BOOK REVIEW ( CITY OF BONES )

MORTAL INSTRUMENT CITY OF BONES

BY: CASSANDRA CLARE

About the Author

Cassandra Clare was born to American parents in Teheran, Iran and spent much of her childhood travelling the world with her family, including one trek through the Himalayas as a toddler where she spent a month living in her father’s backpack. She lived in France, England and Switzerland before she was ten years old.

Since her family moved around so much she found familiarity in books and went everywhere with a book under her arm. She spent her high school years in Los Angeles where she used to write stories to amuse her classmates, including an epic novel called “The Beautiful Cassandra” based on a Jane Austen short story of the same name (and which later inspired her current pen name).
After college, Cassie lived in Los Angeles and New York where she worked at various entertainment magazines and even some rather suspect tabloids where she reported on Brad and Angelina’s world travels and Britney Spears’ wardrobe malfunctions. She started working on her YA novel, City of Bones, in 2004, inspired by the urban landscape of Manhattan, her favourite city. She turned to writing fantasy fiction full time in 2006 and hopes never to have to write about Paris Hilton again.
Cassie’s first professional writing sale was a short story called “The Girl’s Guide to Defeating the Dark Lord” in a Baen anthology of humor fantasy. Cassie hates working at home alone because she always gets distracted by reality TV shows and the antics of her two cats, so she usually sets out to write in local coffee shops and restaurants. She likes to work in the company of her friends, who see that she sticks to her deadlines.


INTRODUCTION / PLOT

There was a fifteen-year-old Clary Fray goes to the Pandemonium Club with her best friend, Simon. Inside, she saw a blue haired boy and a beautiful black haired girl going to the store room. Then Clary notices two boys following them into the storeroom. And one of them has knife but she was the only one who sees them. Still, she commanded Simon to go for help and then decides to follow the group into the store room. At first look it appears that there's no one inside of the room, but suddenly she saw them. She listens to their conversation about demons and she witness how they killed the blue haired boy.Then after the boy got killed, it vanishes into the room. Issabelle told her that every monster will return on where they came from. Before she can really begin to understand what she has seen and heard, Simon enters the store room with the bouncer. Then they asked Clary why she was there by herself. She realized that Simon and bouncer did not saw the group that's why she just apologized to them.
When she got home, her mother, Jocelyn, scolds her for coming home so late and for making her worried. The next day, Jocelyn announced that they are moving to other place. Clary become upset about the unexpected move. She left with Simon and open up her bad relationship with her mom. That she knows almost nothing about her mother and its entire family. Simon mentioned that he saw white scars on Jocelyn's back and shoulders, but Clary ignored Simon. She did not answered all yhe phone calls of her mom. Until they go to a poetry reading center where Clary sees Jace, one of the teens she saw at Pandemonium. He tells Clary about demon-hunters, called Shadowhunters.He explained that the person killed at the club was a demon. Jace tells Clary that she is not a human because she can saw him which are invisible to ordinary humans. Clary finally answers a call from Jocelyn, who warns her to go home.
Clary breaks her phone and grabs Jace, which turns out to be a "sensor", she hits him, and runs off. She runs back to her house and it was so messy. She called her mom, but no one answers. Then, Clary encounters a demon that meant to kill her, but she is able to kill it using Jace's sensor. Jace brought Clary back to the "institute", the place wherein the New York shadow hunters live. Clary meets the other shadow hunters, Isabelle and Alec, the tutor and Hodge. Jace and Clary went back to Clary's house and meet her neighbor. Her neighbor has a portal, and Clary decided to go through to see where her mother would've gone.
Clary and Jace are rushes through the portal, and they landed at Luke's bookstore and finding Simon hiding in the book shelf. Simon was trying to know what happened to Clary. He observed Luke putting weapons inside his bag.Clary, Jace and Simon hide inside the store. Valentine sent to interrogate Luke about the Mortal Cup's whereabouts. Luke told him that he does not know where Jocelyn, who is in a coma, where the Mortal Cup is and has no interest in Jocelyn or the cup. He refuses to negotiate with Valentine's plans. Clary and Jace and Simon went back to the Institute and tell Hodge what they learned. Hodge tells them about the Circle, a group of Shadowhunters that Valentine formed to eliminate all Downworlders. Jocelyn was forced to join. The three teens believed she had died in a fire that destroyed ther home. Clary and Jace went to Silent City to speak to the Silent Brothers. They tell them that there is a block in her mind that prevents her from remembering the Shadow World. The warlock that put it there was Magnus Bane.
Isabelle found an invitation in the demon's pocket then she took it. It was an invitation to a warlock's party that being hosted by Magnus Bane. Clary meets Magnus Bane, who says his spell is too complex to remove the block but it will be gone in natural way. Jocelyn have Magnus Bane's place. A spell on Clary's mindfor her to not saw the Shadow World. During the party, Simon ignores Isabelle's warning, and still he drunk a blue liquid that transforms him into a rat. Vampires take him thinking Simon was one of their own. Clary and Jace follow them to an abandoned hotel to rescue Simon. Jace, Clary, and Simon escape when warewolves went in the hotel and fight with the vampires. Jace get jealous when Simon and Clary embrace after he becomes human again.
The block is continue to fade and all of her memories came back. Clary found out that the Mortal Cup is hidden inside of Madame Dorothea's tarot cards. Clary and the others went to Dorothea's apartment. Clary retrieves the Cup, but a demon appears from the Portal and possesses Madame Dorothea. By the help of Simon, they escape and return to the Institute where Hodge betrays them by handing over the Cup. Hodge attacks Clary in an alleyway, but she is unexpectedly saved by Luke.
Luke and Clary made a plan to know Valentine's secret with help of Luke's warewolf pack. While the warewolves attack Valentine's followers, Clary brings her mother who is unconscious. Valentine told them tht Jace is also his son. Since Jace and Clary are having a feelings for each other, both of them realized that they are brother and sister. Clary said that even Valentine is her father, still he is an evil. Valentine ask Jace to return to Idris with him. But Jace refuses, and Valentine escapes through a portal with the Cup.

