City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

I would like you all to read City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. This story takes place in New York City. Clary Fray has never known her father. Her mother Jocelyn tells her that he died right after she was born. Weird, right? Clary and her mother live in an apartment building upstairs from a fortune teller. Also, weird, right? Not as weird as what happens to Clary one Sunday afternoon at the Pandemonium Club. Clary is with her best friend Simon when two shadows follow a couple around the club. Clary isn’t worried... until one of the shadows pulls out a knife. She sends Simon off to get security, while she goes off to investigate. When Clary gets to where the couple went, she witnesses a murder. A murder with no blood and no body left behind, committed by three teenagers.

Swift as a flick of Isabelle's whip, Jace rolled over. There was a blade gleaming in his hand. He sank the knife into the boy's chest. Blackish liquid exploded around the hilt.

The boy arched off the floor, gurgling and twisting. With a grimace Jace stood up. His black shirt was blacker now in some places, wet with blood. He looked down at the twitching thing at his feet, reached down, and yanked out the knife. The hilt was slick with black fluid.

The blue-haired boy's eyes flickered open. His eyes, fixed on Jace, seemed to burn. Between his teeth, he hissed, "So be it. The Forsaken will take you all."

Jace seemed to snarl. The boy's eyes rolled back. His body began to jerk and twitch as he crumpled, folding in on himself, growing smaller and smaller until he vanished entirely.

Why did the body disappear? Where did it go? And why, when Simon comes back with a beefy security guard, can’t anyone else see the teenagers that are right in front of their eyes?

My favorite character is Clary. She won’t stop at anything to find out the truth of what is really going on. But what is really going on? Clary is determined to discover the truth, even when something happens to Simon that even Clary can’t reverse. What happened to Simon, and will anything ever be the same again?

City of Bones is the first book in the Mortal Instruments Series. The other books in this series are called City of Ashes, City of Glass, and City of Fallen Angels. I recommend these books to everyone in this room because they will keep you on the edge of your seats. These books are published for young adults. Though these books have not won any awards, I believe they should have. Stephanie Meyer, author of Twilight, agrees with me. She says, “The Mortal Instruments is a story world that I love to live in. Beautiful!” I think anyone here would enjoy this book as much as I have because it’s enthralling, adventurous, and sometimes, just plain silly read that will keep you on the tips of your toes while reading it, just as it did me. Kirkus Reviews says, “Readers of urban fantasy will devour this deliciously overwrought adventure.”

I love Cassandra Clare’s writing style. It reminds me of Melissa De La Cruz’s own writing style. In both the Mortal Instruments series and the Blue Bloods Series, the books come from the perspective of different people, without being confusing.

I think you should all read City of Bones because it is very suspenseful, and you won’t want to ever put it down.

Recommended by Theresa Brehm