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Introduction:
The Replacement is a dark fantasy novel by Brenna Yovanoff. It was published in 2010. The story is set in the small town of Gentry where Mackie, the main character, lives. However, he comes from the underworld of Gentry as a Replacement. He desperately wants to find where he belongs and live a normal life like the rest of his peers and neighbors. This novel is known for its horror and dark twist into fantasy.

Plot:
Mackie lives in the small town of Gentry, but he comes from a dark world of tunnels and murky water, ruled by a creepy little princess. He is a Replacement, left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Gentry is an ominous town as many children have gone missing to the underworld. Everyone knows about the underworld. Because he has serious allergies to iron, blood, and holy ground, Mackie is slowly dying among humans. He wishes to live a normal life, play his bass, and spend time with his crush Tate, who fascinates him. Mackie spends all his time trying to fit in. However, everything changes when his classmate Tate, who always tells the truth, loses her baby sister to the faeries. She insists that Mackie help her find a way to get her sister back. Mackie gets pulled into the dangerous underworld of Gentry, called Mayhem. He confronts Morrigon in Mayhem and finds out that her sister has been taking and replacing kids just because they are pretty or they amuse her. Mackie decided to grave rob with Emma and Roswell to get the replacement of Tate’s sister out. When he went back to the underworld to rescue Tate’s sister, he got caught by the Cutter and the Lady. The Lady reveals who she really is and takes his devotion and when she seeped through his wrist, he realizes that his family is love. He goes back to his home and feels the love he wasn’t able to feel all along.

Analysis:
The novel highly consists of the theme of identity. Even though Mackie is from a different world than his family neighbors and friends, he tries to fit in in high school and with his peers. Despite his allergies to iron, blood, and holy ground, he is willing to find his true self and where he belongs–whether it is the underworld, Mayhem, or the human world. The author portrays the theme of identity as important in everyone’s life. It also includes the idea of the underworld, as some people may believe that there is an underworld. The story connects the underworld to our human life. In the story, the mention of the underworld is frequent as Mackie tries to save Tate’s sister from the underworld. Mackie is the symbol of the connection between the underworld and the human world. The book also goes over the concept of family love and friends. Even though Mackie isn’t a “real” family to his “family”, they still care about him. It is clear that Mackie loves his sister, Emma, and this shows sibling love. Additionally, Mackie has a great bond with Roswell, his oldest friend. They support and are there for each other. These are shown when Mackie, Emma, and Roswell went grave-robbing together for the sake of Natalie, Tate’s sister.

Conclusion:
The Replacement is a dark fantasy, horror, novel by Brenna Yovanoff. It was published in 2010. It is notable for its dark fantasy and changeling aspects of the book. The story begins with a scene where Mackie gets replaced. He is a high school student with a close friend, Roswell, and his sister, Emma. He has a crush on Tate. He is allergic to blood, iron, and holy ground. When he finds out Tate’s sister went missing, he went to save her sister by grave-robbing and going to the underworld. At the end, he finally found his true identity. The book consists of themes of identity, underworld, and family and friends. Through Mackie’s action and thoughts, it is clearly shown how he develops as a character through his struggles of identity and bonds with his family and ends his connection with the underworld.