Book Review of "The Thief" by Megan Whalen Turner

Title: The Thief (Queen's Thief #1)
Author: Megan Whalen Turner
Classification: YA Fiction, Fantasy
Source: Bought a used copy for $.01 on Amazon!

Overall Grade:

A

I thought...

Part adventure, part mythology, part quest, and an all-out fantastic read. 

Add to Goodreads | Order from Amazon

__________________________________________________________________

Summary (from Goodreads): 

"I can steal anything."  

After Gen's bragging lands him in the king's prison, the chances of escape look slim. Then the king's scholar, the magus, needs the thief's skill for a seemingly impossible task - to steal a hidden treasure from another land.  

To the magus, Gen is just a tool. But Gen is a trickster and a survivor with a plan of his own.

__________________________________________________________________

My Thoughts:


The Thief is fantasy at its most successful!

One of the most difficult tasks of reading and writing fantasy is world building. Include too much detail and the reader will get bored and confused, while the plot will come to a screeching halt. Include too little detail and the reader will be frustrated with their growing list of questions, while their reading experience will become sterile.

The world building in The Thief is flawless! The reader is immediately catapulted into a familiar fantasy landscape that changes as Turner includes little details about past wars and other kingdoms. Because the first half of the novel takes place on a journey, this allows Turner to build a rich world around the characters, complete with a rich belief system of creation stories and human-like gods.

However, where The Thief lacks is in its pacing. When Gen and company first begin their journey, it is not clear that this journey will be the bulk of the novel. As a result, the reader continues to flip pages (20, 40, 90) with the hopes of reaching some kind of destination, only to find that they've begun a Tolkien-like adventure that, unfortunately, has no dragons, orcs, or Smeagol along the way to keep things interesting.

While the novel is still very readable, the writing is fresh and Gen is an irreverent, stubborn protagonist, the middle portion of the novel reaches an extreme trough.

However, the ascent from this trough is breathtaking. Turner soon takes Gen and company through a series of unexpected adventures where the stakes are high as high, leaving the reader no choice but to tear through the remaining quarter of the novel with fierce abandon.

In the end, The Thief succeeds in drawing readers into a rich new world with a protagonist they would follow anywhere. They will simply have no choice but to pick up the sequels, The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia as soon as possible!


__________________________________________________________________

Overall Grade:

A

I thought...

Part adventure, part mythology, part quest, and an all-out fantastic read. 

Add to Goodreads | Order from Amazon

Tweet

(Full Disclosure: Any books purchased from Amazon through the links on this page will result in a small commission to me.)

Book Review of "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie

Title: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Author: Sherman Alexie
Classification: YA Fiction, Contemporary
Source: Borrowed from the library

Overall Grade:

A+

I thought...

An entertaining and unflinchingly honest book.

Add to Goodreads | Order from Amazon  

__________________________________________________________________

Summary (from Goodreads): 

In his first book for young adults, bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by acclaimed artist Ellen Forney, that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.

__________________________________________________________________

My Thoughts:


From the description of this book and the notoriety of the author, one expects The Absolutely True Diary to be heavy--weighed down by societal issues, controversial topics, and generally dense material.

But it's not. Diary is intensely readable. Once you fall into Junior's head, it seems almost effortless to read this book.

But Alexie is so deceiving. He talks about zits and pretty white girls and basketball woes one minute, then throws in a racial slur or two, an unexpected and tragic death, and general heartbreak another minute. But still, the narrative does not slow. Still Junior keeps his composure. Still the book is readable and enjoyable at that.

The characters in Diary seemed doomed to live their lives according to their circumstances: those born poor and Indian will die poor and Indian. Those born rich and white will die rich and white. Those born ignorant will die ignorant.

And just when it seems like one of them managed to escape, (Junior attending Reardan rather than the Rez school, his sister Mary following her true love to Montana), they fall right back into their innate conditions again.

The complications that arise when these characters try to break free from their social circumstances show that Diary is not simply an issue novel, because no issues are solved. The closest that the novel comes to a resolution is with Junior and Rowdy's relationship, but even this is not cut-and-dry.

At some points, the honesty of Diary is exhausting. It's difficult to know what to do when 13 year old Junior says with a straight face:

"It sucks to be poor, and it sucks to feel that you somehow deserve to be poor," (13). 

