City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Series: The Mortal Instruments
# of Pages: 485
Publication: March 27th, 2007
Source: Owned Copy
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy
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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...

City of Bones is the first installment in the beloved Mortal Instrument Series by Cassandra Clare. As of the publication of this review, I have read City of Bones two times. In an attempt to catch up to Clare’s latest published book, I am striving to read all of her Shadowhunter books in chronological order. As I read each book, a review will be posted on my blog in hopes of capturing my thoughts and feelings in reference to character development and plot. As most readers know, City of Bones focuses on Clary Fray and her descent into the world of Shadowhunters as she discovers that her personal life and her mother’s life are anything but what she expected. When her mother disappears, Clary and her best friend Simon join a group of Shadownhunters in an attempt to recover her mother and learn more about Clary’s past. 

“‘What are all these?’ Clary asked. ‘Vials of holy water, blessed knives, steel and silver blades," Jace said, piling the weapons on the floor beside him, "electrum wire - not much use at the moment but it's always good to have spares - silver bullets, charms of protection, crucifixes, stars of David-’”

Character development is a huge component in this first book and I found myself feeling differently about characters the second time reading this book. While a lot of City of Bones readers seem to swoon over Jace, I found him to be arrogant, self-centered, and in some ways insecure. I do think that Clary serves as a good balance to his character; however, there were parts of the book in which I found him to be insufferable. Clary, who Clare writes as the love interest of Jace (that’s not a spoiler; it’s clear from their first interaction), is not as insufferable as Jace; however, I did find her to be quite young and naive. It didn’t bother me because I understood her need to grasp her past and recover her mother after the disappearance. Outside of these two main characters, there are a host of side characters including Clary’s best friend Simon, Isabelle & Alex Lightwood (Shadowhunters), Valentine, Luke, Magnus Bane, Hodge, Raphael, and more. Out of all of these characters, I was definitely intrigued by Magnus Bane and cannot wait to explore how his character develops in the later part of the series. 

“‘A diary with no drawings of me in it? Where are the torrid fantasies? The romance covers?’” - Jace Wayland

In terms of plot, City of Bones was intriguing and fast paced. Clare eases the reader into the world of Shadowhunters at the same pace that Clary begins to meet the characters of her mother’s past. I was intrigued by the world and the different types of characters I encountered as a reader. Unlike a lot of individuals, I began reading YA literature at a later date so I was not as familiar with the world of angels, demons, nephilim, downworlders, etc. I learned more about creatures of familiarity and those that were unknown to me. There were parts of the plot that were a complete surprise to me the first and second time reading this book. It was rewarding to know that Clare could write a heck of a page turner. My only gripe with this book was a plot development at the end of the book that made absolutely no sense. I continue to stand by my first analysis of this book and the analyses of many other individuals that agree that a certain relationship should not have been utilized as a plot point. It doesn’t make sense in this book and it doesn’t make sense by the time it plays out in the last book of the original trilogy. For the sake of preventing spoilers, I won’t disclose the specifics of this relationship, but it is a major plot point for the first three books. 

“‘Hey, pretty thing," he said. ‘What's in the bag?’‘Holy water,’ said Jace, reappearing beside her as if he'd been conjured up like a genie. A sarcastic blond genie with a bad attitude.‘Oooh, a Shadowhunter,’ said the vampire. ‘Scary.’ With a wink he melted back into the crowd.‘Vampires are such prima donnas,’ Magnus sighed from the doorway.”

Overall, I thought that City of Bones was a good introduction to a paranormal series. It definitely was a book of its time and I’m not sure that people would use the same form of writing. Prior to my re-read of this book, I read up to the 5th book in the series. I’ll be interested in sharing my thoughts as I continue through the series.