This book. Ahhh, I have so many feelings about this book. This was an amazing read for me. First, this book is so out of the YA loop it's not funny. I'm not saying it's not YA. What I'm saying is that the topics it touches on is nothing like other raved about YA books. There aren't any vampires, werewolves, faeries, assassins, zombies, or dystopian worlds. It didn't even focus on hot topics or today's issues. It was a wonderful story set in a small town that tried to deny their fear of the 'other worldly' town citizens that take a small child every seven years to replace with a revenant, or a look-a-like, that will die in short time. Mackie is one of those children, but he didn't die young. He grew to be a teen boy attending high school with good friends and a lovely family, having to avoid iron and steel. But when he starts feeling more weak than usual, his sister seeks help from the people of the underground, Mackie's other family. But their help comes with a price.. This book had me on edge! And that cover. Woah! I have to admit, I bought it before I even read the synopsis all because of that marvelous cover! Every time I told my mom I wanted to stop reading everything I was trying to finish just to read this book, she kept mentioning that it looked like the cover of Rosemary's Baby. That just makes it creepy. And, slightly awkward that my mother makes a connection between this beautifully chilling book and a 1968 classic film. This book earns every one of those five stars from me. I love love LOVED it!

The Replacement was a completely eerie, dark and spellbindingly brilliant take on the Faery world. So not what I was expecting yet it held me captivated from word one. The Replacement tells the story of 15 year old Mackie and those in his home town of Gentry. Mackie is pretty much known as the boy who never says anything even when spoken to. A junior in high school with a small but loyal group of friends among them, Roswell who is somehow wise beyond his years and despite his popularity and easy going ways has chosen Mackie as a close friend. Mackie's family is close knit and protective of Mackie yet despite their closeness there are things they just don't speak of; things like why Mackie can't go into the church where his pastor father gives sermon and presides over his parishioners, why Mackie is sickly especially when around certain metals and why does Mackie have such pale, pale skin and almost black eyes? Mackie's 19 year old sister Emma is and has always been fiercely protective of him. She'll do almost anything to keep her brother alive, no matter the cost to herself. There is definitely an underlying strangeness to Gentry that nobody really talks about. The sickly/dying children, the dried up lake and what's up with the slag heap? Those that live in Gentry have lived there most of their lives as have the generations leading before them. They seem to prosper despite the economic decline and it's been that way as far back as anyone can remember. When a school friend's 3 year old sister dies and she insists it wasn't HER sister in that casket, Mackie starts to question his identity. He meets Luther, the bassist of one of the local bands who is odd and strange--a bit like Mackie himself, and he tells Mackie that he, himself, will die if he doesn't visit the slag heap. This is where the story starts to really spin its tale. Throughout the story, Mackie discovers more about his identity, the value of love, sacrifice and how to feel and express emotion; something he's never quite been able to do. Summary: This is a creepy, eerie and fascinating story. It really touched me in some places; it intertwines reality with this strange folklore and makes it believable. The story flows from chapter to chapter fluidly and the characters are genuine and likeable. There's a passage that I found so true and so brilliant: "Intention is one of the most powerful forces there is. What you mean when you do a thing will always determine the outcome. The law creates the world." So true.

Mackie Doyle is not who everyone thinks he is, he's what's called a Changeling - a creature that is put in place of a human baby and assumes that baby's life in his/her place. Mackie is a Changeling, and unfortunately for him being a Changeling causes a few health issues. Alongside becoming sick, the little sister of the girl he has a crush on - Tate - is mysteriously kidnapped. With these two forces pushing him, Mackie seeks help from the creatures that live below Gentry. The creatures are willing to help, at a price. At first everything is awesome for Mackie as he fulfills his promise to the creatures of Slag Heaps, but he soon finds that being of two worlds is much more complicated than he initially imagined. The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff is a one of a kind novel, YA or not. Set with a gothic-theme with dashes of steampunk, The Replacement is a riveting, eerie, and spectacular read! Mackie Doyle is a very relatable character, despite the fact that he isn't human. I particularly enjoyed the closeness he had with his older sister Emma, who knows what he is but still accepts him as her little brother even after everything starts to get weird around him. With zombie-like creatures, rock music, romance, and witty commentary from the main character: The Replacement is a definite read for all those who enjoy a story that delights in its own morbidness and for those still looking for something to read on Halloween night!

I loved "The Replacement" mainly for its original idea. Changelings aren't exactly well-represented in YA literature. The book gave me a nice break from the typical cast of vampires and werewolves and stuff. I also really enjoyed the humanity of many of the characters, and their love for each other (especially the main character and his mom and sister).

Creepy and believable. I loved the hero and the strong female characters. I found the undead frightening and yet I also felt sorry for them. A good read.

Creepy read. Loved it!

