The Replacement

Review: The Replacement

Author: Brenna Yovanoff

Publisher: Razor Bill

Pages: 343

Rating: 4/5

Goodreads 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.
 
The Replacement is a very unique and haunting story of a boy named Mackie Doyle. After reading a few light books, an eerie, dark read such as this book is perfect, but of course it is not for everyone.  There is not a lot of action but the writing can be quite gory at times.
 
I found the creatures in The Replacement to be fascinating. There isn't actually a name for them but people in the town of Gentry have used the words demons, monsters, and goblins to describe them. They are the hideous living dead with crooked, yellow teeth, white skin, and huge black eyes. All of them are oddly allergic to blood, iron, and consecrated ground.
 
The plot was steadily paced, exciting, and easy to understand. The idea of the living dead replacing human babies with their own is disturbing, but new and interesting. The book could get a bit slow at times but it quickly picked up. The only thing the plot could use is a little more action.
 
The characters are perfectly written. Mackie (Yay! Another guy!) is a believable teenage boy. He is a heroine but does not do any fighting that a teenager would be incapable of. Tate, Mackie's lover, is not whiny but a strong girl character which is always refreshing.
 
Overall, The Replacement is a fast, gothic read that I recommend to anyone that loves a good scare now and then. Unfortunately, there are no plans for a sequel but if Brenna decides to write one, I will certainly be reading it!