The Replacement: 08/23/12

The cover art, the sharp objects dangling over a black pram, is what convinced me to add The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff to my wishlist. I first saw it when I was helping someone remember the title of the book an all she had was the cover art. Its design reminded me of Bunny Modern by David Bowman. The books are very different but I'm glad that tenuous thread made me pick up The Replacement.

Mackie Doyle lives in Gentry with his family and attends high school. He just wants to be a normal teen but even the mundane, like a blood drive at the school, serves as a reminder that he's not normal. He's probably a changling. At first I thought Mackie was being a typical angsty teenager. I took being a changling as his personal metaphor for feeling out of place due to the usual adolescent hormones.

I was wrong. Gentry, it turns out, has a long history with changlings. There was a time when they had to pay a blood tithe but now they have settled into a grim acceptance of the occasional child going missing.

Mackie, though, is unusual, even for a changling. As he discovers why he's unique he unravels the terrible history of Gentry. Here, I am reminded of the closing chapters of The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.

Five stars

Comments (4)

Comment #1: Friday, August 24, 2012 at 10:35:33

Bookworm1858

I was also reminded of The Graveyard Book while reading this (I ultimately preferred that to this tale).

Comment #2: Friday, August 24, 2012 at 10:33:03

Pussreboots

So do I, but I still enjoyed The Replacement a great deal.

Comment #3: Monday, September 10, 2012 at 19:21:57

Okie

I'm with you...the cover caught my attention right away. The synopsis continued to intrigue me.

And yet, I still haven't bothered to seek this book out. Thanks for a good review. You may have nudged me towards looking for a copy to read sooner than later. :)

Comment #4: Sunday, September 16, 2012 at 21:34:32

Pussreboots

I hope you like it, if you decide to read it.