10 Reasons: The Replacement

I've been so excited to talk about The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff, because it was awesome! So I figured I'd tell you why it rocked. 10 reasons why it rocked in fact. But first....check out the summary.

Summary (from Amazon):

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 ReplacementÑleft 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 TateÕs 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.

10 Reasons Why The Replacement Rocked!

1. The set up and imagery in the first chapter is so deliciously creepy that I had chills. In 100 degree weather! Score--this tale is better than air conditioning.

2. Mackie Doyle! Ok, so I'm 100% behind girl power and female protagonists...I even write one. BUT with so few male narrators in the YA world, hearing Mackie's oh so boyish voice was like a breath of fresh air.

3. Roswell! Mackie's best friend was this dude named Roswell who was perfect....maybe a little too perfect but still...after you read this, you're going to wish you had a best friend named Roswell too. Or, you might want to date him.

4. Rounding the Bases! WOOT! I so loved that Brenna wrote in a few make out scenes which actually included more than kissing, and recognized that when it comes to relationships kissing and sex are not the only options. I know my FNC chicas will be excited about that.

5. Brenna has a seriously creepy and cool take on fairies and the idea of changlings or replacements, one of the scariest kinds of fairy practices I know.

6. Tate! Mackie's love interest is kick butt! She's pissed too!

7. Shades of grey. There was so much going on in this story I still need to process it. What's right, what's wrong, how do you fix a mistake? Who is guilty? What is worth sacrificing? How big a sacrifice? Bad guys? Good guys? Love it!

8. The writing. I don't know how I'd describe Brenna's writing style, but chances are if you are a fan of her Merry Sisters of Fate CP Maggie Stiefvater, you're going to fall for Brenna's writing too.

9. Quiet Suspense. I'm always amazed when a writer decides to slow things down despite the fact that you know the shit is going to hit the fan and inside you're screaming to go save the day and hurry! But the character really does need to develop and figure things out. And boy does Mackie do that!

10. Relatability. Ok so granted you probably don't get sick everytime you smell blood (unless you're Bella Swan) or freak out when touched by metal, but Mackie often feels off and like he doesn't belong anywhere and there was something honest about that, that even though I'm like 100% positive I'm human and a girl....I could totally relate to how he felt.

Basically, this story rocked! And you need to check it out when it debuts on September 21st.

On a related note...The Stolen Child by Keith Donahue is another amazing book I loved that also deals with the concept of changelings. Definitely a different take on the folklore and it's not a YA but every bit as awesome and something you can read while you wait anxiously for The Replacement to come out.