ISBN-13:
978-1416955078
Genre: Fantasy,
Magic, Vampires, Werewolves, Warlocks, Demons, Angels, Fairies, Romance, Elves,
Incest, Supernatural
Reading level/
interest age: 16+
Plot summary:
Clary and her best friend Simon decide
to visit a club in town called Pandemonium. When Clary sees a few teens
sneaking off into a storeroom, she decides to follow them. Inside, Clary
witnesses the murder of a young boy. She panics and leaves the club with Simon.
The next day Clary’s mother tells her they are going to move to New York and
Clary decides to go out and get some fresh air. She bumps into Jace, one of the
teens from the club, and he explains that the boy he killed was a demon. When
Clary checks her phone, she realizes that she has several missed calls from her
mother and decides to go home. Once there, Clary can see that her entire house
has been ransacked. She desperately searches for her mother but instead is
attacked by a demon. Clary manages to kill it but is bit and poisoned in the
process. Having followed her home, Jace rushes in to rescue her only to find
that she did the job for him. Jace decides to take her back to the Institute
where he lives and Clary is given the choice to join them in search for her
mother or return to a normal life.
Reader’s annotation:
Clary finds out she is a shadowhunter
with special abilities. When Jace rescues her, the two fall in love but could
there be a familial connection between the two of them?
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.
If you could choose to be any race of character
in the book, what would you pick and why?
2.
If you ended up in Clary and Jace’s situation, how
would you react?
Critical evaluation:
Clary is shamelessly modeled after the
author, Cassandra Clare. Both have red hair and a sense of adventure. Despite
this, City of Bones is an enjoyable
read and part of a long series with millions of fans. Though the movie
adaptation was disappointing, readers can rest assured that the novels are much
better and only delve deeper into the world of shadowhunters. The only drawback
is the sheer amount of characters in the books. Some are loveable and a large
part of the storyline but others are not. City
of Bones maintains a light feel and tone despite the darker side of the
world that Clary is exposed to. The author does a good job introducing the
reader to new concepts and her spin on mythical creatures. The book also lacks
the incessant chatter of inner dialogue which is a nice break from some other
young adult novels in the genre.
Challenge issues:
·
Incest
Defensive Maneuvers:
·
Have the library’s collection development policy
memorized and on hand in case a situation arises.
·
Keep positive reviews on hand to refer to or
hand out when needed.
·
If the book has won any awards, mention them to
the patron and briefly explain the award.
·
Listen to the patron and practice good customer
service skills when communicating. Let the customer know where or if he/she can
escalate his/her complaint.
·
When necessary, cite sections of the ALA’s
Library Bill of Rights or refer to the ALA's
Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials.
Why included:
I happen to like The Infernal Devices more than The
Mortal Instruments but this was a good start to the series which I enjoyed
reading immensely. I want to promote this book because the world Clare takes
you into is interesting and her characters are unforgettable.
Reference:
Clare, C. (2014). My Bio. Retrieved August 22, 2014 from http://www.cassandraclare.com/about/
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