The Replacement - Brenna Yovanoff

"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 or spend time with an oddly intriguing girl named 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."

-http://www.brennayovanoff.com/


This is the book I was talking about in my last post. I decided to check it out and I'm glad that I did. It was a great, edge of your seat, kind of fantasy. I didn't really know what was going to happen until it was happening and I liked that.

There were parts that seemed kind of confusing, like the characters were going along with it too easy. I don't know exactly how to explain it but I guess I didn't really connect with them the way I thought I might have. I can't say that there was a character that I liked more than another.

It was very descriptive so it was easy to visualize what was going on. Some strong language was used here and there so you can use your own discretion on that. Overall, I'd say this is a book worth picking up.

This book sounds familiar. Did I write this?

I was browsing through some blogs recently when I found a couple of reviews for Brenna Yovanoff's The Replacement. That one got my attention because I just so happen to have a short story with the same name. So I thought, huh, that's interesting. Similar titles are bound to come up every once in awhile, right? But after I read the reviews I found something a little more concerning. The expert sounds a lot like my plot.

No, as fun as it sounds, I'm not trying to come up with some crazy conspiracy theory about how Yovanoff sent ninja spys into my notebook to steal my plots. I am, however, presented with my first problem. Do I read this book or not? If I read it and I decide that I want to put some more work into my short than will everything I write suddenly sound like Yovanoff's? If I don't read it than I'll forever wonder if we two great minds that think a like.

Here's the second question. Will having a similar plot lower my chances of getting that story published? I don't believe that short of mine was ever meant to go anywhere but I've been told that if I were to expand it than it could be a really good book. Does it make any difference to agents or publishers if they've heard of something similar?

Well, I've decided I'd read The Replacement because it sounds like a pretty cool book. In fact, I've just started it and it seems to be a little more fantasy whereas mine is pretty realistic. I may do a review on it when I'm done.

What's your opinion? Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever seen a book that was close to something you wrote before?

(PS- HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SISTER!!! :) )