The Replacement

I purchased this book because a friend of mine's granddaughter is the author. I became a fan and purchased several books for friends who enjoyed the read as much as I enjoyed the book.

Hmm. What a great cover! So enticing calling to me begging me to open the cover. So, I did. And I trudged through the sluggish beginning of the book. My mind started to wander and I decided to go to sleep. I tried it again last night and forced myself to finish it. The action definitely picked up, but maybe a little too late to redeem itself. It might just give Bleeding Violet a run for it's money as one of the weirder novels I've read this year. Anyway, none of this helps you understand what it's about.Mackie Doyle is a changeling. No one has ever come out and said it, but he knows he is not supposed to be here and that he is a freak. He has a few friends at school and they seem to be good friends. I have a problem with the characters because they never fall out of their very narrow roles they are given. Danny and Dennis are the inventors/clowns. Roswell is the rescuer, but never asks Mackie, "Why are you sick? What's wrong with you?" There's this big pink elephant standing in the middle of the town of Gentry and nobody wants to talk about it except for the very determined Tate who's little sister was just buried. She isn't sad, she's angry because she swears that wasn't her sister, it was a replacement. Tate doesn't follow the rules.It seems that Gentry has been having children disappear on a regular basis for years and turned a blind eye to it. And Mackie gets drawn into the lies and deceptions and doesn't like it when it touches too close to home. Now, as I said, the beginning of the book is slow. Mackie is sick all the time and he's lusting after the popular girl and always having to go home early, which Roswell dutiful does. Pretty boring stuff. Then things change and get all existential and I have no idea what's going on. Page 138 here is some of the conversation edited for brevity's sake. " So we just give them some kind of distraction. (Mackie says) Another lie."Carlina, an underground dweller we'll call her, says "No, what we're giving them is the unvarnished truth. They just don't know it. When you go out onstage, you'll be closer to yourself than you've ever been, and that's a beautiful thing. It's what they paid to see." Mackie-"I just feel nervous, though. I feel weird and freakish and pointless, and nobody wants to see that. I can't be what they paid for." Carlina- "Then you have to feel like that, then let it go and do your job. We'll go out onto the stage in a minute, and when we do, you have to make them believe that whatever you show them is the real you because sometimes being believed in is just what it means not to die." Huh? If I wanted to think that hard, I'd have read Freud or Nietzsche. I still don't understand what it all means.The good news it slowly starts to pick up from there even if doesn't make sense. In one world it does, in the other world it doesn't. But then the two worlds collide and Mackie is in the middle and does something so selfless that I thought surely something would intervene. Gentry's people have all been playing roles just like Mackie's friends and no one has ever questioned the rules. The rules are to bring prosperity and abundance to Gentry, but it's been raining for weeks and the lake in the town drained before Mackie was born. And children disappear from their homes and are replaced by look alikes. And Mackie wants it stopped. He can't believe it, that people put up with this. And as the worlds come together on All Souls Day, Mackie has a plan. To save Tate's little sister before she's sacrificed and save at least one child from being killed from this heinous underground world. You'll have to read to see if he succeeded and what the plan is and everything that goes on. The end is touching and makes the reading of it worthwhile and I see why the author wrote it the way she did. Even some of the existential stuff made some sense, but when you read it in the middle of the book, unless you are very perceptive, you're going to go "What the hell is she going on about?". In fact, it's probably a book that you need to read twice. Because once you get to the end, things make sense that didn't before and if you reread it understanding everything, I think I for one would like it much better. The best thing I can say about it is that Mackie is pure and innocent and truly tries to be the best he can be. He feels guilty for what he is and tries in every way to make up for it. And I think that is what drives him to his ultimate gift. Oh, just read the book. Twice!There isn't much profanity and very little sexual reference, some kissing. Maybe for ages 13 and up but it is very dark so perhaps 14 and older. It talks about ripping babies throats out and dead living things. It's, as the cover shows, very dark. But redemptive in the end.

