Gr 7-Up-Kernel is a teenager with an odd talent-he sees pieces of colored light floating in the air, and if he concentrates he can put them together like a jigsaw puzzle into a window shape. But everything goes horribly wrong when a demonic face jumps out of one of the windows and draws the boy into another dimension. When Kernel reappears in his own world, he doesn't quite remember all that happened, but figures out that his baby brother was also kidnapped by the demon. The family moves to a new town, but there is no escape from the horror that has entered their lives. Demon Thief follows Lord Loss (Little, Brown, 2005), the first volume in this grim and very gory series from the author of the "Cirque du Freak" books (Little, Brown). Readers who love the ghastly and demand a fast pace will be asking for more.-Walter Minkel, New York Public Library Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Travel between dimensions and back in time with Cornelius, aka "Kernel" Fleck, the bald, eccentric youth whose only friend is his little, razor-toothed brother Art. Although Kernel has seen plenty of dark times, including the death of his little sister, Annabella, and a friendless existence at school, he is perhaps the only boy on Earth who has never seen physical darkness. Why? Kernel is plagued by mysterious, puzzle-shaped patches of pulsing light-his constant companions. When Kernel's parents take a mini-vacation and Art is kidnapped by a gruesome demon, Kernel finds himself catapulted into the Demon's universe on a mad search to rescue his brother. Fans of Lord Loss (Little, Brown, 2005/VOYA October 2005) will be thrilled to see a nose-ringed, purple-spiked-haired younger version of Uncle Dervish Grady, a punk-rocker with a mission to destroy evil, one of the "Disciples" of Beranabus, the great magician. And not to be outdone, Lord Loss makes a grisly appearance as Kernel's nemesis. It does not take long for Kernel and Dervish to become loyal friends and for Kernel to learn that the omnipresent lights are a magical tool with which to be reckoned. Although littered with putrid scenes that at times become repetitive and over-the-top even for this writer, the book skillfully addresses the themes of family loyalty and the devastation of betrayal without moralizing. With a twist ending that borders on tragic, Shan leaves plenty of room for another piece of Kernel's story-a piece for which fans will search in order to complete the puzzle of the Demonata world.-Erin K. Kilby.