Books I Love – The Replacement by Brenna Yavanoff

I’m not a book review blogger, but I read a lot of books (like 3 or 4 a week). Sometimes I read books that I love so much I need to share. Don’t be surprised if these are mostly YA fantasy, but what can I say, the heart wants what it wants. Although I’ve read many books that I love, I’m only going to post ones going from this point forward, so the “Books I Love” posts may be sporadic. Okay, enough explaining, on with the book.

Mackie Doyle seems like everyone else in the perfect little town of Gentry, but he is living with a fatal secret – he is a Replacement, left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now the creatures under the hill want him back, and Mackie must decide where he really belongs and what he really wants.

A month ago, Mackie might have told them to buzz off. But now, with a budding relationship with tough, wounded, beautiful Tate, Mackie has too much to lose. Will love finally make him worthy of the human world?

There’s been a lot of hype about this book, mostly about the cover (which I think is one of the best of 2010) but it received mixed reviews. A few people thought the pacing was slow. I thought it was perfect. You are given this strange character in an odd situation and I was drawn immediately into his world. I wanted to know what happened next and finished the book in three hours.

It’s also a relief to read a YA book where the main character is male. There’s a huge emphasis on music, and yes, every teenage boy I have ever known has been a music snob. I loved the character interactions, as well as the feeling you get for the town they live in.

Has anyone else read this? Love it? Hate it?

Back next week with a query critique on Monday and more posts on critique groups.