By Maria Lytrivi, @marialytr_author
“City of Bones” by Cassandra Clare (published in 2007) is an urban fantasy YA novel that follows 15-year-old Clary Fray. After her mother’s disappearance, Clary gets swept up in a world full of demons, vampires, werewolves, and the legendary Shadowhunters, a secret race of humans born with angel blood, protectors of the mundane world (meaning the ordinary human world) from the monsters that lie within it. During her search for her mother, Clary will have to face her past, uncover hidden truths about her heritage, and navigate friendships and love as a not-so-regular teenager.
“City of Bones” was one of these books that I always wanted to read but was hesitant to. I finally surrendered to my curiosity and went into the book without knowing what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised. Clare has built a unique world that breathes in every word, partially because it is very clear where the characters exist and move in this fictional version of New York. The magic system was equally intriguing. It is mostly based on runes, symbols with various uses that Shadowhunters draw on their skin, similar to tattoos only temporary, and it was a great fit for the urban environment the story is set in. There are occasionally a few infodumps about locations, and past events but they are expected as this is the first installment in “The Mortal Instruments” series.
The main cast consists of best friends Clary and Simon, Shadowhunters Isabelle, Alec, and James and a friend of Clary’s mother, Luke. My favourite character was by far Luke because of his complexity and backstory, but I was also very impressed by the rest of the cast too. The teenagers
of the story had to face difficult situations both on a personal level and a life-or-death one, and they often made mistakes because they were either unable to properly process their emotions or made the wrong decisions due to their inexperience and young age. For me these were the aspects of the characters that I enjoyed the most. In many YA novels the characters come off as too perfect, they always make the right decisions and manage to outsmart every trap that’s set on their path. Aside from how unrealistic this approach is, it leaves no room for the characters to grow. That was not the case in “City of Bones”. Clare ends the novel with infinite possibilities about how the characters will evolve after the events of the story.. One relationship that stood out to me was that between Isabelle and Clary. Their dynamic seems to be heavily affected by internalised misogyny on both sides, but as the story progresses they seem to overcome this burden and get along better. I am hopeful that their relationship will develop more in future installments of the series.
As much as I enjoyed the novel, there were two elements that didn’t sit quite well with me. There were scenes where Valentine, the main villain of the book who has performed more than a few terrible crimes in his lifetime, came off as a bit cartoonish and that took away from the atmosphere of these scenes. I was also heavily confused by some of the reveals towards the end of the book. I will not go into more details so as to not spoil the ending, but I’m hoping that some of the blurry lines will be cleared up in the next book, “City of Ashes”.
All in all, “City of Bones” was a pleasant read and I am eager to find out how the story continues. If you’re looking for an urban story that is heavily laced with magic, demons, and teenagers who are unapologetically themselves, then “City of Bones” might be an ideal option for your next read.
“City of Bones” by Cassandra Clare, published by Simon & Schuster https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/City-of-Bones/Cassandra-Clare/The-Mortal-Instruments/9781534431782