High School Thriller: The Replacement

The Replacement
by Brenna Yovanoff
Razorbill (Penguin Group), 2010
343 pages

The cover art and spooky title font should attract teens to this debut novel. Maggie Stiefvater, author of Shiver ,writes on the front cover, "I loved this eerie and beautiful story of ugly things. It should be read after dark, at a whisper." She's right!

There is something evil and menacing under the town of Gentry and it waits until once every seven years to claim its bounty--a child sacrifice.

Mackie knows he's not normal. He can't be around blood or anything with iron or steel. His family covers for him and his pastor father tells him to fit in--don't bring unwanted attention on yourself--stay in the shadows. His sister Emma loves him fiercely even though she knows the darkest of all secrets--Mackie isn't her brother at all--he's a replacement.

This novel is creepy, gritty, and downright slithery. Think of all things grimy, seedy, nasty, damp, dark, dank, rotten, moldy, and you have the The House of Misery and the House of Mayhem--two equally evil desolate places beneath the slag heap on the outskirts of town. Is Mackie brave enough to enter the darkness? Will Mackie be able to save the town from the seven year payment?

Young readers will stay up late under the covers with a flashlight to finish this novel. Very creepy and edgy, yet fascinating. An unputdownable show-stopper of a read. The Replacement is the best ya novel I've read this year--think Stephen King at the top of his game.

Highly, highly recommended for grades 9-12. Recommended for mature readers grade 8--with caution.

Language. Violence. Light petting.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I bought this novel for my library. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review. I will add it to my shelves with caution to readers--I would recommend it to grade 8 mature readers.

Young Adult Pick

Epitaph Road
by David Patneaude
Egmont, 2010
266 pages


Edgy, provocative, gripping and forceful, Epitaph Road delivers as a chilling thriller set in the near future. In 2067, a plague descends upon the world killing nearly all the world's male population. Thirty years later, Kellen gets a weird lesson in history from his teacher. It seems through her lesson, she's hinting that the plague may have been planned-- that someone wanted to kill off the male population.

When a second launch of Elisha's Bear seems imminent, Kellen runs off to save his own father and a few other men known as loners--those who survived the first plague and now live away from the female population.

Boys growing up in this matriarchal society are considered inferior beings. In the thirty years since most men died, society has little or no crime, no prisons and no wars. Women live in peace but not in freedom. Kellen has a chance to expose the truth about the plague and the new government.

The novel is built upon an interesting concept and could easily lead to lively book club discussions or classroom discussions on gendercide, sexism, and prejudice.

Highly, highly recommended grades 8-up.
some mild language

FTC Required Disclaimer: I purchased this book for my middle school library. I received no monetary compensation for this review.