City of Bones

                There are so many teen fiction novels that are being read nowadays. I have tried to stay away from the addiction of all the vampire and dead zombie cheerleader princesses that all books seem to be about. Yes, I did read all the Twilight books, but I didn’t become obsessed with them, and as for whether I’m team Edward or team Jacob, I could care less…there both secretly vicious killing-capable beasts right? After all the Twilight drama I decided that I didn’t really like those types of books; I started reading classic novels like Catcher in the Rye and Jane Eyre, until I ran out.

                I was looking for a book to read when a friend recommended reading a new series called “The Mortal Instruments”. The  first book is called City of Bones.  When reading the beginning of the book I realized that it seemed like a little clichéd teen love story with the magical characters thrown in.  I kept reading but I tried not to become attached to it; that didn’t last long.

                The Mortal Instruments ended up being NOTHING like what I was expecting it to be, and I’m glad that I kept reading. It may have vampires, werewolves, and demons, but it’s not really centered on that sort of thing. This book, along with being very descriptive (sometimes overly descriptive) incorporates a greater meaning of humanity. Whether or not what we all know is real, or whether we humans are just weak animals that need protection.

                Clarissa Fray is the main character in the book. She lives in a small apartment in New York with her mother and has been told that her father died before she was born. She’s a normal person (or at least as normal as people seem to start out in books) until she’s at a party and she witnesses a murder that nobody else can see. No one would believe her if she went to the police, because she was the only person who could see the murderer.  The only person she can convey her trust to is her friend Simon.  Clarissa is sucked into a world of shadowhunters and demons, and now that she’s in, there’s no way to get back out….dun dun duuun.

                It does sound kind of lame, and that’s what I thought when my friend explained the plot line to me before I read it, but books can grow on you. This one isn’t part of the “teen madness program,”  Maybe that’s why I hadn’t heard of it before, but so far it’s a good start to a new series.