"I don't know if hope is white. But I do know that hope for me is like some kind of mythical creature," (51). 

"'Just remember this,' my father said. 'Those white people aren't better than you.' But he was so wrong. And he knew he was wrong. He was the Indian father of a loser Indian son living in a world built for winners," (55). 

"There are all kinds of addicts, I guess. We all have pain. And we all look for ways to make that pain go away," (107) 

"I was half Indian in one place and half white in the other. It was like being Indian was my job, but it was only a part-time job. And it didn't pay very well," (118).

With such constant honesty, it's difficult to take a consistent message from Diary, to know what to glean from the text.

However, perhaps Diary's greatest success is the authenticity of Junior. The reader can never second-guess Junior's narrative, because he doesn't leave anything out. He is a true protagonist and through him, Alexie delivers a true portrait of a modern Native American existence that is as heartbreaking as it is readable.

__________________________________________________________________

Overall Grade:

A+

I thought...

An entertaining and unflinchingly honest book.

Add to Goodreads | Order from Amazon  

Tweet

(Full Disclosure: Any books purchased from Amazon through the links on this page will result in a small commission to me.)

Book Review of "Froi of the Exiles" by Melina Marchetta

Title: Froi of the Exiles (Lumatere Chronicles #2)
Author: Melina Marchetta
Classification: YA Fiction, Fantasy
Source: ARC review copy from the publisher

To be published March 13th, 2012

Overall Grade:

A+

I thought...

This is me: mind-blown and blubbering.

Add to Goodreads | Pre-order from Amazon

__________________________________________________________________

Summary (from Goodreads): 

From master storyteller Melina Marchetta comes an exhilarating new fantasy springing from her celebrated epic, Finnikin of the Rock. 

Three years after the curse on Lumatere was lifted, Froi has found his home . . . or so he believes. Fiercely loyal to the Queen and Finnikin, Froi has been taken roughly and lovingly in hand by the Guard sworn to protect the royal family, and has learned to control his quick temper with a warrior's discipline. But when he is sent on a secretive mission to the kingdom of Charyn, nothing could have prepared him for what he finds in its surreal royal court. Soon he must unravel both the dark bonds of kinship and the mysteries of a half-mad princess in this barren and mysterious place. It is in Charyn that he will discover there is a song sleeping in his blood . . . and though Froi would rather not, the time has come to listen. 

__________________________________________________________________

My Thoughts:


This. Book.

People! This book!

This is me, bug-eyed, mind-blown, trying to do this book justice.

Once again, Melina Marchetta creates a tale of fantasy and adventure and romance and hate and absolution and assassins and curses and she weaves a tale so thick with characters, who you love in all their self-loathing glory, that one wonders if Skuldenore isn't a real place that just hasn't been discovered yet.

The greatest strength of Froi of the Exiles lies in the individual, personal stories being told about each set of characters. While Froi and the half-mad Quintana are the focus of the novel, the other characters that we grew to love in Finnikin of the Rock also have their fair share of page-time: Finnikin, Isaboe, Trevanion, Beatriss, Lucian, Tesadora.

However, Froi of the Exiles is not simply a re-hashed Finnikin. The new characters it introduces to us are many and unforgettable: Quintana, Lirah, Arjuro, Gargarin, Phaedra.

When distilled down to its basic essence, the plot of Froi is quite similar to Finnikin: There is a curse upon the land that only these characters can amend. There is a curse upon the land that both unites and divides a people.

There is a curse upon the land and there is one who has been chosen to end it.

If Finnikin was a demonstration of the power of place, Froi is a tale of absolution. The characters in Froi are an extremely tortured and neurotic bunch. They are constantly faced with the grim reality of facing down their grievous past, sometimes giving into despair, sometimes coming to terms with it, sometimes telling it to back the eff off.

Under a less talented author, the split narrative of Froi would frustrate, but here it works. The deeds of both Charynite and Lumateran characters are given a place here, but let's not forget the stars of the show: Froi and Quintana/The Reginita/The Princess.

Watching the story unfold through Froi's eyes is like sending your child off to preschool for the first time and hoping that he doesn't punch someone in the face--(unless they really really deserve it, then it is condoned and appreciated and cheered)--and finding out that everyone else in his class is neurotic in the deepest sense of the word and realizing that this was going to be a lot more complicated--(and, forgive me, entertaining)--than you ever imagined.

