Goodreads | City of Bones

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are jace and clary really siblings???	18	82	10 days ago, 12:29PM

Cat rated it:

(review of isbn 1416914285)

05/19/08

Read in April, 2008

recommends it for: fans of urban fantasy

I read this one while taking a break from school books and papers, and I needed some mindless but entertaining brain rot. Therein lies the appeal of this novel.

If you've even dipped a pinkie toe in the online Harry Potter fandom, you've probably heard of the author (if not, just employ some google-fu and you find everything you need). The buzz generated by Clare's fandom notoriety probably was a great boon for this book, and I admit it's the only reason I read it. Although it's har...more

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Shannon rated it:

(review of isbn 1416955070)

09/02/08

bookshelves: 2008, urban-fantasy, ya

Read in August, 2008

Clary Fray is a regular fifteen year old, living with her mum, Jocelyn, an artist, in Brooklyn. Her father, she has been told, died before she was born. One night at an underage club with her best friend Simon, she witnesses something no one else can see: three teenagers kill what looks like a boy, but is really a demon. She shouldn't have been able to see anything - she's a "mundane", and doesn't have the Sight. Or does she? Has her mother been lying to her about who she really is? Wh...more Clary Fray is a regular fifteen year old, living with her mum, Jocelyn, an artist, in Brooklyn. Her father, she has been told, died before she was born. One night at an underage club with her best friend Simon, she witnesses something no one else can see: three teenagers kill what looks like a boy, but is really a demon. She shouldn't have been able to see anything - she's a "mundane", and doesn't have the Sight. Or does she? Has her mother been lying to her about who she really is? When her mother disappears and Clary is attacked by a demonic creature, the three kids - Jace, Isablle and Alec - are the only ones who can help her find her mum and explain this new, frightening underworld to her.

Comparisons to Harry Potter are unavoidable, mostly because of the author's background in writing HP fanfiction. I don't care about any of that, or any controversy surrounding said fanfic. I read and review books based on their own merit, as often as possible. You do get "mundanes" instead of "muggles", and the evil Valentine instead of Lord Voldemort, but there aren't many more similarities than that, and those are pretty superficial.

The "mortal instruments" are three artefacts with magical properties, including a cup that turns humans (mundanes) into Nephilim: Shadowhunters, those with the Sight who fight and kill demons who come from other dimensions. The cup has been missing for fifteen years, and Valentine wants to get his hands on it because with it he can create an army and kill not just demons but "downworlders" - the fairies and elves and ifrits etc.

It's not a powerful story, though there are some telling comments and descriptions about the Shadowhunters, especially Valentine and his "Circle", touch on racism and superiority issues - that cleansing thing that was also a theme in Harry Potter - but it is a good story, fast-paced, full of adventure and a couple of twists - one of which was predictable, though the reasons for it weren't so obvious.

The characters could have done with more depth and development - Clare has fleshed them out well enough, but then they became static. Hopefully in the following books they'll grow some and move away from stock character traits. Clary's a solid protagonist, with a firm head on her shoulders, but Jace was a bit two-dimensional and Isabelle and Alec weren't really explored at all.

The pacing is cracking and rarely lets up - we're flung from one predicament into another, facing off vampires, gay warlocks and traitors. It's a lot of fun, but the character development suffers for it. It's not bad, it just could have been better. I loved Magnus Bane, he was a real character, but that just proves my point.

As for plot, there was one glaring plothole that I noticed - I can't give the details without spoiling it, but if you're reading it or have read it, check page 375 - did she ever give Jace his stele back? Yes she did, on page 358. But look, here it is in her pocket just when she needs it! It was a bit glaring, and I'm surprised her pre-publishing readers, and her editor, didn't spot it - it could've been easily fixed.

