Review: City of Bones

Clary was an ordinary girl – mildly geeky, good at sketching, perfectly normal. Until she witnesses a murder at a nightclub, sees the body vanish into thin air, and discovers that she is the only one who can see the teenaged killers. These killers are Shadowhunters, not-quite-humans dedicated to destroying demons and other supernatural creatures and keeping humanity safe from them, and they are startled to have been seen by a normal human.

After Clary’s home is ransacked, her mother is kidnapped, and a vicious demon called a Ravener attacks, the Shadowhunters take Clary into their home to protect her. With the Shadowhunters – Jace, Isabelle, and Alec – and her best friend Simon, Clary is launched into a quest. A quest to figure out how Clary got the Sight, how the name of a powerful warlock was signed into her memories, where Clary’s mother has gone… and the quest to find a powerful magical artifact which could mean the destruction of the Shadowhunter world, or its salvation.

Entertainment: ★★★★★

Sorry for the awful summary, there’s just so much happening here that it was nearly impossible to condense it. Anyways, I enjoyed this book immensely, from the clever bantering to the exciting plot to the Downworlders.

Although, I must say I don't like the cover much at all.

Plot: ★★★★★

There are some really excellent twists (and one that weirded me out a little). I couldn’t predict where the plot would go next or what would happen, and yet it was all cohesive and flowed smoothly. It was exciting and funny and intense all at once and in the best ways.

Characters: ★★★★

Honestly, I would have given them five stars – Simon and Jace in particular were phenomenal – except that their dialogue was a little too clever and witty. No sixteen-year-old is that consistently cynical and intelligent, sorry; it just doesn’t read right. Also I wish I could’ve read more about the villain, who seemed really cool but was only mentioned in passing for much of the story. Anyways, overall, I really liked nearly all of the characters, and really got attached to the main characters. Side note, Magnus Bane is awesome.

Writing: ★★★★★

I really, really like Clare’s style. It’s funny and beautiful (which I know doesn’t sound like a good combination, but it is) and I really enjoy reading her work.

End Result: five stars.  A really excellent book.  Read it.