The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff is the story of Mackie. Mackie is in high school, and he desperately wants to fit in, and live his life, but he has a secret, one that, if anyone found out, would likely mean the end of him.
He lives in Gentry, a quiet, unassuming town that hides a secret beneath the ground. Every so often, a child will disappear in the night, to be replaced with a child who looks similar but is, somehow, not quite right. Those children generally die soon after, and although the family grieves, no one acts like anything out of the ordinary has happened.
Until Tate's younger sister Natalie disappears, and Tate knows that what died in the crib was not her little sister.
The town of Gentry seriously creeped me out. Not because they have fairy like (evil) creatures living underneath their streets, but because no one ever talked about it, or acted as if it was anything out of the ordinary. I don't understand how people can live in a place like that, and do nothing about it. I would move. I especially don't understand why Mackie's mom stuck around. She hates the fey creatures that inhabit the underground, and is terrified of them, but (and this is a pretty big but) she stayed there. Why?!
Anyway, this was such a great book. The writing was wonderful, and I really felt like I could believe that these things were happening. It made me think about what I would do in a similar situation, which makes me think of Tate. I pretty much think she is like, the greatest teen heroine character I've read in a very long time. She's hard-core. She knows that what died in place of her sister wasn't really human, and she refuses to accept that everyone is just going to turn aside. She knows something isn't right, and she does something about it. I would like to feel that I would react like Tate in a similar situation. I've always been really close to my family, and I'm pretty sure that if you vanished with one of my little brothers, or my nephews I would raise hell to get them back and bring you down. Tate just made me really happy in that little angry place inside.:)
Mackie is also a great character, and I was amazed at how well he was crafted. (I feel weird saying crafted about a character that's so realistic to me.) High school is a hard time for everyone. It's when you are learning who you are, and trying to find and create your place within your surroundings. Everyone has those moments when they feel like they don't belong. How much harder would it be for someone like Mackie who wants to fit in, but knows that he really doesn't belong.
I loved watching Mackie learn more about himself, and why he is unique. Most of the replacement children die soon after being left in the human world, but Mackie has lived topside now for years (although he is sick all the time...) Anyway, watching Mackie learn that there were people who knew him, and understood him (more or less) but still loved him and wanted to be around him. It warmed my heart, because he's such a great character. He's a guy I'd like to run into in 10-15 years just to check up and see how he's doing.
*Disclaimer: I received this book through Star Book Tours.