Despite what looks like a lot of criticism, this is an enjoyable fantasy story with engaging characters, and I definitely want to read the next one. ...less

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Rachael rated it:

(review of isbn 1416914285)

04/29/08

Over the course of a single day, Clary’s whole life changes. When she goes to Pandemonium Club, she sees the murder of a blue-haired boy by three strange-looking teens wielding strange-looking weapons. But what she can’t believe is seeing the body disappear before her eyes, as if it was never there in the first place. And after that, Clary’s mom disappears and Clary is attacked by a mysterious creature, only to be saved by one of the strange teens from the nightclub. And with that, Clary i...more Over the course of a single day, Clary’s whole life changes. When she goes to Pandemonium Club, she sees the murder of a blue-haired boy by three strange-looking teens wielding strange-looking weapons. But what she can’t believe is seeing the body disappear before her eyes, as if it was never there in the first place. And after that, Clary’s mom disappears and Clary is attacked by a mysterious creature, only to be saved by one of the strange teens from the nightclub. And with that, Clary is dragged into a dangerous world she never imagined existed.

Clary finds out that she’s connected to this new world not only by the teens who saved her, but by her mother and her mother’s friend Luke. But since her mother’s gone and Luke refuses to help her, Clary has nowhere to turn to except the mysterious teens, who reveal themselves to be Shadowhunters, an elite group of people whose job is to kill demons on earth. Soon, her best friend Simon is dragged in too, and Clary finds herself in the midst of a struggle to find the Mortal Cup before a very dangerous and unstable Shadowhunter named Valentine does.

It is very difficult for me to describe my initial reaction when I finished this book, but it goes along the lines of gasping, screaming, and ranting – but in a good way. City of Bones was one of the absolute best books I have ever read; it ranks up with Twilight and A Great and Terrible Beauty. It is a combination of some of my most favorite stories ever to create an awesome and unforgettable super-story.

I really love how Cassandra Clare incorporates the underworld into modern-day New York City. The world she creates in City of Bones is one of dangerous fun, and I was absolutely thrilled to go along for the ride. There is nonstop action throughout the whole book and I think that Jace is almost amazing enough to rival Edward Cullen in his sexiness. The only past of the book I was opposed to was how Clary and Jace ended up being related, because it ruined their chemistry.

City of Bones should be mandatory reading for every teen, and I would recommend it to everyone, especially fans of the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer, the A Great and Terrible Beauty series by Libba Bray, the Blue Bloods series by Melissa de la Cruz, among other supernatural books. I guarantee that no one who picks this novel up will be able to put it down until they’ve finished this amazing story, and I know I cannot wait until I pick of the sequel, City of Ashes.

reposted from http://thebookmuncher.blogspot......less

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Karin rated it:

(review of isbn 1416914285)

01/06/08

bookshelves: favorites, vampires, youngadult

Clary Fray lived a normal life. At least she did until she witnessed a murder at a dance club while out with her best friend Simon. What she couldn't understand is why the victim disappeared in front of her eyes. You see, she wasn't supposed to see it in the first place. Not because there weren't supposed to be witnesses to the murder, but because the murder victim was a demon and the ones who killed the demon were Shadowhunters.

Shadowhunters are warriors dedicated to ridding the earth o...more Clary Fray lived a normal life. At least she did until she witnessed a murder at a dance club while out with her best friend Simon. What she couldn't understand is why the victim disappeared in front of her eyes. You see, she wasn't supposed to see it in the first place. Not because there weren't supposed to be witnesses to the murder, but because the murder victim was a demon and the ones who killed the demon were Shadowhunters.

Shadowhunters are warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons and Jace is one of the best there is. When Jace realized Clary could see everything, he knew she must have some Shadowhunter blood in her and wants to take her back to the Institute where Shadowhunters train and live. Before Jace can convince Clary to come with him, she gets a frantic phone call from her mother talking of danger. Clary can tell that her mother is attacked because the phone line goes dead in the middle of their conversation. Without thinking about the possible danger to herself or what she might find when she gets there, Clary abandons Jace and heads for home as fast as she can. There she meets a creature worse that anything she could have imagined. She manages to kill monster, but is injured in the process. Thankfully, Jace followed her home and was able to help her back to the Institute where she could recover.