In short: Froi of the Exiles is a wholly original and personal fantasy that will have fans begging for the next book in series, Quintana of Charyn, set for a March 2013 release in the US.

__________________________________________________________________

Overall Grade:

A+

I thought...

This is me: mind-blown and blubbering.

Add to Goodreads | Pre-order from Amazon

Tweet

(Full Disclosure: Any books purchased from Amazon through the links on this page will result in a small commission to me.)

Book Review of "Dark Inside" by Jeyn Roberts

Title: Dark Inside (Dark Inside #1)
Author: Jeyn Roberts
Classification: YA Fiction, Dystopian
Source: Borrowed from the library

Overall Grade:

D

I thought...

Its awkwardness mirrors its emptiness.

Add to Goodreads | Order from Amazon  

__________________________________________________________________

Summary (from Goodreads):

Since mankind began, civilizations have always fallen: the Romans, the Greeks, the Aztecs…Now it’s our turn. Huge earthquakes rock the world. Cities are destroyed. But something even more awful is happening. An ancient evil has been unleashed, turning everday people into hunters, killers, crazies.  

Mason's mother is dying after a terrible car accident. As he endures a last vigil at her hospital bed, his school is bombed and razed to the ground, and everyone he knows is killed. Aries survives an earthquake aftershock on a bus, and thinks the worst is over when a mysterious stranger pulls her out of the wreckage, but she’s about to discover a world changed forever. Clementine, the only survivor of an emergency town hall meeting that descends into murderous chaos, is on the run from savage strangers who used to be her friends and neighbors. And Michael witnesses a brutal road rage incident that is made much worse by the arrival of the police--who gun down the guilty party and then turn on the bystanding crowd.  

Where do you go for justice when even the lawmakers have turned bad? These four teens are on the same road in a world gone mad. Struggling to survive, clinging on to love and meaning wherever it can be found, this is a journey into the heart of darkness – but also a journey to find each other and a place of safety.

__________________________________________________________________

My Thoughts:



This book is a grim, violent, but mostly empty post-apocalyptic novel that disappoints throughout.

Because the narrative is split between 4 different points of view, the reader is forced to read the beginning of the novel 4 separate times. Each narrative shows a different story with different characters, but each is equally grim and disturbing.

However, what Dark Inside fails to do is to make its grim and disturbing content actually matter. There is little significance to be found when characters that are thin and vapid are subject to cataclysmic events in rapid fire and consequently feel numb and empty. In fact, the protagonists feel so numb that one wonders if they are even worth reading about at all.

The narrative itself is filled with awkward language and predictable plot situations. Reading Dark Inside felt a bit like watching every post-apocalyptic or disaster movie ever made in alternating clips.

While many of the plot turns were predictable or at least unsurprising, the writing itself was stilted, awkward, and frustrating. For example, from page 118 of the US hardback edition: "They both made fists with their hands and lightly punched each other."

... Do you mean they fist-bumped?

Again from page 125:
"'I'm looking forward to it. After living with you for three weeks, I can honestly say you need it.'
'This coming from the guy who farts and snores.'
'You've got to stop using that hair gel, kid. It's starting to rot your brain.'
They grinned at each other."

There are several problems with this exchange, but the primary concern is that it is so easy to pick apart. What teenage guy complains about an older guy's farting and snoring? How does snoring make someone gross? If they hadn't bathed in over 3 weeks, why would someone make a joke about using hair gel? How is the hair gel comment an appropriate response to the farting and snoring comment?

With poorly written exchanges such as this, Dark Inside's grim action sequences and divided narrative are made the strongest part of the novel. But they are not strong enough.

Perhaps Dark Inside would have been more successful being told from only one point of view with one really great protagonist. With the 4 narratives, it's too easy for a reader to say, "who cares?" If their situations are in no way significant from others in this world, then why read about them at all?


__________________________________________________________________

Overall Grade:

D

I thought...

Its awkwardness mirrors its emptiness.


Add to Goodreads | Order from Amazon 

Tweet

(Full Disclosure: Any books purchased from Amazon through the links on this page will result in a small commission to me.)

