Lillian Bergbom 1/8/20

City of Bones Book Review Block 1B

City of Bones is book one of a series written by Cassandra Clare. The audience learns about a
whole new world with shadowhunters, as they read about the main character Clary. They will have a
thrilling ride with ups and downs with Clary as she makes an alarming discovery. The story begins when
fifteen-year-old Clary goes out for a fun birthday night with her best friend Simon. She notices a
suspicious group of teenagers in the corner with odd tattoos and stern faces. Clary points them out to
Simon, but he can’t the see them.

““Do you see those two guys over there? By that door?”

Simon squinted, then shrugged. “I don’t see anything.””

Confused, Clary walks over to them but before she reaches them, they go into a back room. She
follows them and is shocked to see a violent fight. Not just any fight, one with glowing swords and
whips. Trying to stop them from hurting the victim, she cries out. Unsuccessful, Clary watches as the
victim is killed. Clary begs for these strange teenagers not to hurt her, but they just stare at her in an
unusual way. The teenagers are confused how she can see them.

“”A mundie girl,” he said, half to himself. “And she can see us.”

Of course I can see you,” Clary said. “I’m not blind, you know.””

Suddenly Simon enters the room and asks what is going on. Clary explained how the teenagers
(a handsome boy, a confused boy, and gorgeous girl) just murdered someone. Simon gets nervous and
expresses how no one is there.

One day passes and Clary’s mother is missing. Clary goes home to a dismantled loft where she
must battle a strange creature. One of the boys she had seen the night before shows up in order to
rescue her from the demon. His name is Jace. Jace takes her to his home, a place called the Institute.
Once there, Jace tells Clary she is a shadowhunter and informs her of the shadow world. Clary is told
that her mother is with an evil man, Valentine, a betrayer of the shadow world. In order to get her
mother back Clary must trade her for an item with very powerful magic, the Mortal Cup. Clary must now
find the Cup safely. Along the way, Clary will learn shocking truths about her old life and her new
shadowhunter life.

I was very attracted to this book because many others have described it as similar to other
books like The Hunger Games and Divergent, which are some of my favorites. The plot was thrilling, with
many twists and turns. I could never predict what was coming next. Each of the characters have a very
complex personality. They flourish with new emotions and feelings. I rate this book a solid five out of
five because I really felt like I grew with the character Clary and was a part of her world. There was never
a time where I wanted to put the book down. The author wrote the book with many details allowing me
to picture things in my head. This made me feel more involved. As a reader I was drawn into the story
and intrigued to know what happened next. Luckily, this book is the first in a series so I can read lots
more about Clary’s adventures.