Title: City Of Bones
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publication Info: Simon & Schuster, April 2007
Series: The Mortal Instruments, book 1
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance
Rating: <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Move over Edward Cullen, Jace Wayland is here to steal those young hearts (and young-at-hearts) out from under you. Braver, smarter, hotter, sexier, Jace is a hero for the ages. Book one in Cassandra Clare’s mega popular series is a page turner. As soon as I finished, I ran out to barnes and noble to buy the next two. It’s been a marathon reading labor day weekend! I’m looking forward to book 4 and a potential movie version of the books.

Plot:
Clary Fray is a somewhat geeky, but otherwise ordinary fifteen year old. Or so she believes. When she witnesses the murder of something not-human by three gorgeous teenagers that no one else can see, she begins a tumble through the rabbit hole into a world of demons, mythological monsters and things that go bump in the night. Jace Wayland and his siblings are Shadowhunters–an elite race of half-human, half-angels that fight the demons that threaten to overrun our world. He has little respect for “mundanes,” but Clary seems different. When her mother disappears, leaving demon stench and zombies behind, Clary must uncover the secret world her mother has been hiding, and seize her destiny.

Discussion:
Ms. Clare’s writing is lovely. Her poetic descriptions paint a fascinating world of mythic monsters and epic struggles. Her exceptional talent is in creating characters that jump off the page. Jace Wayland, in particular, is larger than life. He has all the characteristics of Peter Pan, but with a heart. Courageous, conceited, always the first to rush into danger, always the last one to accept defeat, Jace is a bad-ass with a heart of gold. *happysigh* Some of the plot twists were predictable, and I kept reading “Valentine” as “Voldemort.” There were other similarities to Harry Potter, with the kid’s parents all being part of the secret club and Clary getting a photo of them all together. I was quite disappointed by a major plot twist, but ruined the surprise for the rest of the series by reading the back cover blurb of the next few books. Do yourself a favor, don’t read the back cover blurb of books 3 and 4!

If you like the Twilight Saga, you’ll love this series.

Ms. Clare’s next project is also in the Shadowhunter world, but set in the Victorian Era. Check out her new website for the series, called the Infernal Devices, to see all the pretty gears and steam.