Once she enters the world of the Shadowhunters everything in her life changes. Her relationship with Simon is drastically changed, she discovers the true identity of her father, and she learns what betrayal really means. On her quest to find her mother, Clary and Jace form a strong bond. Together they fight vampires, werewolves, and other creatures from strange demon dimensions.

CITY OF BONES is filled with action and humor. Jace's character is lovable and causes you to laugh all through the book. If you are a fan of fantasy you will definitely love this book and be chomping at the bit until the next one comes out in 2008. The sequel is called CITY OF ASHES.

...less

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Alexis rated it:

(review of isbn 1416955070)

06/17/08

bookshelves: supernatural, teen-fiction

Read in June, 2008

recommends it for: less discriminating readers of teen fiction

Clary Fray is just living her life as a teenager in Park Slope when she suddenly finds herself able to see the secret world that exists right alongside our own. Through a series of events she is pulled into the world of the Shadowhunters, a group that was formed to protect the human world from the demons that sometimes spill into it.

Just as the Shadowhunters in this book are marked by tattoos and runes, the book itself is marked by weak characterization, inconsistency, and an overwhelming s...more Clary Fray is just living her life as a teenager in Park Slope when she suddenly finds herself able to see the secret world that exists right alongside our own. Through a series of events she is pulled into the world of the Shadowhunters, a group that was formed to protect the human world from the demons that sometimes spill into it.

Just as the Shadowhunters in this book are marked by tattoos and runes, the book itself is marked by weak characterization, inconsistency, and an overwhelming sense of "like I didn't see that coming." The writing style is kind of mediocre, but I suppose it's passable for a teen novel. (Although I do still hold teen fiction, as all writing, to a high standard, I can see how this might be overlooked by a younger reader. If I were 12 I might not have noticed the stilted structure.)

Nevertheless, I did feel compelled to read the entire book. It's a quick read and has an awesome cover. There are a few funny scenes, and having figured out how it was going to end, I wanted to see if I was right. There was one twist at the end I didn't see coming, but it was such a cliche, and of the type that makes me roll my eyes, that it didn't make up for the fact that I had already figured out everything else.

Even so, this author shows potential. Maybe the next one will be better? Maybe she'll have a more discriminating editor? Maybe someone will point out that the characters are clearly given all of the clues to what they're looking to solve, but then never think to communicate anything with each other, therefore confusing the reader, making one wonder why they aren't all fully informed and why they CAN'T JUST TALK ABOUT IT AND STOP BEING SO STUPID? Overall, the book was pretty lackluster and somewhat boring, but in spite of myself I still wonder what happens in the next one. So it gets two stars. It was okay.

EDIT: I just skimmed through some of the other reviews here and saw someone mention this author with regard to the HP fandom, so I googled it. And wow. What a bizarre situation. However, it explains how such juvenile writing got published....less

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Jess rated it:

(review of isbn 1416914285)

07/27/07

Read in June, 2007

Really, there's nothing very original, or satisfying in the book. She borrowed so heavily from Buffy, Harry Potter, and Star Wars that it sticks out like a sore thumb. It reads like altered fan fiction. And I love fan fiction, make no mistake, but it's not attempting to make a buck off someone else's world, either. Which is essentially what the book is. Cobbled fan fiction that has no cohesion.

I knew Clare as Cassandra Claire from Harry Potter fandom, I will admit...more

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Jennifer rated it:

(review of isbn 1416914285)

05/03/08

bookshelves: gold-star-award, personal-read, trt-reviews

Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce for TeensReadToo.com

Clary Fray thinks she's a fairly ordinary fifteen-year-old girl--until the world as she knows it falls apart, all starting the night she and her best friend, Simon, visit the Pandemonium Club. Sure, in a city the size of New York, a lot of weird things happen; Clary didn't expect to witness one of the weirdest.

What she sees that night is a murder, a murder committed by tattoo-covered teenagers no one else can see--a murder with no body left...more Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce for TeensReadToo.com

Clary Fray thinks she's a fairly ordinary fifteen-year-old girl--until the world as she knows it falls apart, all starting the night she and her best friend, Simon, visit the Pandemonium Club. Sure, in a city the size of New York, a lot of weird things happen; Clary didn't expect to witness one of the weirdest.

