Throwback Thursday is a feature in which I recommend a book that is not a recent publication. It's just one of my favorites that I feel everyone should read, and I'd like to talk briefly about why I feel that way.
Cassandra Clare
Published February 19, 2008 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
Amazon Book Description:
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder—much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing—not even a smear of blood—to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?
This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .
Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare’s ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.
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I'm going to admit, I saw this book around for years in my library, and I dismissed it every time as too fluffy. I thought it would just be a ripoff of Twilight, but with angels or something, and probably read like poorly written fanfiction. When a coworker recommended it to me, and I finally gave it a chance...I fell in love. Say what you want about Cassandra Clare, an author that actually did get her start writing fanfiction, but these characters, this world, and this story are to die for. I have never read a story with such a well-though-out backstory, save for the Harry Potter series. The way that the storylines weave together, the twists that are so unsuspected that they break your heart, and the forbidden love story that plays center stage all illustrate that whatever her background, Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter are here to stay.
Clary is a strong but relatable character. She makes her own decisions, argues her opinions, and her integrity shines through in each decision that she makes. She is a character that young women should strive to emulate, and one that I wish I had been more like when I was a teen. Jace is, of course, my fictional boyfriend; a literary heartthrob if there ever was one, he could kick Edward Cullen to the curb. And Simon, who makes up the trifecta of main characters, is the best best friend you could ask for. He's loyal, tolerant, and helpful, and even as the story progresses into a series and Simon's character goes through some harsh changes, his core is never shaken. His morals remain and that sense of honor that he has never falters.
The fifth book in this series just came out, and I'm starting it today. There's also a semi-prequel series set in the same world and involving the ancestors of these characters--it's called The Infernal Devices, whereas this one is called The Moral Instruments. In addition, there's going to be another series set in this world when these two wrap up, called The Dark Artifices, and it should be in the near future of Los Angeles. And finally, there's a film adaptation in the works, starring Jamie Campbell Bower and Lily Collins as Jace and Clary. It's all very exciting, and if you haven't given this series a chance, as I was hesitant to do, you should get in now before the movie comes out and ruins the fandom for you.
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