I know it's been said many times already, but The Replacement truly is one of the most unique books I've read this year. The author created a dark, eerie, mysterious, suspenseful atmosphere in The Replacement.Mackie is "different" to everyone else. He feels like a freak, an outcast, but other than the obvious reason for not being considered normal or natural, he came off like an average 15 year old boy. He had a great group of friends who accepted him for what he was, although, they never really did questioned what he was. He crushed on the popular mean girl. He also had a family that cared for him and instead of abandoning him and letting him die like other replacements they raised him as one of their own. Plus, he had girls all over him so I really didn't see him as being a "freak". Tate is the girl who's sister died, but she knows that wasn't her sister. Of course, the people of Gentry just pity her, but never question what really happened. I did feel bad for the situation she was in, but there was too much back and forth with Tate and Mackie that it got pretty annoying after a while, and Mackie hooking up with Tate and then making out with another girl was one of the things I didn't really like. My favorite character was his older sister Emma. I could kind of relate to her the most since I'm really protective of my brothers, so it was interesting to see how much she cared about Mackie even though he really wasn't her brother. I don't how I would handle that if I was put in that situation.Gentry is a small town where children are taken as sacrifice and replaced with a changeling in return for prosperity and health. The people are willing to just turn a blind eye at all this. It kind of bothered me how no one seemed to question what was going on around them. Which is why I thought it was admirable that Mackie who wasn't really human but one of "them" wanted to do what was right. Although, it seemed like he did have an ulterior motive now that he was actually hooking up with the older sister of the girl that was taken. It made me question if he would have done the same thing whether it was someone he didn't know.The underworld of Mayhem was really creepy. With living dead girls, the Morrigan, the Lady, and all these other creatures running around underneath the town was pretty scary. What I found especially freaky was these creatures playing with the young girls as if they were dolls, just picturing that is so, "Gah!" Plus the whole ripping the throat out and drinking their blood was pretty bad too.The Replacement definitely creeped me out, so I would recommend it to those who want a dark somewhat twisted story. The book does contain some vague sexual content, underage drinking, and strong language.

I have grudgingly given The Replacement 3 stars but really it's a 2.5 star for me.Unfortunately there isn't a lot I can say about this book because I spent most of it bewildered and confused. The story line is weird (and not in a good way) and very disjointed. The story is told from Mackie's point of view, a 16 year old boy who is "The Replacement" - i.e. he was swapped (by monsters of sorts) with a human baby and the human baby's family have brought him up.Ok that much I get. That makes sense. What doesn't make sense is why no one in the town seems to acknowledge this (not even Mackie himself). Mackie is the only replacement ever to survive. Apparently this has been happening for centuries in Gentry (the small town where the story is based) and usually the replacement babies die within a few months. However, despite being mortally allergic to blood and metal, Mackie survived in the human world.But for some reason no one seems to find this worthy of discussion. Everyone seems to know that Mackie isn't one of them. They know children go missing every seven years around Halloween and are replaced with something horrible but it just isn't talked about and I found this very frustrating.So anyway, I spent the first half of the book contemplating whether to carry on reading. The good news is that the second half of the book is much much better than the first. A girl called Tate whose sister has recently been taken decides its time to stop ignoring what happens and confronts Mackie. This leads to Mackie finally discovering where he came from and finally - FINALLY getting me some answers and explanations and causing Mackie to actually discuss this taboo subject with friends and family. Now this part of the story was what saved it from being left unfinished. I did genuinely enjoy reading the chapters where Mackie goes to visit the monsters underground. The monsters themselves are eerie, disgusting and just a little bit twisted and I really loved reading about them. I just wish there had been more chapters like these.The ending was, again, a bit disjointed, it was like the author tried to bring all the threads of the story together in one scene and tie them up nicely but for me unfortunately it just didn't work. It felt rushed and not very well explained and just... a bit of a let down. Considering the last few chapters seemed to have been getting better and leading to what felt like the beginnings of a climatic ending, when the ending actually appeared it was just flat. It came. It went. And I didn't feel better for it.I feel bad that I didn't love this book because I sooo wanted to but unfortunately it just didn't work for me.

Gentry is a town full of secrets, superstitions and unspoken fears. Mackie has spent his whole life trying not to stand out, which is far from easy when he has coal black eyes and allergies to blood, steel and consecrated ground. Mackie is different, he doesn't belong and everyone knows it, even if no one will admit it. Things are about to change though, not only is he getting weaker but a girl in his class, Tate, has decided she's tired of the town's silence and she wants answers - from him.The Replacement is creepy, atmosphere and engaging. It is refreshing to find a paranormal-YA novel with a male protagonist and even better to discover that Mackie is somewhat of an anti-hero. He is not obviously brave, and he aches with alienation and guilt, which only increases as he learns more about where he came from and what happened to the child he replaced.The picket fenced world of Gentry, trying to act as though it isn't rusting away and isn't aware that there is a dark underground world beneath it full of the grotesque and the beautiful, the kind and the cruel, seems to be a metaphor for who Mackie is. He is trying to put on the façade of being `normal', but his body is falling apart because inside he is different, he comes from a dark place but he is also full of love, even if he doesn't know how to express it very well.At it's heart it feels like The Replacement is about learning to accept who you are as a person but it doesn't shove the message down your throat because nothing is easy, there is no neat, ideal resolution and none of the relationships are particularly simple. The character development is subtle and Mackie's friends and family are an interesting collection of people; Tate, Emma and Roswell are very well drawn and it never feels like they are just props to move the story along. The creatures from the underground are a little less so but it would probably have been impossible to give them all depth whilst keeping the pace of the story moving along.The only thing that bugged me was why Mackie didn't ask one of the key questions anyone would want to know in his situation: who - or what - were his real parents? Perhaps that's something to come? I don't know if there will be a sequel to The Replacement, but I hope so.

