Book Review -- The Replacement

Title: The Replacement
Author: Brenna Yovanoff
Genre: YA supernatural, fairytale
Pages: Oversize paperback, 343
Published: 2010
Opening Lines: "I don't remember any of the true, important parts, but there's this dream I have. Everything is cold and branches scrape the window screen."

"Mackie 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, he is slowly dying in the human world.

"Mackie would give anything to live a normal life, play his bass, and find out more about an oddly intriguing girl named Tate. But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, he is drawn into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the slag heap and find his rightful place, in our world -- or theirs."

~Jacket copy

Thoughts: I've wanted to read this book for a long time, but they never seem to have it at our local bookstores. One night, while trying to find a movie, I saw it sitting on the shelf at our local Hastings. And, to add wonder to merriment, it was on sale!! There was no way I could resist! Even though we were really strapped for cash, my hubby told me that we had enough to spend $7. w00t!

The concept behind this book really caught my attention. I've always been interested in the faeries, the Celtic Otherworld (COW), the supernatural, etc. In some ways, teenagers already feel as though they don't belong. I felt that taking the Changeling story and putting it into a modern day setting with young adults was perfect! Also, the darker elements of the story caught my fancy as well. Although I'm not sure how you can have this type of story without that ^_~

I felt that the author tried to stay true to the legends of the fae. It really struck me that Mackie had extreme issues with metal (however, I always learned that it was an aversion to iron not all metal, but, hey, I went with it). She really played it up, even having blood cause him serious issues.

The way she portrayed the Morrigan was a little weird to me. The Lady kind of addresses the change, but never really goes into any detail. I'm used to the Morrigan appearing on the battlefields and such; however, in the book she appeared as a little child. When she crawled into Mackie's lap, I was completely weirded out! I also thought her requiring him to play with the band as payback for his sister seeking favors was a little weird.

Along those lines, I really wish the author played with that a little more. I felt a big deal was made about the band, Carlina, Mackie playing with them, etc., but then it kind of dwindled. I also wonder how much she truly knows about some of the music she is writing about. For example, the words to Yellow Ledbetter are extremely controversial since Eddie Vedder changes the discernible lyrics at every concert, he has never been forthright with what the lyrics actually are (in fact, he jokes about whether there actually are lyrics to the song!), etc.

Aside from some of my little soap boxes, I really liked the book. Admittedly, it has taken me awhile to get through it . . . Playing Arkham Asylum before Arkham City comes out *sheepish grin* But, on the whole, I think this book would be a pretty quick read. It's not complex, but it doesn't lack. I'm really excited about the author's new book, The Space Between!

Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Currently: Hammer of Thor by S. Evan Townsend and Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wood
Current Pages: 21511
Current Progress:

60/50 books