Infamous

I really hate coming in at the middle of a series ("The Chronicles of Nick") but I would have to put in some concerted effort to start at the beginning with the set of characters in this book by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Apparently there are multiple series, each with multiple books that share overlapping characters. Even so-- being constantly reminded that there was a lot I didn't know about the history of Nick Gautier, 15-year old New Orleans teenager and potential destroyer or savior of humankind--this was an enjoyable read because Nick is in many ways a wise-cracking teen with all the usual angsts (parents, girls, bullying) but also trying to survive a whole lot of evil creatures (and some not so evil) who want him dead. He is the son of the Malachai, which is the penultimate evil creature and if he matures, his father will die and humanity will suffer. Protectors have been sent to look after him, one being his girlfriend who is also not what she seems. Raised by a poor single mom who was disowned by her own parents when she became pregnant from a violent rape, Nick fights more mundane persecution as well, labelled "white trash" by other kids at school. But now someone is posting horrible claims and pictures about the kids at school on the internet--Nick is getting a fair share of the blame and the fallout. Is this a plot concocted by those seeking to destroy Nick, or just garden variety human evil.  The action is non-stop, characters are complex as well as mostly supernatural. Intriguing enough that I would seek out additional books in this specific series (preceded by Infinity and Invincible) as well as other series by this author.