Book Review of "Blood Magic" by Tessa Gratton

Title: Blood Magic (The Blood Journals #1)
Author: Tessa Gratton
Classification: YA Fiction, Paranormal
Source: ARC from Random House for Young Readers

Overall Grade:

A-

I Thought...

A dark and lyrical paranormal with great lead characters!


Add to Goodreads | Pre-order from Amazon

__________________________________________________________________

Summary (from Goodreads):

It starts off simply.

Draw a circle ... place a dead leaf in the center ... sprinkle some salt ... recite a little Latin ... add a drop of blood ...

Maybe that last part isn't exactly simple. Yet somehow it feels right to Silla Kennicott. And nothing in her life has felt remotely right since her parents' horrific deaths. She's willing to do anything to uncover the truth about her family—even try a few spells from the mysterious book that arrived on her doorstep ... and spill some blood.

The book isn't the only recent arrival in Silla's life. There's Nick Pardee, the new guy next door who may have seen Silla casting a spell. She's not sure what he saw and is afraid to find out. But as they spend more time together, Silla realizes this may not be Nick's first encounter with Blood Magic. Brought together by a combination of fate and chemistry, Silla and Nick can't deny their attraction. And they can't ignore the dark presence lurking nearby—waiting to reclaim the book and all its power.

Tessa Gratton's intoxicating first novel will keep pulses racing, minds reeling, and pages turning right up to the very last drop of blood.

__________________________________________________________________

My Thoughts:

This lyrical paranormal, in the tradition of Shiver with a two-character narrative, was such a great read! Tessa Gratton created very real characters to carry this story, Silla, Nick, Reese, and even Josephine.

Blood Magic sets itself apart from usual young adult paranormals with its unique storyline about blood magic, a kind of witchcraft where nearly anything is possible. As Silla, as well as her brother Reese, are thrown into this occult world after a family tragedy, she begins to learn secrets about her parents that she never thought possible.

While Silla and Nick's relationship seems very typical of this type of novel, i.e. damaged girl recovering from tragedy encounters mysterious boy who knows more than he lets on about a secret paranormal world, the characters are refreshing and the writing is lyrical, which makes the overall contrivance acceptable. Plus... their relationship is seriously sexy when it gets going, so a little contrivance is allowed!!

While Silla is a very damaged and heartbroken character who relies so heavily on the blood magic and centuries old secrets to get through her daily life, Nick is an eccentric and snarky guy with secrets of his own. Nick's voice was definitely my favorite of these two narrators! He was at times hilarious, romantic, and emotional and never felt like a cardboard-cutout type character to me.

Within the story of Blood Magic there is an alternate perspective from Josephine, told in her journal entries. Some might have seen these entries to be somewhat tedious and boring, but her voice was so scathing and affecting that I couldn't stop reading!

By the time the characters join for that last, epic sequence at the end of the novel, there is no hope of putting the book down. It is gripping, intense and emotional!

Overall, Blood Magic is a very underrated, well-crafted and entertaining novel! Tessa Gratton's lyrical writing is reminiscent of Maggie Steifvater and Brenna Yovanoff, all of whom manage to create unique and meaningful novels in the very tired YA paranormal genre.

__________________________________________________________________

Overall Grade:

A-

I Thought...

A dark and lyrical paranormal with great lead characters!


Add to Goodreads | Pre-order from Amazon

Tweet

(Full Disclosure: Any books purchased from Amazon through the links on this page will result in a small commission to me.)  

Book Review of "Rules of Attraction" by Simone Elkeles

Title: Rules of Attraction (Perfect Chemistry #2)
Author: Simone Elkeles
Classification: YA Fiction, Contemporary
Source: Bought

Overall Grade:

B

Would I recommend it?

Yes, a sexy, addictive read!


Add to Goodreads | Order from Amazon
 

__________________________________________________________________

Summary (from Goodreads):

When Carlos Fuentes returns to America after living in Mexico for a year, he doesn’t want any part of the life his older brother, Alex, has laid out for him at a high school in Colorado . Carlos likes living his life on the edge and wants to carve his own path—just like Alex did. Then he meets Kiara Westford. She doesn’t talk much and is completely intimidated by Carlos’ wild ways. As they get to know one another, Carlos assumes Kiara thinks she’s too good for him, and refuses to admit that she might be getting to him. But he soon realizes that being himself is exactly what Kiara needs right now.

