Review: The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Title: The Replacement
Author: Brenna Yovanoff
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Year of Release: 2010
ISBN: 9780857071385
Source: Purchased
Number or Pages: 375
"Gentry was two different things and at night, I could always see that second thing better. The town was it's green suburban lawns, sure, but it was also it's secrets. The kind of place where people double-checked the locks at night or pulled their kids closer in the grocery store."
Mackie Doyle is the Replacement. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, Mackie comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a Replacement- left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood and consecrated ground, Mackie is slowly dying in the human world. 
Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass guitar or spend time with an oddly intriguing girl called Tate. But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place- in our world, or theirs.
I'm going to start by saying that I actually liked this book. The plot was very fresh and original and Miss Yovanoff, considering that this is her first novel, is a very skilled writer and I love the way she has set out the story. It's not often I find a book that is written from a male perspective and that was one of the things I enjoyed about this one. I was continuously being tugged into the mystical world of Gentry and the life of Mackie Doyle. The separation between the two worlds, the town of Gentry and the mysterious Slag Heaps, was incredibly intriguing. I do think however, that some areas of the book were a bit slow, but once I had reached a certain point in the plot, I couldn't put the book down until I had reached the end. 
Admittedly, when I first found this book and read the blurb, I had my doubts as I thought it sounded a but weird since this is not the sort of book I am usually attracted to. But those doubts were certainly shoved into some less important part of my silly mind as I began reading. 
I did do my homework for this book- I wanted a bit of background information about what consecrated ground and slag heaps were, to better understand the many references to these two things throughout the course of the book. So in case you are interested in reading this one, here's what you need to know:

• A slag heap is a hill or area of land from a mine or industrial site. They are piles formed from the materials left by mining/industrial work.
• Consecrated ground is land or a place that has been liturgically blessed - e.g a church or a grave.

Now that's all cleared up, I'll finish by saying that I do recommend this book (especially to the ladies, if you know what I mean) and let me know your thoughts and opinions if you do happen to have a read of this book. I have also heard a few rumors that The Replacement is going to be made into a movie ! I'll have to keep my open for that. 
Anyway, I just want to wish a very merry Christmas to all my followers and I hope you all have a fantastic festive holiday.  Thanks for all your support this year and for being genuinely interested in the crap I write. :) 
And this is my last review for 2011 ! *sad face* Looking forward to 2012 and the new opportunities it will bring.