What she sees that night is a murder, a murder committed by tattoo-covered teenagers no one else can see--a murder with no body left behind. That's certainly a sign that Clary's life is about to get a little farther away from normal, and it certainly does so.

Clary's life is falling to pieces. Her mother goes missing. Clary is attacked by a creature - a demon. She's seeing things no one else can--including the Shadowhunters, demon hunters whose world is hidden within Clary's own. She meets three young Shadowhunters - Jace, Alec, and Isabelle - and is quickly sucked into their world, searching for her mother, trying to protect herself, trying to sort out what's real, what's true, and what's not. It is, obviously, a bit much for anyone to handle, but Clary's got no choice. Along the way, she's discovering her past, herself, and just who the Shadowhunters really are.

This debut novel from a brilliant, smart new voice in young adult literature is a marvelous adventure, full of fantastic twists and turns just when they're least expected. The complexity of the story, the threads from the past and present intertwined, is reminiscent of the Harry Potter series--and that's high praise!

The writing of this magical story is excellent, and I was very impressed with the wonderfully lifelike characters and amazing magical world hidden within our own. I was reminded of Holly Black's mastery of the urban fantasy genre. The captivating story told by the very talented Cassandra Clare in CITY OF BONES is surely the start of a brilliant series--I can't wait for the next MORTAL INSTRUMENTS book. This paranormal fantasy is truly unforgettable. ...less

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Jarrah rated it:

(review of isbn 1416955070)

12/28/07

bookshelves: author-cassandraclare, broadgenre-ya, cliche-magicalobjects, cliche-vampires, cliche-weres, country-america, genre-yafantasy, series-mortalinstruments, setting-secretworld

Read in September, 2007

recommended to Jarrah by: Sarah Rees Brennan

YA urban fantasy. Clary sees a boy - or possibly a boy - killed in a night club, and is pitched into a world of shadowhunters and downworlders, where she might fit in better than she imagined.

I will admit that I read this purely because Cassandra Clare wrote the ridiculously well-known Secret Diaries of the Fellowship of the Ring. (And there's a Secret Diaries reference in the book, which is cute.)

This is definitely a different kettle of vampire bikies. I have slightly mixed feelings. I...more

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Shelley rated it:

(review of isbn 1416914285)

07/04/07

Read in July, 2007

recommends it for: no one

Pure and utter crap. I wish there were ways to give negative stars. I certainly want the time from my life back.

I grant you, I was probably never going to give this a five star rating. I dislike Cassie Claire immensely from our time in fandom together - she is a liar and a documented unapologetic plagiarist who gives fandom a bad name. I've never been fond of her writing style, outside of some of the Very Secret Diaries, but I was going to give the book a chance. I like sci-fi and fantasy, i...more

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Kristen rated it:

(review of isbn 1416914285)

07/31/08

bookshelves: nyra-2010

Read in July, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

This was a fun high paced book. There was hardly a dull moment. However, I really didn't like the VC Andrews style twist at the end.

Summary:
Clary and her friend, Simon, were at a club when Clary first saw Jace and his friends. Jace was surprise that a mundane was able to see them.

Clary and her mom, Jocelyn, had a fight so she took off. When she called her mom something bad was happening. Clary race home, to find that her mom was kidnapped. There was a demon in her apartment, and sh...more

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Hallie rated it:

(review of isbn 1416914285)

05/11/08

bookshelves: fantasy, ya

Read in May, 2008

I'd probably be happier if I could qualify those four stars as 'really enjoyed it', or 'maybe it was the right time and I might be more critical another (or had I not sort of been reading A Great and Terrible Beauty at the same time, as that makes a lot of things look better'... But anyway, I did enjoy it! I'd heard all the stuff about Claire/Clare, though I'd never read any of her fanfic, but was convinced to try the book myself when Sherwood Smith highly recommended the sequel, City of Ashes,...more

