FlumeAward – The Demon’s Lexicon Discussion page for The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
I read this book a few years when it came out. It is very good and I ‘d recommend it for our list. I can’t really remember all of the details but it is very plot based with lots of horror action and lots of twists and turns. I’ll look at it again and give more of recommendation soon.
Gail Zachariah
Keene Public Library
I just finished this one and I highly recommend it for the short list. It was a very different take on the supernatural world, and a great story about two brothers beyond that. This is an excellent choice for boys. I agree with Gail–lots of action that will keep them interested and many twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. Alan and Nick are on the run from the magicians who are after their mother because of a charm she has–giving it to them would take their mother’s life. They move from house to house in England to avoid being caught. Bookish Alan has a soft spot for helping others, however, and much to the dismay of headstrong, brawny Nick, insists that they try to help Jamie and Mae. Jamie has been marked by a demon and Mae is determined to help her younger brother. The only way to clear the mark is to kill a magician, which is extremely difficult. Add in Nick and Alan’s mentally unstable mother and the fact the magicians are hunting them, and it’s no wonder this fast-paced book doesn’t pause for a moment.
Caitlin Stevens
Bedford Public Library
Nick and his brother Alan live in and around London, moving around frequently with the aim of escaping the magicians whom are hunting them and their mother. Alan has taken a caretaking role, making Nick go to school, cooking, and soothing Nick. Nick bristles under his care – not liking school, struggling with reading and rules, feeling uneasy with people. The story starts with an explosion of magic in their kitchen, moves forward as two siblings from school show up, one with a third tier demon mark (a death sentence), and continues with the aim to remove demon marks from both Jamie and Alan. There is a little love connection, some mystery, questions of what makes us human and family, a large dabble in magic, and a conclusion that, while it allows this book to stand alone, leaves space for more to come. – This book is a bit similar to I Am Number Four in that it deals with magic, almost super-human strength (not so much here – really good looks and above the top fighting ability), tattoos that just appear and link the person to magic in some way, the climax a fight with a magical world (or in I Am Number Four, an alien world). This is definitely the better book, the characterization is much better, the setting more defined – this story wasn’t written to become a movie – it was written to stand on its own. I think that this would be a great choice for the list, and it won’t be a hard sell to either boys or girls. Sharon Flesher-Duffy, Nashua High South