__________________________________________________________________

My Thoughts:

Simone Elkeles' books are like crack.

In Perfect Chemistry, Brittney and Alex sucked me in, and it was no different of Kiara and Carlos in Rules of Attraction. The story itself was completely unique, as were the characters. Although, Carlos is most certainly related to Alex, in that he tends to act like a total JACKASS throughout a large part of the book.

But an entertaining jackass that you want to hug and smack in the face at the same time.

Kiara is a refreshing love interest, even more not Carlos' type than Brittney was for Alex. She is sporty, smart, and completely uninterested in flirting with Carlos. She would rather work on fixing up her car or climb a mountain (literally) than go shopping or put on makeup.

Carlos is also completely not Kiara's type. He is irresponsible, popular, and HOT. But this doesn't stop sparks from flying when they are forced to interact with each other.

I love how both Carlos and Kiara were able to help the other with their main issue or problem. This isn't to say that the issue is solved completely, but they are each given the support and help that is immediately needed at that time. You see both characters grow as they get to know each other.

This book is an incredibly exciting, fast-paced read, filled with all kinds of tension: tons of family tension and even more sexual tension. But not between the family members. Ew.

Elkeles did a great job at blending the serious aspects of each character's issues with the romance and lighthearted banter that makes you smile, laugh, and literally squeal uncontrollably at times.

If you're in the mood for an addicting, fun, and sometimes heart-breaking contemporary novel, than Simone Elkeles is your girl!!

__________________________________________________________________ 

Overall Grade:

B

Would I recommend it?

Yes, a sexy, addictive read!

Add to Goodreads | Order from Amazon

Tweet

(Full Disclosure: Any books purchased from Amazon through the links on this page will result in a small commission to me.) 

Book Review of "Forever" by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls #3)
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Classification: YA Fiction, Paranormal 

Source: Bought

Overall Grade: 
A
I thought...
Higher highs and lower lows make for a perfect end to one of my favorite series EVER!

Add to Goodreads | Order from Amazon

__________________________________________________________________

Summary (from Goodreads):

The thrilling conclusion to #1 bestselling Shiver trilogy from Maggie Stiefvater

In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. In Linger, they fought to be together. Now, in Forever, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.

__________________________________________________________________

My Thoughts:

Sam. Grace. Cole. Isabel.

I love these books. I love the writing, I love the way that an otherwise ordinary story is made extraordinary with words and lyrics and poems committed to memory.

But most of all, I love the characters.

Maggie Stiefvater has done an incredible job with The Wolves of Mercy Falls. Each book adds complexity on complexity, as the characters are fleshed out and kissed and lost, but found again.

When Forever begins, each character still has their own set of problems that make their lives particularly difficult. By the end of Forever, these problems are addressed and resolved, but not SOLVED. There is no neat solution to the overall problems... Cole's guilt and tortured past, Grace's relationship with her parents, Sam's love/hate relationship with Beck, Isabel's explosive family life.

Nor is the problem at the heart of these novels, the mystery of the werewolf... disease? toxin? affliction? explained away and wrapped in a box with a shiny red bow. Rather, the issue escalates into a conflict where death, for every main character, is not only probable, but almost imminent.

While this book serves as a perfect conclusion to the series, in that it doesn't feel like a set conclusion, yet leaves very little lingering questions, it also stands out as a seriously enjoyable read on its own. Not only are we able to escape back into the heads of Grace, Sam, Cole, and Isabel, but we are also shown more romance, conflict, and complications than any of the previous books.

Forever is essentially a paranormal coming-of-age story with equal parts romance, thrill, and mystery. It is lyrical and poignant, but very, very readable. It is funny, yet brutal, honest, yet idealistic.

For those readers that are tired of overused clichés and characters that fall flat on the page, read this book. Well, read Shiver and Linger first... then read this one.

__________________________________________________________________

Overall Grade: 

A

Would I recommend it? 

Higher highs and lower lows make for a perfect end to one of my favorite series EVER!

Add to Goodreads | Pre-order from Amazon

Tweet

(Full Disclosure: Any books purchased from Amazon through the links on this page will result in a small commission to me.)  

Book Review of "White Cat" by Holly Black

Title: White Cat (Curse Workers #1)
Author: Holly Black
Classification: YA Fiction, Paranormal
Source: Bought

Overall Grade:

A-

I Thought...

