Book Reviews

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Sixteen-year-old Mackie Doyle struggles with a strange, debilitating illness that makes him miss out on most of the fun of high school. Throughout the story, Mackie discovers that he is a changeling, who was left in the crib of a human child stolen by the fairy folk. In the town of Gentry, this is a familiar, unspoken occurrence that is linked to the continued prosperity of the community as it happens every seven years. The changeling usually dies within a few months of being left with the humans. But Mackie survived. When his friend suffers an infant sibling’s death, and claims loudly that the infant is still alive, no one believes her--except for Mackie. In his search to understand himself, he stumbles into the underground world of the fairy folk, discovering his roots, his legacy, and the baby girl missing from Gentry. Together with his friends at school, Mackie attempts to rescue the child before the dreaded day she will be sacrificed to appease the fairy folk.

This debut novel was very well written, and proved to be a compelling read. I enjoyed it, while at the same time found the story unsettling. Mackie is a likable character, as are his friends, Roswell and Tate. The author presents fairy lore in a different light that is dark and disturbing, giving a fresh new take to the usual ‘I’m different from everyone else and no one understands me’ scenario that can be overused in the young adult genre. In this case, the author has created a new ‘monster’ that we can identify with and root for as he struggles with his desire to be normal and "human."

- Lily Silver, Stephenson Public Library

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

I heard about this book during a book talk by Karol Sacca at the ARSL Conference. She said it was one of her favorite teen books of all time and that you should have kleenex next to you when reading it.

Caitlin, an 11-year-old girl who has Asperger's, now has to live her life without her older brother, Devon. (How he died is revealed later in the book). So now it's just Caitlin and her father, who isn't very much help to her. Caitlin especially has a hard time accepting and moving past her brother's death. When Caitlin reads the definition of "closure," she makes it a priority to see that she gets it - if only it was that easy.

This is an excellent read for teens and adults. Sometimes Caitlin's behavior, even though it couldn't be helped, made me want to pull out my hair. I found myself empathizing with Caitlin, her father and anyone who tried to help them. I also loved that Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird," is referenced in the book, and the connections Erskine makes between Scout and Caitlin. This is a moving, beautiful story told in Caitlin's "black and white" perspective. And Karol was right - I did tear up at times.

- Jamie Matczak, NFLS