City Of Bones Review

Hi readers, 

This is technically my first book review of the year, but I've to admit that I've not actually finished reading it. There are a few reasons behind this and yes, I do feel a bit bad for writing this review not having got to the end. However, I'm not sure when I'll return to reading this, but I don't think it'll be any time soon. My decision hasn't actually got anything to do with the book and it's all to do with my personal reading choices. 

I was aware when I picked this book to read it that it is for a teenage audience. That means that all the adult content that I'm now use to reading isn't present or has been put down, to make it suitable for the age group. There's nothing wrong with that and I've been know to read and enjoy young people's books before. I just didn't get into City of Bones that well. Having a lack of adult content did slightly effect me putting it down, I will admit to that and the normal teenage problems that were present added to my decision.

The other issue I've had is that every since I read the Twilight Saga, I've started to see it in other novels. The bad writing, the dull plots, the two dimension characters, the bending of the known characteristics of fantasy/monster creatures into different ones, which doesn't work and comes across as being silly. Also it seems that every since Twilight, the search has been on for the next Twilight and the wanting to keep people's attention on that kind of thing. Twilight and Bones do have a few things in common, but this review isn't about comparing them. I just wanted to show how sometimes a series of books can then influence your judgement on others because of the memories it leaves in your mind. 

I was actually surprised in the first chapter of Bones because it's written quite well. It does flow and there is use of some adult words. It doesn't feel that repetitive and the characters' dialogue feels realistic. However, I soon become slightly confused about what was happening and of course because this is a new fiction world, a lot of explaining was needed. So, our main character, Clary Fray is also experiencing this world for the first time and by having everything told to her, the reader is told. Okay so nothing wrong with that, only the exposition of all this information gets a bit lost -well at least on me, but maybe I just didn't get it- and it feels like it goes on to long. 

I didn't take to Clary. I really didn't like her name, she felt like a typical sixteen year old girl in some aspects and sometimes her actions or dialogue felt out of her character style. She did come across as being a stronger female character then some others I can think of and she's capable of surviving alone. The other male characters seemed not to be trying to be stereotypical, but the more I read about them the more they started to become in my head. Clary's best friend Simon, seemed to be trying to fill a number of roles and I didn't really get the idea behind him being a typical geek and playing in a heavy metal band. He's also in love with her, but can't tell her properly.

The other main characters are part of a group called the Shadowhunter, who are demon fighters. Clary ends up getting involved with them and it then turns out that she is one. Jace is the one she becomes close to and he, though he shouldn't really be given his background, seems like a cocky teenage boy, who knows everything already. His friends, who are brother and sister aren't much better. There some small appearances from adults, but as usual in young peoples' books, it's the teenagers who have the most control and have to fix things.

The plot of the novel isn't nothing new and it can easily be predicted in some places. It's set in New York and Clary's mother gets kidnapped and her home destroyed by demons, who are working for a higher power. Having already witnessed the Shadowhunters in action and drawing attention to herself, Clary is saved/picked up by them and taken to their hidden world. There she learns a great deal about the Shadowhunters, contacting groups, demons and magic use. She also learns about her parents past lives. With help from Jace and Simon, Clary gathers more information and sets out to find her mother and the Mortal Cup. 

Having glanced at some other reviews and from what I know already, it does seem that most people did enjoy reading City of Bones and the other books in the series. For me though it wasn't my thing and clearly I've really moved on in my reading taste now. Hopefully, this review won't have put others off giving it a try though.        

Image from: http://fuckyeahclaryfray.tumblr.com/post/2963288280