The Replacement

Mackie Doyle is The Replacement - left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. He has been raised among us. But he is not one of us. Now, he must face the dark creatures of the slag heaps from which he came and find his rightful place - in our world or theirs. -from bn.com

As you may have been able to tell by the cover, this is a creepy book. It's a damp, gray town in The Replacement, and each flip of the page draws you in deeper to the mystery of the town and the peculiar happenings. 

Mackie's cool. In my opinion anyway,which has to have some weight in your mind if you're reading this. Like the rest of us, he struggles with his life as a teen. He has a crush, doesn't enjoy school, and argues with his dad. But unlike most of us, he's allergic to iron and consecrated ground and it's slowly killing him. Not because he's a vampire- that would seem more normal- but something else. A replacement for the "real" Malcolm Doyle. 

He's slowly dying, and when help appears he can take it- but at a price. He has to choose between the world where he came from- the wretched underworld of Mayhem- or the one he's known for his entire life. The place where he's never been conceived as "normal". 

I think he makes some smart choices in the book, and the natural ebb and flow of the book is good. While this book was one of those that completely sucks you in, all the characters except Mackie- and possibly Tate- seem a bit flat. The storyline is a bit predictable, yes, but surprisingly when you add it all together the overall meaning and insight is strong. That's what makes it so good. At the end of this book, instead of seeing all the gray of the world, you might just see a little light, called hope. 38 of 51 tacos!