Author - Cassandra Clare
ISBN - 1416914285
Publication Date - 2007
Plot -City of Bones is the opening book in the Mortal Instruments series. As such it spends a good deal of its time trying to introduce many of the characters to the reader. First, there is Clary Fray, she is the product of her mother, who seems to be hiding things from her She is our main protagonist. She is followed closely by Jace Wayland, who we find out that he is a shadowhunter a person who is a hunter of demons that kills these otherworldly creatures and cannot be seen. Then there is Simon Lewis, Clary's best friend and confidant. Then there is the bad guy, Valentine Morgenstern, who is the husband of Clary's mother and claims to be the father of both Clary and Jace. He is out to steal a precious artifact from Clary's mother. These characters comprise the mainstays of the series.
City of Bones begins as Clary sees what she thinks is a murder being committed by Jace. After being brought aside, Jace informs her that he was not killing a human but killing a demon, of which he was sworn to do as a shadowhunter. When Clary goes home after this confrontation she ends up finding that her home is trashed and her mother is in serious danger. She goes back to Jace who explains to him a little more about the world he lives in and introduces him to the important people in her life. When attacked in his stronghold they escape to another area and run into two men who are responsible for Jace's fathers death.
Later on they try to find out why Clary was able to see things that she should not and they find some block on her powers. Although they are not able to take away the block completely she finds that she can do certain things, including drawing runes that can make any picture real and allow one to transport things to the picture and back. Realizing this power and knowing that her mother was hiding this cup from the demons they go back and assess that the cup was still in the apartment, and that they could not find it because of that power with the rune. She and Jace find the cup and bring it back to the tutors, only to find themselves betrayed into the hands of Valentine. They both find out that they are the offspring of Valentine and his children. They do end up rescuing Clary's mother but are able unable to retrieve the cup. We are left with the story unresolved, which is good for any opening book in a book series.
City of Bones begins as Clary sees what she thinks is a murder being committed by Jace. After being brought aside, Jace informs her that he was not killing a human but killing a demon, of which he was sworn to do as a shadowhunter. When Clary goes home after this confrontation she ends up finding that her home is trashed and her mother is in serious danger. She goes back to Jace who explains to him a little more about the world he lives in and introduces him to the important people in her life. When attacked in his stronghold they escape to another area and run into two men who are responsible for Jace's fathers death.
Later on they try to find out why Clary was able to see things that she should not and they find some block on her powers. Although they are not able to take away the block completely she finds that she can do certain things, including drawing runes that can make any picture real and allow one to transport things to the picture and back. Realizing this power and knowing that her mother was hiding this cup from the demons they go back and assess that the cup was still in the apartment, and that they could not find it because of that power with the rune. She and Jace find the cup and bring it back to the tutors, only to find themselves betrayed into the hands of Valentine. They both find out that they are the offspring of Valentine and his children. They do end up rescuing Clary's mother but are able unable to retrieve the cup. We are left with the story unresolved, which is good for any opening book in a book series.
Critical Review- A fascinating beginning to a book that seems to cross over into so many different genres. There is the action adventure end of it, with people who are trying to maintain a magic cup and save a mother. There is the unrequited romance aspect, with either Clary and Jace who are revealed to be brother and sister, or between Simon and Clary as Simon has feelings for her. There is the fantasy aspect of it with magic and runes and other various things that can cast spells. And finally there is the horror end of it, as the story deals with demons and werewolves, and all other manner of evil creatures. With so much to fit into a story, it is no wonder that this became a series, allowing the author more time to go in depth to each of the characters, exploring their motivations and coming out with a full resolution on the end. This is a beautifully told horror fantasy piece.
Reader's Annotation-
About the Author- Cassandra Clare was the product of flights of fancy. She was an American born person in Tehran, in the middle east. From there she flew to many destinations all over the map, finally settling down to go to Los Angeles for High school. Given her well to do situation, she was able to split time between Los Angeles and New York upon graduation, working for many in the entertainment industry.
This lead her to work for different entertainment magazines and tabloids. Eventually she would take up writing fiction. This lead her to begin writing short stories in 2005. And her first novel, City of Bones, was published in 2007. It is obvious that her adventurous upbringing lead her to write about the amazing places and settings she has developed in this Mortal Instruments series.
This lead her to work for different entertainment magazines and tabloids. Eventually she would take up writing fiction. This lead her to begin writing short stories in 2005. And her first novel, City of Bones, was published in 2007. It is obvious that her adventurous upbringing lead her to write about the amazing places and settings she has developed in this Mortal Instruments series.
Genre- Horror / Fantasy
Curriculum Ties - Discuss allusions in Literature. Show how Claire makes use of allusion to allude to other works of her friends. Discuss how other literary pieces have allusions in them as well. - Literature
Booktalking Ideas - Have the teens plot a relationship chart to everyone in the series. Especially if you are considering reading the sequels it might be interesting to draw the chart and then add to it with each successive book, showing how the characters relate to one another.
Reading Level/Interest Age - Grade 10 +
Challenge Issues - Demons and magic are always a good recipe for things to be challenged.
Overcoming Challenge- Have materials on hand about Dante's Inferno, a literary classic with elements of the demonic included. Discuss how the demons are the bad characters in the novel.
Overcoming Challenge- Have materials on hand about Dante's Inferno, a literary classic with elements of the demonic included. Discuss how the demons are the bad characters in the novel.
Why Included - While this may seem silly, I was struck by the cover of the book and have wanted to read it since I saw it come across the desk at the library.
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