Über das Buch stolperte ich, seinem wunderschönen, leicht schimmernden Covers wegen, auf der facebook-Seite von Maggie Stiefvater. Die Autorinnen sind offenbar befreundet und ich dachte ganz oft im Buch, dass man das wirklich merkt, denn 'The Replacement' ist M. Stiefvaters Feen-Serie nicht ganz unähnlich. Zum Inhalt: Wie Klappentext und Cover schon vermuten lassen, handelt es sich bei Mackie um ein Wechselbalg; ein Kind, das von 'den Anderen' im Austausch mit einem Menschenbaby in dessen Wiege zurückgelassen wurde. Diese 'Anderen', die im Untergrund unter der Stadt leben, sind in vielen Geschichten Feen. Hier würde ich das nicht so sagen, sie haben eher etwas Dämonisches an sich, einige sind Zombies sehr ähnlich. Sie geben sich selbst auch keinen Namen. Dass Mackie als Wechselbalg überhaupt seine Kleinkindzeit überlebte, grenzt an ein Wunder, denn normalerweise sterben diese Kinder sehr bald nach dem Austausch. Die Erklärung, warum Mackie nicht starb, war - das muss ich rasch mal dazwischen schieben - wunderschön. Jedoch hat Mackie gewisse Probleme mit Blut, Eisen und geweihter Erde, die er um alles in der Welt zu verbergen versucht, denn er darf nicht auffallen in dieser seltsamen Stadt Gentry. Die Stadt hat ihren ganz eigenen Charme. Normale amerikanische Kleinstadt, würde man sagen, aber durch die Geschehnisse - alle sieben Jahre wird ein Kind ausgetauscht und stirbt kurz darauf - liegt permanent so eine Art schauriger Nebel aus geheimnisumwitterter Stimmung über dieser Stadt. Denn man redet nicht über die Vorkommnisse. Unter keinen Umständen. Tate, ein Mädchen aus Mackies Klasse, deren Schwester ausgetauscht wurde, ist die erste, die diese Regeln bricht. Sie spürt, dass Mackie etwas zu verbergen hat und lässt nicht locker, denn sie ist nicht bereit, den Raub ihrer Schwester hinzunehmen. Mackie unterdessen geht es in der Menschenwelt immer schlechter. Er kommt nicht mehr darum herum, die Anderen in Mayham aufzusuchen und erfährt dort, was es mit Gentry auf sich hat. Und dass Tates Schwester noch lebt. Betonung auf 'noch'. Der Roman brauchte verhältnismäßig lange, bis er mich fesseln konnte, da in den ersten Kapiteln nicht viel passiert, sondern nur aufgedeckt wird, was der Leser schon weiß. Ich hatte nie den Wunsch abzubrechen, aber habe anfangs auch immer nur kleine Häppchen gelesen ohne das Gefühl zu haben, unbedingt weiterlesen zu müssen. Bis es auf den letzten 150 Seiten spannend wird, zieht allein Mackies melancholische, düstere und überwiegend verzagte Stimmung über alle Seiten. Eigentlich das Richtige für die Jahreszeit. Die Romantik hat mich leider nicht so recht erreicht, dafür waren die beiden mir irgendwie zu ' unentschlossen, dann wiederum ging plötzlich alles sehr schnell, um dann - grundlos - wieder im Nichts zu verlaufen. Da der Romantiksubplot aber nur ein schmaler ist, hat mich das nicht großartig gestört. Das Ende wartet dann mit mehr Action auf, es wird nicht nur gruselig, sondern richtig eklig-schauderlich, obwohl ich ein paar Mal schlucken musste, hat es mir wirklich gut gefallen. Fazit: Ein schaurig schöner Herbstroman über ein unverbrauchtes Thema, der eine Weile braucht bis er in Fahrt kommt und ein paar Fragen offen lässt, die sich scheinbar niemand stellt (z.B. woher die Wechselbälger kommen: Wachsen die aus der Erde?) aber für ein paar schöne, stimmungsvoll düstere Lesestunden sorgt. Empfehlenswert.

Gentry is a town full of secrets, superstitions and unspoken fears. Mackie has spent his whole life trying not to stand out, which is far from easy when he has coal black eyes and allergies to blood, steel and consecrated ground. Mackie is different, he doesn't belong and everyone knows it, even if no one will admit it. Things are about to change though, not only is he getting weaker but a girl in his class, Tate, has decided she's tired of the town's silence and she wants answers - from him. The Replacement is creepy, atmosphere and engaging. It is refreshing to find a paranormal-YA novel with a male protagonist and even better to discover that Mackie is somewhat of an anti-hero. He is not obviously brave, and he aches with alienation and guilt, which only increases as he learns more about where he came from and what happened to the child he replaced. The picket fenced world of Gentry, trying to act as though it isn't rusting away and isn't aware that there is a dark underground world beneath it full of the grotesque and the beautiful, the kind and the cruel, seems to be a metaphor for who Mackie is. He is trying to put on the façade of being `normal', but his body is falling apart because inside he is different, he comes from a dark place but he is also full of love, even if he doesn't know how to express it very well. At it's heart it feels like The Replacement is about learning to accept who you are as a person but it doesn't shove the message down your throat because nothing is easy, there is no neat, ideal resolution and none of the relationships are particularly simple. The character development is subtle and Mackie's friends and family are an interesting collection of people; Tate, Emma and Roswell are very well drawn and it never feels like they are just props to move the story along. The creatures from the underground are a little less so but it would probably have been impossible to give them all depth whilst keeping the pace of the story moving along. The only thing that bugged me was why Mackie didn't ask one of the key questions anyone would want to know in his situation: who - or what - were his real parents? Perhaps that's something to come? I don't know if there will be a sequel to The Replacement, but I hope so.