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Dracolibris rated it:

(review of isbn 1416914285)

02/09/08

bookshelves: 2008, ya-lit

After reading a few realistic fiction YA books, I like to throw in some other genres to lighten things up. This book had it all- Nephilim, vampires, faeries, werewolves, mages and even mermaids- all set in the urban landscape of New York. By throwing almost every fantasy convention into the mix, some stuck better than others. I gave it three stars because when I put it down and thought about it critically, I admit the book could have been shorter, the pace faster, the characters a bit less ste...more

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Angela rated it:

(review of isbn 1416914285)

06/18/08

bookshelves: want-to-own

Read in June, 2008

Wow! This was good, and fun book to read! It's an interesting cross between Wicked Lovely and Blue Bloods, but with some other elements to the story as well.

I saw it recommended on a blog I frequent but had no idea what it was about or whether I would like it. I picked it up from the library at the same time as another book and started that other book first. It was slow and hard to start, so I switched books. "City of Bones" grabbed me immediately and pulled me in and wouldn't...more

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Unnamed rated it:

(review of isbn 1416914285)

08/05/08

hee hee what can i say about the city of bones? well...it was entertaining up untill the plot took a huge mindfuck twist and turned your fangirlish idealz of a wonderful romance into a perverted--well, fangirlish ideal of a brother and sister who have th hots for eachother. -_-;; dont make me gag i hope the next one clears it up...i was never into the insest thing u know..i could barely make it through flowers in teh attic.

the author has an OBVIOUS love of manga and anime. and makes it appa...more

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Allie rated it:

(review of isbn 1416914285)

06/09/08

bookshelves: rated-3-books

recommended to Allie by: myself
recommends it for: teenagers.. girls and guys.

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Devyn rated it:

(review of isbn 1416914285)

02/23/08

bookshelves: young-adult

Read in May, 2007

Reading level: Young Adult

City Of Bones -
Clary Fray is your average teenage girl, arguments with her mother, staying out too late and a best friend who is in love with her--but she is too blind to see it. That all changes when Clary and her best friend visit the club Pandemonium.

At Pandemonium, Clary is witness of a murder, a murder that only she can see. Her world is turned upside down as she is thrown into a world of Shadowhunters, Demons & werewolves--and a missing mother. She...more

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Mitzie rated it:

(review of isbn 1416914285)

11/14/07

bookshelves: children-and-young-adult, fantasy, must-reads, read-in-2007

Read in November, 2007

recommends it for: Harry Potter fans, urban fantasy readers

Having loved Cassandra Clare's epic fanfiction, Draco Trilogy, I was really looking forward to reading a great adventure - and I sure wasn't disappointed.

Clary Fray is just a normal 15 year old girl going to a club to let her hair down like every other girl. But then she saw a murder, and yet there was no body and nobody else seemed to care. What she discovered next was the world of the Shadowhunters, demons, faeries, werewolves, vampires, all set in the heart of New York - a great urban fa...more

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Caryn rated it:

(review of isbn 1416914285)

06/11/08

Read in June, 2008

Yeah. She went there.

This is a classic case of how my judgement of books by their covers really screws with me. I would never have picked this book up for myself. It's lucky, then, that someone else picked it up for me.

To all those who read Twilight thinking that there has to be something to all the hype, and were sorely disappointed (like I was), I present you with City of Bones.

If you can look past its ridiculous cover and gag-worthy title, it's actually a fabulous book.

Clary (...more

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sabrina added it (review of isbn 1416914285)

04/10/08

In conclusion: eh.

I will say for certain that it's better than stephanie's Twilight series, but I wouldn't be willing to dedicate shelf space to housing this book.

The part that probably turned me off the most was Clary. Dumb as a rock. Beautiful but unaware of it. Object of affection for all the guy MCs. OH AND OF COURSE ENDEARINGLY CLUMSY.

Nothing that was done here felt new. From the battles to the characters' backstories to the TWIST(s) to the love triangle, it's all been done b...more

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