ISBN-13: 978-1416975878
Genre: Fantasy,
Magic, Vampires, Werewolves, Warlocks, Demons, Angels, Fairies, Romance, Elves, Steampunk
Reading level/
interest age: 16+
Plot summary:
Tessa Gray receives a letter from her brother asking her to
join him in London. An adventurer at heart, Tessa agrees to go but is kidnapped
by a pair of female warlocks upon her arrival. Tessa’s captors insist that she
is a shape changer and put her through a series of vigorous tests to determine
the extent of her abilities. On her first successful attempt, Tessa transforms
into a woman who died from a gunshot wound to the chest. Tessa must relive the
woman’s death and resolves to find a way to escape. Later that night, just as
Tessa escapes her bindings, a mysterious man named Will sneaks into her room.
Thinking he is another enemy, Tessa smashes a vase over his head. Undeterred,
he explains why he is there and they escape together.
Once at the safety of the London Institute, Will introduces
Tessa to her new protectors. Their world of demons, warlocks, and shadowhunters
is thrust upon young Tessa and she struggles to cope with this new knowledge.
During her stay, she meets Jem who quickly becomes a love interest. Tessa,
Will, and Jem work together to solve the mystery of Tessa’s arrival but what
they discover is far more shocking than any of them could have imagined.
Reader’s annotation:
Tessa grew up believing she was normal but a trip gone wrong
changes her life forever. Thrust into a world full of demons, warlocks, and
mysterious shadowhunters, Tessa must find a way to cope while trying to solve
the mystery of her birth.
Information 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 favorite
city. She turned to writing fantasy fiction full time in 2006 and hopes never
to have to write about Paris Hilton again” (Clare, 2014).
Curriculum ties: N/A
Booktalking ideas:
1.
What kind of creature do you think Tessa
is?
2.
Do you think Tessa is being unfair to let
both boys court her at the same time?
Critical evaluation:
As The Infernal Devices
series is an offshoot of The Mortal
Instruments series, the author, Cassandra Clare, has had more time to
develop her writing skills. The Infernal
Devices are much more polished and the characters better developed from the
start rather than slowly growing into their roles as they do in Clare’s first
works. Shockingly, Tessa seems to prefer the more muted and ill-fated Jem over
the obvious choice the reader is lead to believe she may pick in the beginning.
This is a much more mature choice and demonstrates Tessa’s character
development. While the two series do have some overlap, The Mortal Instruments takes place several hundred years prior to The Infernal Devices storyline and
stands alone as entirely unique. Clockwork
Angel is a great read with a smaller cast of characters which makes it
easier to follow. The story is intriguing, well thought out, and irresistible
to put down once the book is cracked open. The characters will capture the
reader’s heart as the mind plows on to discover the mystery that is Tessa Gray.
Challenge issues: N/A
Why included:
I believe that this book will appeal to a broad audience due
to the inclusion of many different genre and sub-genre.
Reference:
Clare, C. (2014). My
Bio. Retrieved August 22, 2014 from http://www.cassandraclare.com/about/
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