Book Title: City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1)
Author: Cassandra ClareGenre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal
Publication Date: March 27th 2007
by Margaret K. McElderry Books
ISBN: 1416914285
Edition Language: EnglishBlurb:
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know... Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.
My rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
My Review:
I know I may be a little bit late in reading and reviewing this one. But it was not my fault at all, really! I mean from the time I heard about this first book, I’ve always wanted to read this, as well as others coming afterwards under the same series. But I couldn’t manage to find it in anyway, and buying it online is not an option I have in my country. So all I could do is sit in a corner and sulk (can you believe that I couldn’t find one appropriate corner in my house to sit and all I was left with all the more sulking?), but anywho, I finally managed to lay my evil hands on the books (YES! All of them!) And that’s only because of a very ‘angelic’ friend of mine, namely Nadira, generously gave me her copies to read (that’s obviously before she came to know about my recent eye-issues, otherwise I bet she wouldn’t have shown so much generosity) Anyways, I will go on with me review rants. I guess it is going to require a little control for me as I read all the five books at one go but the reviews must be posted one by one(which now seems an almost Herculean job to me :p) I’ll try to keep it as much spoiler free as possible.
First let’s talk about the characters. The first time Jace (oh my my) was introduced, like many other readers I guess I also thought him to be a negative character. Well maybe he is not too much of a lovey-dovey positive character, and at times I felt like kicking his butt out. But the author has portrayed his character with a ‘thing’ and you cannot help liking (and possibly fangirling over) this guy. He doesn’t seem to care about the world, thinks himself to be impossibly attractive (which, I think is true, though I am not lucky enough to witness his hotness) and is never serious with emotions as well as with girls.
“Usually he just wanted them, and then wanted them to leave him alone.”
As a reader, however, anyone would gradually start to realize that Jace’s character is more than it meets the eye.
But the part where he is hit with a very bitter truth of his family life, his behavior made me want to throw him outside of a 14 storied building! He became a like a mushy-mushy soft toy tearing out his badass persona and left me heartbroken :'( But as I come to think of it now, I realize that whatever he did was probably human. I mean though he appears to be a badass guy not giving a damn to anything, he is just a teenage boy (I had high expectations from you boy x_X)
“…to love is to destroy, and that to be loved is to be the one destroyed.”
So ya, the boy’s pretty much wasted :p and even if he can be a pain in the posterior sometimes, I like him as a character.
Next in line is Clary. To be honest, she is nothing near to what I normally expect from a fictional female lead character. You know, not the typical ‘Chosen One’ or anything. Mostly I found her to be a confused, whining and sometimes overly emotional damsel-in-distress kind of a girl (and I can’t say I have a fondness for such a type). But come to think of it again, it is not easy for someone to change overnight, only on the basis of learning a truth about one’s life. When one’s world turns upside down in a very short period of time and everything that one has thought to be the truest facts about them is revealed to be a façade, it’s a lot to deal with.
“If there was one thing she was learning from all this, it was how easy it was to lose everything you had always thought you’d have forever.”
“She wondered if it was actually possible, within the space of a week, to lose everyone you loved.”
Apart from these two, I liked the other parallel characters. Alec and Isabella, for instance, who I thought at first, would turn antagonists. For Simon, I couldn’t decide in this first book whether I actually liked him or not. However, for Valentine, I found his character portrayal a little weaker (Maybe because from his description I had imagined someone similar to You-Know-Who) but never mind. One thing in general I liked for all the characters, the author portrayed them in a manner that never makes you bored. You may never take a character for granted. Anything can happen. Any character can turn in 360 degree angle any minute.
One of my most favorite elements of the book is its dialogues. The way author gives each character their dialogues and how it reflects their characteristics is truly fantastic. I had often ended up book-marking half of a page as my favorite quote. A page full of yellow-ness, imagine that!
One of my most favorite elements of the book is its dialogues. The way author gives each character their dialogues and how it reflects their characteristics is truly fantastic. I had often ended up book-marking half of a page as my favorite quote. A page full of yellow-ness, imagine that!
“You know…most psychologists agree that hostility is really just sublimated sexual attraction.”
As for the plot and the way the storyline progresses, I don’t have any complaints. The best part for me is how the storyline gives a roller-coaster ride feeling. I was always on the edge of my seat, biting my nails nervously and wondering what would happen next. Now THAT’S what a good book is all about! The feeling of mystery and suspense, a bit of romance, some drama, a decent amount of action all these equal to City of Bones :D If you haven't read yet, go grab a copy as fast as you can! It's really worth it:)
