Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The Demon's Lexicon


Nick and his older brother Alan don't lead a typical life after their father died. Instead of concentrating on school or sports, these boys have to slay warlocks and their demon minions coming after a powerful charm in their crazed mother's possession or die. After each attack, they have to hastily relocate only to be found again. In their current home, they thought the vicious cycle stopped and their enemies had lost them. They were wrong. After a demon attack in their kitchen, a boy from their school approaches them with 2 demon marks on him, which leads to certain death. Alan takes one of the marks so they can both be saved, but the group must kill warlocks that commanded the demons to attack them in order to remove the marks. Now, Nick and Alan must hunt one of the most powerful warlock's circle and avoid being killed in the process.

Before I read this book, I had met Sarah Rees Brennan several times. She's a delightful person with a boisterous personality and hilarious sense of humor. I was afraid that I wouldn't like the way she writes or her characters because I really like her as a person. My fears were completely unfounded because The Demon's Lexicon is easily one of the most unique young adult novels I've read in the past couple years. I put in the ranks of Brenna Yovanoff's The Replacement and Holly Black's Curse Workers series. My favorite part of this novel is Nick. He is much different than any other protagonist I've ever read. Anger and detachment are his typical states of mind. He might be hard for some to relate to, but he won me over with his sarcastic tone and bad boy charm. I think Alan is meant to be the brother to relate better to, but I didn't like him at all. He was a skilled liar and incredibly manipulative of everyone around him. Even though Nick is less warm and fuzzy, at least he's honest and doesn't try to lie to make people feel better.

The plot and the action in the story were amazing. The sword fights were awesome and exciting, while there was still romance and secrets. The story is full of mystery and intrigue, which I love. I figured out the big secret about midway through the book, but I had fun going through the adventure and doubting if I predicted the ending (which I had). Once I got to the middle of the book, I did not want to put it down. I was disappointed that I had to pause for sleep, but I was up again the next day aching to finish. I love that feeling and it's a rare book that makes me feel that way. I loved the ending and I can't wait to read the second and third books in the series.

The Demon's Lexicon has just about everything: sword fighting, romance, demons, warlocks, and above all, secrets. I highly recommend this book to those not afraid of a good adventure. I also recommend going out to meet Sarah Rees Brennan if at all possible. She's an awesome, hilarious woman this is guaranteed to make whatever event she's at special.

My rating: 4.5/5 fishmuffins

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