time. Mackie is a fully fleshed out male hero, one we understand and feel for his predicament. As he realizes being different doesn't matter to his real friends, he also realizes the Other ones who look different from the humans don't necessarily have to be shunned either. They only seek what he's sought his entire life: acceptance.

Yovanoff has written a darkly humorous contemporary tale about acceptance and love amidst a small town tied to an otherworldy place. Both worlds are grappling with their issues of unhappiness and Mackie, in his own quest, is able to help both groups out. I found Mackie and the secondary characters thoroughly engaging. I especially liked the strong handed Tate, the understanding best bud, Roswell, as well as Morrigan, Janice, and even 'the bad guys': the strange Lady and the Cutter.


The Replacement is a stunning debut by an author destined to entertain readers with her distinctive tales of the supernatural for quite some time.

Favorite scene: (page 203, ARC)

"I was aware of certain things, that Roswell was holding me up, making me walk to his car. Stopping and letting me lean down so I could heave into the gravel. He dropped me into the passenger seat, cranked the window down, and closed the door.

Then he got in and started the car, glancing over at me.

"What's wrong?" His voice was loud, so sharp that he sounded angry.

I knew I should be careful, keep the secret, but I was too far gone to talk around it. My chest was working in huge spasms and I could barely breathe. "I kissed her."

"And then you went into anaphylactic shock?"

I closed my eyes and let the rain patter against my face through the open window. "She has her tongue pierced."

Roswell didn't say anything else. He jerked the car into reverse and swung out of the parking lot, then turned down the bumpy stretch of dirt that led out to the main road. I slumped in the passenger seat, resting my head against the door and trying not to puke in his car.

Somewhere in the sickness and the pain, I remembered Luther's voice. It echoed in my head, that whispered declaration, You're dying. Before the ruinous kiss, the night had been almost normal, but it couldn't last. There was no normal. Not for people like me."

Rating: ++++

Cover comment: This picture will make sense once you've read the book. The carriage and hanging knives looking like a futuristic baby mobile for machines really fits this story.

Book source: We Love YA! tours