City of Bones (#1 The Mortal Instrument Series)

	Title City of Bones    Author Cassandra Clare    Genre Young Adult, Fantasy    Publisher  Margaret K. McElderry Books    Publication Date March 27, 2007    How I Got This Book BookMooch    Hardback 485 pages    Series Book #1 The Mortal Instrument Series      Reading Difficulty 2       (on a scale of 1-5 5 = dictionary vernacular)
Luke, I am your Teacher's Friend's Husband's Son's Sister

Clary lives an uninteresting life in New York City as the daughter of an eccentric artist, but when she sees a group of tattooed teenagers kill a patron at a local club, things turn for the worse. With the disappearance of her mother, Clary turns to the tattooed teens for help. She soon finds out that there is more to her world, including her own existence, than meets the eye. 

This novel reminded me of several stories as I got further and further into it. As you can see with the sub-title, It reminded me of Star Wars, but it also had some Harry Potter undertones as well as my own... that but that doesn't count. 
     Star Wars = strange family love...
     Harry Potter = Valentine is Voldemort, Jace is Harry, and Clary is Ron. 
    (Yes, I didn't feel that Clary was truly a Harry character in this novel. Maybe the next one?)

Hit The Mark:
The last two chapters. This book defiantly didn't end like I imagined when I started reading it, though the closer I got to those last two chapters, the more I wanted it to end the way it did. Gross! I also liked the world Clare created, though I wanted to see more of it. Some of my favorite parts of the book where when the characters were in a NY diner run by and for Underworlder's and humans alike. I desperately wanted Clary to travel to the City Of Glass. Guess I would have to read the next book, or the book after, or after to get to the City of Glass.

Needs Improvement:
So without giving away one of the biggest twists in this novel... Alabama-love. This is all I can say. I was thoroughly creeped out at the end of the book (the last sentence). It's a great twist, but the more I think about the interactions, the more I want to gag.  
 

This book dragged on, and on. I wasn't as interested in it as I had hoped for. First of all, the size is a little intimidating for a dyslexic like myself, but I shrugged of my concerns expecting to get sucked into a magnificent plot. I wasn't. Don't get me wrong, it is an interesting book and worth the read, but it didn't drag me into the story, until the last two chapters. I didn't feel like I was a part of the book, or shared a connection with the main character. 

Maybe I had issues because there was too much going on. This is the first book, sometimes the author puts aside the plot to educate the reader on what they may expect to see in books to come... that makes the first book seem ADHD as you read it. First we are partying it up at a magician's house, the next thing, were in a vampire covenant, for no apparent "plot-driven" reason.

Last, there wasn't a resolve to the plot driven problem. Actually, the plot took a step backwards. The characters achieved their goal 3/4 through the book, but it didn't end because people were injured, then new antagonists arose and threw a wrench into the system. 

Rating: C+

If you like Harry Potter series, The Golden Compass, Hex Hall, & Hush, Hush, you might like this novel.

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About the Author

Cassandra Clare

After college, Cassie lived in Los Angeles and New York where she worked at various entertainment magazines and even some rather suspect tabloids where she reported on Brad and Angelina’s world travels and Britney Spears’ wardrobe malfunctions. She started working on her YA novel, City of Bones, in 2004, inspired by the urban landscape of Manhattan, her favorite city. She turned to writing fantasy fiction full time in 2006 and hopes never to have to write about Paris Hilton again.

Cassie’s first professional writing sale was a short story called “The Girl’s Guide to Defeating the Dark Lord” in a Baen anthology of humor fantasy. Cassie hates working at home alone because she always gets distracted by reality TV shows and the antics of her two cats, so she usually sets out to write in local coffee shops and restaurants. She likes to work in the company of her friends, who see that she sticks to her deadlines.