City of Bones

 Blog 8

Week of 10/21/19

             For this week’s topic on contemporary urban fantasy, I chose the book, City of Bones. This is the first installment of Cassandra Claire’s series, The Mortal Instruments. During a night of supposed fun, Clary’s - our main character - life has changed forever. After witnessing a brutal murder, Clary’s concerns of getting caught out late are the least of her worries. This is due to the fact that she can’t explain to the police what had happened because the murderers are invisible to everyone else but her. As if her life hasn’t been turned upside down already, Clary finds out that she is a shadow hunter - half angel and human - while adding to the fact that her mother, has been secretly taking her memories and lying about who Clary is. With a little help from Jace, her love interest, and his fellow shadow hunters, they help open Clary’s eyes to a new and unimaginable world. A world where what was once known as a myth is now Clary’s new reality.

            We discover along with Clary that all the spooky stories of our childhood are real and the mythical creatures of the under world walk are among us without us ever knowing. In Clary’s world, shadow hunters are able to see these creatures and are able to keep them in check. In both fantasy and reality, we as humans can’t tell the difference from creature to non-creature. I found this part of the story very insightful. In both worlds, monsters have the ability and skill to keep themselves hidden. Whether hidden by glamour or nothing magical at all, anyone we walk by could be a danger to us all.