PROTAGONIST

ClaryFray - The 15 later 16-year-old protagonist. Daughter of Jocelyn Fray, a former Shadowhunter. All traces of the magical world was hidden from Clary in an attempt to protect her. She is 5 feet tall, skinny , has bright red hair, green eyes, freckles. She is an artist, like her mother. Clary embarks on a quest to help her mother while adjusting to a life as a Shadowhunter. She and Jace were develop a mutual attraction; although the revelation that they are siblings broke their romantic hopes.
Jace - A Shadowhunter orphaned at a young age because of his father was being murdered. He lives at the Institute in New York City since he became a Shadowhunter. He is said to be the best Shadowhunter of his age, his father having trained him before his death. Jace is described as having blonde hair, eyes, and skin. He is attracted to Clary, but becomes horrified after discovering that they are siblings.


ANTAGONIST

Valentine Morgenstern - A powerful, evil Shadowhunter, he reappears after years in hiding, during which he was presumed dead. He attempts to steal the Mortal Cup from his former wife, Jocelyn. He tells Jace and Clary that they are both his and Jocelyn's children.
CLIMAX
Valentine kidnapped Jace but Clary followed Hodge. When Clary wakes up she finds out Luke took her but for her own safety. Clary finds out Valentine is her father. Luke and Clary trace down Jace and Valentine. Luke and his warewolf pack raid Valentine's lair, but they are ambushed.
During the attack, Luke and Clary get inside, and while Luke is distracted, Clary finds Valentine and Jace. Valentine reveals that he is also Jace's father and they are siblings. And Luke returns to fight Valentine, with Jace's help, but Valentine escapes to Idris, where he has hidden the Cup.

ENDING

From Key Foods , Jace and Clary ride in a bicycle. They pass to the Institute's roof for them to go to space. Then they fall onto the East River. Clary gets a little bit shaky. But Jace manage it, he still drove the bicycle for them to cross the river. Even though they are at that situation and even knowing that they are siblings, still they are acting like couple. Jace is continously biking and laughing 'till the end.