Justified Lunacy: Review: The Replacement

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Review: The Replacement

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Synopsis (From Goodreads): 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.

Mackie Doyle knows that he's different. He's allergic to iron and blood and can't set foot on consecrated ground. Living in a world that's killing him, he's got to pretend to be just like everyone else. In his world, the people accept that bad things happen like babies dying in their crib. When one girl, Tate, refuses to believe that her sister actually died in her crib, but something else that had replaced her, Mackie is drawn into the underworld known as Mayhem. Here he learns the truth of who he is and what becomes of the ones that are taken and he must decide whether he will help to get Tate back or accept the way things are.

Brenna Yovanoff has managed to create a dark and miserable world that is beautifully written. Right from the start Mackie's voice is clear and strong. I felt sorry for him as he struggled in the human world, knowing that he was dying and fearing that there would never be a cure for him. All the characters have been well-developed and it was great to see such a wide variety, all with their own personalities.

The tone of the novel is what really drew me in. The writing has an eerily poetic feel to it as Yovanoff describes such a gloomy and dark town with an elegance that brings all the scenes alive. This story definitely kept me want to turn the page.

Cover: This is an eerie cover. Even though it's dark and gloomy there is a strong elegance about it with Mackie standing right in the centre of the dark coloured background. I did like the cover that Australia received, but I would still prefer the US cover with the crib and all the dangerous objects hanging above it. Both covers gives a great sense of the tone that the story has.