comments on series

[Laura]

In an attempt to get in some reading before teaching starts, I crammed in three young adult novels in the last two weeks just as this class was starting. Granted, they were all from one series, and I was home sick with not much else to do. I read the first three of "The Mortal Instruments". In a nutshell, imagine Star Wars and Harry Potter had a baby, but used Twilight as a surrogate- the plot line is a mixture of the first two titles (exciting and fun) but it's as if the teenage drama of later title spilled over into this series (not as fun). I read them because (1) I was curious and (2) I knew a movie was made this year on the first book, and wanted to be able to discuss it with my students.

On the one hand, the commonalities between this series and other Sci-Fi works is a little disheartening because many people are looking for a "fresh" story. These similarities did not bother me, however. I believe that adolescents, especially struggling readers, would appreciate reading something they can easily draw connections to, whether it be to another book, a movie or some of the teenage drama they see in their own lives. I felt the author did a great job of showing teenage confusion over identity, family, friendship and young love. These topics are very relate-able to kids, and that in turn can help them see the author's message and underlying themes.

[Vanessa]

I loved the books! I can't wait for the series to be finished!

[Kirstyn]

I'm glad you enjoyed them, though the drama isn't very Twilightesque.