The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan

It wouldn't have been so bad, except that Nick kept his favorite sword under the sink.' This is our introduction to Nick Ryves, a sixteen year old who has been on the run from magicians his entire life. This is the first paragraph: 'The pipe under the sink was leaking again. I waited for this book to come out for at least a year, and when I finally got it (tonight!) I started reading it and didn't stop until it was done. Brennan's 'The Demon's Lexicon' is different, in a wonderful way. The writing is superb, the surprises are many, and the ending is just perfect.I recommend this book wholeheartedly.

Sentences are lean, simple, edgy, threaded with subtle, dark humor. On top of it all, Nick starts to suspect that Alan, the only person he trusts, has been keeping secrets from him for years.The story is written in third-person, from Nick's point-of-view. When, while trying to help Mae and Jamie, Alan gets marked by demons, too, Nick is furious- he must find a way to remove the demon mark and save Alan.

Nick doesn't want to help all he cares about is Alan.Alan, however, wants to try save Jamie. If no one helps Jamie remove the marks, he'll die. While the sensitive-yet-tough Alan is thin, blue-eyed, with a pianist's hands, relying on his superb way with words, cunning and gun-marksmanship, Nick is big, dark and brooding, fighting silently with his swords and knives.One night, just when Alan and Nick intend to skip town again following another Magicians' attack, someone butts in:young Jamie and his sister Mae dare ask the brothers for help. It seems that the Magicians desperately want back a unique talisman that Olivia stole.Alan and Nick are different. Years ago, the Magicians managed to kill their father, and Alan was injured badly and was left with a permanent limp. Power-hungry Magicians, grouped in Magician Circles, use magic to summon demons into our world and 'feed' humans to them (they help demons possess humans) in exchange for more power.Across England, 16 y/o Nick and his big brother Alan escape from the evil Magicians, while dragging their crazy mom, Olivia, along for the ride. And.I found her book hard to put down.In Brennan's world, magic and demons exist, unknown to us ordinary humans. I'm a big fan of Rob Thurman's Leandros brothers series, and was curious to see how author Sarah Rees Brennan handled the brothers theme. I was intrigued when someone recommended to me 'The Demon's Lexicon'.

The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan