FROM BRICK and DARKNESS By J. L. Sullivan – YA Urban Fantasy, Mythology, Coming of Age

Dreams become a reality for a high schooler who gets more than he bargains for when he unwittingly releases a demon in J. L. Sullivan’s urban fantasy novel, From Brick and Darkness.

Fifteen-year-old Baxter (Bax) Allen encounters a creepy homeless-looking man at his apartment complex with purple eyes. The stranger, who asks for Greg, Bax’s estranged father, hands him a ring affixed with a purple stone. The man says that the costume jewelry is valuable, although Bax has difficulty believing his claim.

At school the next day, as he shares his weird experience with his best friend, Jason, Bax accidentally rubs the ring, the stone emits a hypnotic glow, and a small monkey-like creature appears, saying, “How can it serve?” Once Bax and Jason realize that the ring summoned a genie (or Janni, as the creature says), the two plan to investigate this strange phenomenon further at Bax’s house. One thing leads to the next, and before the boys know what’s going on, Ashley, Bax’s neighbor catches a glimpse of Janni. She joins the boys and is sworn to secrecy about this enchanted creature.

Although Janni’s job is relegated to fetching objects instead of granting wishes, Bax wonders if it has untapped power, especially when Bax has a vivid dream involving his estranged father.

The dream activates the ring, causing it to emanate a purple light. Janni, who admits to knowing where to find a more powerful djinn – an ifrit, more akin to a demon – leads the trio to an ordinary box fitted with yet another purple jewel. Bax rubs it, producing a gastly-looking creature that Bax immediately orders back in the box.

That evening, Bax has another vivid dream that, to his horror, exactly matches the death of Nick Ruiz, a popular student at Truman High. The mysterious conditions behind Nick’s demise can only point to one culprit: the ifrit. Bax and his friends feverishly scramble to find a way to stop the demon from unleashing more harm. What the trio doesn’t know is that the ifrit has more sinister plans in the works.

Rising young adult author, J. L. Sullivan, combines mythology, theology, and astronomy to create an invitingly fresh, nail-biting coming-of-age teen tale.

At the center of all the “ologies” is an ordinary teen with ordinary desires, except that he often wonders about the father he barely knew who seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth. Sullivan excels at making not only Bax Allen a real person, but making the entire St. Louis-based environment come to life. In Bax’s world, teens are just teens with hormones, angst, bullies, and rumors galore.

But what happens when, amid a commonplace high school atmosphere, one teen accidentally walks into a realm beyond the three-wish genies’ basic concept? Sullivan’s imagination takes “curiosity killed the cat” to a new level when not just Bax but his clever best friend and Bax’s annoying teen neighbor are grouped as an unlikely trio on a research-driven quest that turns deadly. Because Janni and the ifrit only answer to Bax, he constantly finds himself in sticky situations. Tension builds between him and his mother as his excuses pile on top of one another.

Sullivan’s sure and engaging writing style offers a well-balanced mix of narration and dialogue with a small but mighty supportive cast that provides readers with an inside scoop on the main character’s thought processes and internal struggles. Scenes slowly build, especially while highlighting victims and surly characters, creating non-stop tension and a gripping page-turner.

From Brick and Darkness is guaranteed to become a new teen favorite.