The story centres around Mackie, a 16 year old boy growing up in the town of Gentry. Gentry however, is unlike other towns as it is subject to the subtle rule of the fey who demand a blood tithe every seven years in exchange for the town's prosperity. Mackie is, himself a changeling or replacement for the real Mackie who was stolen away as a baby.Intertwined with Mackie's story is that of his friend/ love interest Tate and his own family history.I was drawn to this book firstly because the leading protaganist is a boy - a refreshing change from the zillions of females that usually dominate these books. I also loved the use of fey mythology - the author has researched her material well and has reinstated the fey as the dark gods that they were known as, prior to victorian sentimentalism or new age clap trap. I didn't find the book scary - but then I am an adult reader, younger readers may find it so.I would recommend this book to readers who enjoyed Holly black or Melissa Marrs books, and for a scary tale of the fey try Faerie Tale: A Novel of Terror and FantasyFaerie Tale: A Novel of Terror and Fantasy

Hellow,I know I've taken some time to review this one, and I hope from the time I read it till now nothing that i wanted to say eloped off of my mind. Luckily , this book it's not easily forgettable, believe me, is that good, and that is one of the reasons that kept me interested in share my opinion of it, even tho, I already read 3 books, now reading the 4th since I finish it.The Replacement is a book based on the ancient stories of replacing children for changelings in order to sacrifice them for a higher power. It's a young adult book, and I would love it more only if it was more dark and profund,this plot would be perfect if it was an adult book but that would make it not as appealing to everybody. Even tho i do think Brenna Yovanoff did a great job with it and she is one hell of an amazing writer. I loved her work, and I really wanna read all of her books now.I must say it was her name that dragged me to this story and I entered on it blinded ,fortunately, got very pleased with what I encountered. When i order it I didn't saw, but when this beauty got on my hands i couldn't believe how beautifull the cover is, it really matches the story and has a rotted feeling about it that i just adore. One of my favourite covers ever!The town of Gentry, the character descriptions,The House of Mayhem and The House of Misery were all very well built, deep and dark and I will never forget certain phrases that were almost poetical .The one i loved the most must be when the Lady says: "I am terror. I draw strength from their fears...I eat their devotion and their abasement" , herself, The Cutter and Morrigan will be characters that will keep on with me through time.I like that the main character is a guy and in a certain way,one of the villains, Mackie Doyle it's not your typical main character, he tries so hard to be what they expect them to be ,but still doesn't loose himself, although sometimes it seemed that he had a very feminin perspective, very victim like, and that made me wanna shake him.One detail that I adore through out this book it's the lack of sense of justice, there are no such thing as good or evil, just decisions and there repercutions, and that is quite similar to the way i see life, so that clicked right away with me.There were details that were not necessary, and annoyed me a bit, there was too much importance on high school drama, such as classes, party's and even with unecessary characters like Roswell and Alice, that added nothing to the plot itself. And I really wish the ending was other, it kind of ended on the happiest of notes, and that made me get very angry, because I was kind of loving the melancholy feeling about it.That leads me to the thing that diminished a bit the story itself and made it a 4 stars book, and made this book not being horror, but drama, was the fact, just like I said earlier, of being and young adult. Unfortunately, at least for me, all the horror books in YA end up being just another drama instead of real horror, mostly because the need of focusing on the teenage life details.PS: Isn't The Cutter just perfection?RegardsYours sincerely,Skeleton Orchid.

I finished this book still not knowing how I felt about it, I had to sleep on my review to really think about it.I felt extremely frustrated at the start because there wasn't any 'world building.' it jumps straight in and I was very confused with exactly what was happening sometimes, like I'd accidentally missed a chapter, it was only after that I realised this was to echo the towns reluctance to talk about or acknowledge the strange goings on in the night.I also struggled with the main character mackie, instead of dark and brooding, I thought he went to far and became dreary and depressing, a few times when I put this book down I actually felt down myself, but I have to credit some of that to pregnancy hormones heightening my emotions, which I think gave me a stronger reaction than someone else.It wasn't until well in that I felt the eerie sense of the book and could read easier and I can honestly say I've never read anything like it before, there's no holding back on the gruesome parts and the monsters really are scary to think of.I really felt mackie redeem himself in the end in a scene that almost had me in tears and by the end I really feel like I hope everything works out for him.So to conclude I guess I'd say maybe don't read if your pregnant but certainly give it a shot if you like a challenge in your reading and don't give up after a few pages of confusion.