Thursday, November 18, 2010

Bookinistas: THE REPLACEMENT

We're back...okay, not really. Today we're super-excited to offer up a new perspective. And not only that, but a YOUNG perspective! Matt Rush, the brains behind The Quintessentially Questionable Query Experiment blog has a daughter, Kylie. Kylie is in high school. Kyle is a reader. Kylie has opinions. AND she's offered to share them with us! How awesome is that?! So...we now present you our first ever Guestanista Review of THE REPLACEMENT, by Brenna Yovanoff.

Here's what the back cover has to say:

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.

Edward Scissorhands meets The Catcher in the Rye in this wildly imaginative and frighteningly beautiful horror novel about an unusual boy and his search for a place to belong.

Kylie's Take:

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff certainly is a wonderful YA novel. It instantly grabs the reader’s attention with the introduction of the main character, Mackie Doyle.


He’s shy, but when you hear his description: blonde, pale, but with black eyes; you’re immediately intrigued. He doesn’t sound like any other character I’ve ever read. I was really curious to see where his story took me.

A changeling in a town of dark secrets, Mackie is an outcast who is lucky to be alive – and his luck is running out. Allergic to consecrated ground, and iron (how weird is that) and with a pastor for a father, Mackie’s life is not a common one.

As compelling as Mackie is, my favorite part about this novel is the story. I won’t give away the details but the plot is exciting, fun and so fast paced I finished this book in one two hour sitting. Any teen who reads this book will connect with Mackie; after all, we’re not even comfortable in our own skin.

I would recommend this book to any reader, and Brenna Yovanoff is now permanently on my radar.



Kylie, we couldn't have said it any better ourselves.

Check out what the other Bookinistas are up to this week:


Christine Fonseca is amazed by DESIRES OF THE DEAD
Elana Johnson is in love with PERILOUS
Myra McEntire is wowed by A VISITOR'S GUIDE TO MYSTIC FALLS
Shannon Messenger is awestruck by THE MARBURY LENS and giving away a signed hardcover
Megan Miranda is captivated by MATCHED
Beth Revis is blown away by DEMONGLASS
Carolina Valdez Miller is spreading picture book love for CHICKEN BUTT!
Bethany Wiggins is stunned by STRANGE ANGELS

24 comments:

Matthew MacNish said...

Um yeah, so you guys totally nailed it. All three of you. Thanks so much for having us LiLa, Kylie's English teacher will be pretty excited about this!

Claire Dawn said...

nice review Kylie!

This book is now taunting me with the fact that I don't own it. :)

Jill Hathaway said...

Great review. LOVED this book. Totally lived up to the cover!

Martina Boone said...

Great review! I loved the twist of a male MC, since it tends not to be the norm in most of the YA I read. The Replacement is one I would recommend to anyone. Thanks for the review!

Marissa

Emily White said...

I recently finished this book and it is AMAZING. It's chilling in so many ways and the writing is absolutely beautiful. I might have to read it again soon. :D

Renae said...

Great review! This book is glaring at me from the bookshelf because I haven't had time to read it yet! If only there were more hours in the day!

Christina Lee said...

Yeah Kylie (And Matt, for being a sweet dad)! This book has been on my list.

Christine Fonseca said...

Awesome review!!! All three of you rock!

Jared Larson said...

Great review, Kylie. You're a pro. Maybe a future profession? How cool of a job would that be! I've been wanting to read this book. Now, I only want to read it more.

angelarene said...

What a great review you guys!! Can't wait to get my hands on this book!!

Sara B. Larson said...

I still need to get this one, I really want to!

Lisa Gail Green said...

Yeah Kylie!! Love the review. I did the same thing on my own blog today. LOVED the book also!!

Jessica Bell said...

Kylie, that was a really great review! :o) You go, girl!

Lisa_Gibson said...

Great job Kylie! I loved this book too. I'm probably going to buy a copy for my son's classroom to keep. Yay!
Lisa ~ YA Literature Lover

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

Dude, Kylie is remarkable. She said all the things that would make me want to read it, pointing to the elements of a book that I look for. Great review! I love to hear about books from the intended audience. It's refreshing! Great idea to have her guest post, ladies!

Marsha Sigman said...

I read the first chapter in a sampler that I won and it is awesome! Totally grabs you from page one.

Shannon Messenger said...

So fun to hear a teen's take on a YA book. GREAT review Kylie! (Also wow, a whole book in two hours? Props for speed reading skills!) :)

Matthew MacNish said...

That may be a slight exaggeration Shannon, but she is damn fast!

Elana Johnson said...

Love the guestinista POV! And I love how she says that teens aren't comfortable in their own skin. :) :)

Krispy said...

Yay! I loved this book too!

Kylie Jefferis said...

Wow! Thanks guys! I feel so awesome now!

Matthew MacNish said...

Go to bed honey.

Stina said...

This is on my TBR list. I've heard so many great things about it. :D

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a great story! Best wishes for your success! The cover is really cool too. If I saw this at the bookstore I'd take a few minutes to pick it up and read the synopsis.

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