Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club discussion

City of Bones is the first book in the Mortal Instruments Series. The group is reading the series in preparation for reading the Young Adult Fantasy Winner City of Heavenly Fire later in the year.



Book Summary:
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...

Discussion questions will be posted and the thread will be open to spoilers from Monday 19th.

Prior to the that please refrain from posting specific plotlines and just discuss general feelings about the book.

I won't re-read this as I've read it a few times already. I love cassie Clare and her shadowhunter series (I prefer the internal devices and I didn't like the 4th volume of the mortal instruments all that much).

I liked this first book. I thought the world building was interesting and it didn't get too bogged down in teen angst. It was a little predictable, but I thought the adventure flowed well and made it an entertaining read.

I just read the first and second book this month. I like the series so far. I've also just started the Infernal Devices too.

I actually do plan to re-read it (this weekend hopefully) because it's been a while and things are a little fuzzy.

I do remember enjoying it but not been blown away. Maybe I went in with too much expectation because of all the hype. We'll see how I feel after a second reading.

NOW OPEN TO SPOILERS

I have started it, but not finished it ..... I will be back with thoughts later.

I read this one a while back and haven't continued the series. I think my expectations were blown out of proportion with all the hype. I enjoy my fair share of the young adult genre but this one was a little too young for my personal taste. I loved the action though...but hated the twist at the end. I think that's the main reason why I haven't continued the series. Oddly enough though, I watched the movie and enjoyed it more LOL- probably because of the emphasis on action/special effects.

I just finished this last week. I'd been meaning to read this for awhile, so I was pleased to finally get around to it now as it was the series read here! I liked it, but didn't love it. Like the person above me stated, I think I expected a lot more because of all the hype surrounding this series.

Also, the writing felt a little disjointed at times to me, am I the only one who experienced that? At times, it was really clever and funny, but other parts (mostly parts of the dialogue) seemed as if they were written by someone else entirely because it was so different. Some parts sounded a lot younger in tone than others, which threw me off a little. I did think the world she created was very interesting.

So I've finished my re-read and it didn't change my view on the book. I enjoyed it; it was fast paced, full of interesting characters and has the potential to be a good series but it didn't blow me away like the hype should suggest.

I once again rated it 4 stars.

I read The Infernal Devices trilogy. I thought it was good. Would you say this series is better, equal to, or worse than the ID trilogy?

I can't help you with that one, as I've not read them yet as I always thought it was best to read the mortal instruments first?

Anyway, regardless of my ramblings I'm sure somewhere out there has read both?

I think it makes most sense to read them in the order they were written. The latest Mortal Instruments book e.g. has a few hints toward things that happen in the Infernal Devices series. nothing you have to know .. just little references and such.
personally, I prefer the Infernal Devices as they are less convoluted (she tends to put a little too much into get books sometimes imo) and I loved the historical aspect and steampunk. ...

Thanks Janina.
I have to say, although I didn't love the series... it was ADDICTIVE!
Maybe at some point I'll try this one too.

Just started this. Notice it steals quite a bit from Harry Potter. The keeping the race pure, the bad Shadowhunters, the wizard child raised by Muggles/mundanes.

That doesn't mean it's bad. It's easy to read and not objectionable. Just some observations I had this morning.

she used to write HP fanfiction and Jace is pretty much the exact same character as her version of Draco Malfoy. Apart from that, I think the series deviates from HP quite a bit ...

Well it would have to differ unless she wanted a major lawsuit. I'm just saying some of the similarities are practically slaps in the face they're so obvious. It's not enough to make me give up. Just enough to be a little irritating.

Still, it does look like there were a lot better choices for winner of the YA Fantasy category. I wonder why they picked this one?

Kirsten wrote: "Still, it does look like there were a lot better choices for winner of the YA Fantasy category. I wonder why they picked this one?"

I have to agree. It wasn't my favorite book.

I just finished and while I did enjoy it, it wasn't the best YA fantasy I've ever read. Personally, I think she's lucky she didn't get sued by the Harry Potter people.

I did like the world building, the characters, and the action. However, the blatant Harry Potter tropes were a little annoying.

That being said, it's not completely annoying or dreadful writing. So I'm grateful for that.

I honestly don't see where you see the copying from HP besides Jace (who does not even resemble JKR's Draco, but just what a certain niche of fanfiction made of him). You could just as well claim that JKR copied from a bunch of classics.. yes we have the orphan child raised by others, but that's certainly not what's original about HP. The rest? Every other YA book is a rewriting of Romeo & Juliet.
That being said .. this book isn't the one that was voted for in the awards and while popularity obviously influences the votes to a large extent, I really felt that City of Heavenly Fire is deserving of the award (though there are plenty of nominees which I haven't read)

As a matter of fact, I never saw the comparison between Jace and Draco. I was thinking more of the idea that there are supernatural/magical society dealing with a faction that wants to make things pure. The magical child being raised in the muggle/mundane society and being thrust in the magical world at a critical time. Valentine/Voldemort are very similar characters.

I finally got around to reading this book, and I generally liked it though parts of the storyline were very predictable. I enjoyed seeing this world of Nephalim and Shadowhunters and the introduction of the various characters. It reminds me a bit of Star Wars (the original!) in the way that this first book has some resolution but primarily is setting up a longer story... I just hope it can deliver a satisfying story arc (including a better resolution to the strange plot twist at the end of this book with Clary and Jace). I will continue with the series.