Andrea Chettle29 March 2011
This is a book for anyone who has ever felt out of place in the world. Anyone whose ever felt that they are the wrong fit while everyone else fits just right. It's a book for anyone who loves tales of dark fairies. The sort of fairies that live under a slag heap and steal away babies to sacrifice every seven years. Fairies who survive on the adoration of humans and will do anything to get it. Mostly though, this is a book for anyone that loves a good story. One that wraps tendrils, thick and green and just a little poisonous around you and pulls you right into the plot. The story of one who's left behind to take the place of a stolen child. The Replacement
I loved this book. It's dark, twisty and unsettling. Digging into the secrets of the town of Gentry is like picking up a rock and finding all sorts of wriggling, scuttling, biting creatures underneath. Although I referred to them as fairies, the author doesn't actually name her creations leaving it up to the reader's mind to name and claim them. The living dead girls, The Cutter, The Morrigan and her sister The Lady are all so cleverly drawn into the plot that you could quite easily believe that there really is a kingdom right below our own.
Apart from the magical creatures, however, this is a story about family and what it means to belong. Its about how far someone will go to protect/save a person they love. At it's heart, though, it's about accepting who you are and the situation you find yourself living in whatever that may be.
I would really recommend that you pick up a copy of The Replacement and visit the town of Gentry . Just don't stay too long because it's not always a safe place to be.
