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The Mortal Instruments, Book One
by Cassandra Clare
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing -- not even a smear of blood -- to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .
Sexuality: Young Adult, romance & sexual tension but very little action
Paranormality: Shadowhunters, Fae, Demons, Warlocks, Werewolves, Vampires
Cover Art*: Kick Ass, Trendy, Headless & a little too sexy to be an accurate suggestion of the content behind it.
The Review*: This novel reminds me why I have a love/hate relationship with the YA genre. My heart was virtually ripped out of my body at least twice in this book, and never sewn back in! As a reader I am left bereft. I must continue through the series or risk death by mental hemorrhaging.
The author does a wonderful job of creating a world where you feel the teenage angst but twists it so much that I almost choke on it. Perhaps I am still too close to the age of the characters (15 and up) and still have lingering angst from my own childhood. 12 years isn't so long for the memories to fade...
Character development is superb. The only scene that didn't jive was Jace in the dinning room at the end. The descriptions are freakin' awesome. Great weapons & gadgets. The intricate details invite you to create the monsters inside your head. The problem is in getting them back out again.
Clary as a 15 year old girl and attracted to an older boy is truthful, but still rubs me a teeny tiny bit the wrong way - and ALOT the wrong way later. That aside, this story is like a rollercoaster in the dark through an enchanted forest. You know you are strapped in securely for the ride but you still are worried about what might reach into touch you!
* I'm a graphic artist. We are trained to be vicious bloodsucking weapons of truth, hence the "rough" critiques/reviews. It's not that I don't like this novel. Simply, everything can be better. And examining what could be polished allows me to learn and better MY skills.