A unique paranormal world with a
fantastic protagonist!

Add to Goodreads | Order from Amazon

__________________________________________________________________

Summary (from Goodreads):

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers — people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail — he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.

Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive?

To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.

Holly Black has created a gripping tale of mobsters and dark magic where a single touch can bring love — or death — and your dreams might be more real than your memories.

__________________________________________________________________

My Thoughts:

White Cat is a unique combination of paranormal and thriller that totally took me by surprise!

I loved Cassel as a main character... and not only because his name is awesome. To society, his family is no more than a bunch of mobsters; criminals that should not be associated with, but merely feared. This forces people to treat Cassel with respect, but disdain, as everyone thinks that Cassel is in on the family's dirty secrets.

But the reality is that Cassel is an outsider in his own family. He is doubly shunned, once by society, and once by his own flesh and blood. How could you not feel for a character in this situation?

Although the book starts off a little slow, (after Cassel wakes up on the roof of his dorm building, that is), as soon as Cassel begins learning more about his family, the pace picks up considerably! At this point, I couldn't put the book down... I had to know everything that Cassel's brothers and parents had been keeping from him. The pararnormal aspect of curse working, where certain people are born with different abilities to manipulate others, combined with the drama of a family of conmen and women, made for a seriously exciting story.

One thing that you would expect to see more of in White Cat that simply did not appear very often is romance. This isn't to say that there is no romance, but that aspect of the story is definitely muted. In my opinion, this was refreshing, and I wasn't disappointed that Holly Black chose to focus more on the development of Cassel's character and the overall plot, rather than throw in a bunch of making out just because.

The ending of this book is brutal... you will definitely need to have the second book in the series, Red Glove, available to start right away!

All in all, a smart and thrilling novel with a protagonist that you just can't help but love!

__________________________________________________________________

Overall Grade:

A-

I Thought...

A unique paranormal world with a fantastic protagonist! 

Add to Goodreads | Order from Amazon

Tweet

(Full Disclosure: Any books purchased from Amazon through the links on this page will result in a small commission to me.) 

Book Review of "The Replacement" by Brenna Yovanoff

Title: The Replacement  
Author: Brenna Yovanoff

Classification: YA Fiction, Paranormal, Horror
Source: Bought

Overall Grade: 
A 
I thought...
What a creepy, wrenching, oh-so-lyrical ride!


Add to Goodreads | Order from Amazon

__________________________________________________________________

Summary (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.

__________________________________________________________________ 

My Thoughts: 

The Replacement is a wonderfully refreshing and creepy paranormal novel! The main character, Mackie, is mostly a normal teenage boy: he gets nervous when trying to talk to girls, struggles with whether or not to tell his best friends his darkest secrets, and tries his best to fit in with everyone else. 

However, Mackie is anything but normal! He is deathly allergic to iron, blood, and cannot attend church services with his family. When Mackie starts being followed by some really really creepy people, people that seem to know that he is a replacement, he finds that he can no longer ignore the very thing that he and his family have been trying to cover up for his entire life. And as he continues to grow weaker and weaker, these strangers may be the only way for Mackie to avoid an early death. 

I loved the characters in The Replacement! Brenna Yovanoff is a very talented writer with an ability to weave lyricism into this paranormal tale, à la Maggie Stiefvater. I loved Mackie and his relationship with his friends, his family, and Tate, of course. I also enjoyed the fact that The Replacement is far from your run of the mill paranormal romance, complete with predictable endings and falsely sappy romances, because there are some points during this read that I was creeped out and scared and I still wanted to keep reading. 

I did find that Mackie's interactions with the House of Mayhem and its residents to be a bit stilted at times, where Mackie's behavior and questions were more to serve the plot than to continue on with his personal journey. But other than that, I will definitely be recommending this book to the morbid of heart, to those that don't mind a little bit of creepiness in their day, and those that want to read a lyrical young adult novel that's simply not like the rest!

__________________________________________________________________

Overall Grade: 

A 

I thought...

What a creepy, wrenching, oh-so-lyrical ride!

Add to Goodreads | Order from Amazon

Tweet

(Full Disclosure: Any books purchased from Amazon through the links on this page will result in a small commission to me.)