The Replacement

Gr 9 Up—Being a teenage boy is difficult enough, but Mackie Doyle has a secret that sets him apart from other teens in this novel (Razorbill, 2010) by Brenna Yavanoff. Mackie is a nonhuman replacement for a human baby that was stolen. He from the ugly, rotting world of Mayhem that resides under the town. All Mackie wants to do is be accepted at school, stay under the radar, and attempt to kiss a girl. But all that changes when he becomes very ill and is approached by creepy people who say they can save him if he will go underground to his own kind. Then another child is stolen and Mackie befriends the grieving sister to retrieve her from the underworld. This eerie story is a modern version of a changeling tale. Teens will find it exciting and identify with the normal teen angst set in this supernatural world. Anime actor Kevin Collins does an outstanding job of making the voices of Mackie and all the secondary characters believable. A deliciously intriguing listening experience.—Jeana Actkinson, ESC Region XI, Ft. Worth, TX