RATING GUIDE:
5 – A keeper!
4 – Very good
3 – Passable
2 – I’d rather read
a telephone book
1 – An absolute bomb.
Read at your own risk!
“City of Ashes” is the second installment in Cassandra
Clare’s highly popular “Mortal Instruments” series. In this book, Clary and the rest of the Shadowhunters have to
stop their mortal … immortal (?) …. Valentine from creating his own evil army
and destroying the world. It isn’t an
easy task for the Shadowhunters, especially Clary and Jace; for other than
saving the world from their own father (really?), they have to deal with the
humongous changes in their personal lives.
Clary, for one, not only has to adjust to her new world which is filled
with strange and deadly creatures (namely, werewolves and fairies), she also
has to suppress her feelings for Jace, who happens to be her brother (really?)
AND deal with Simon’s love confession.
Meanwhile, Jace has to learn how to deal with his own heartbreak over
Clary without the help of his family, which has disowned him. It’s a similar situation Clary also has to
face, for her mother remains in a coma.
To be honest, reading this book was tedious. I found myself distracted many times while
reading this. I really hope it’s not
due to age! In any case, I think this
is a book that’s best savored in moderate “chunks” instead of marathon
sessions. For some reason, the terms
Cassandra Clare introduced in this series just didn’t stick. The places, the new kinds of instruments …
several times while reading this book, I felt like taking down notes. What?
What were you talking about, Ms. Clare?
Thankfully, the Harry Potter similarities don’t seem as
pronounced as it was in the first book.
It appears like Cassandra Clare’s story has begun to take shape at last
the way SHE wants it. However, I wonder
if there’s any way she can “level up” those cliché creatures in her
series. Is there a way she can make her
werewolves, fairies and vampires more interesting? And while we’re on this subject, I just have to ask: Is there anyone out there who wants to write
a great book for young adults that DOESN’T involve all these creatures?
Teenaged girls will have a FIELD DAY reading this book, for
this is a showcase of sorts for the two heroes in Clary’s life: Jace (the Bad Boy Hunk) and Simon (the Boy
Next Door with the Heart of Gold). It
is in “City of Ashes” that we get a deeper look into the hearts of minds of
these two boys who are both head over heels in love with Clary (I guess it’s
every female’s fantasy to have at least two boys competing for her
affections).
Personally, Jace is so easy to dislike, given his bad boy
antics. If you’ll read some of the
readers’ feedback, there are readers out there who just think he’s an
asshole. Had Cassandra Clare not given
us glimpses into his REAL self (the one that’s not mouthing off all the time,
or picking fights), I would have hated his character.
However, in my opinion, it’s Simon who wins my heart in
this book. It’s hard not to like a
slightly nerdy boy who’s that funny and loving and devoted to a girl. Girls will LOVE the transformation that
happens to Simon (I won’t tell you what it is, you’ll have to read the book to
find out what it is). Before that
happens, though, readers are treated to a whole lot of angst and torture for
Simon. You know what it is,
ladies. The kind that makes you go,
“Aaaaawwwww, let me hug you and make it all better!”
While there are still shades of Harry Potter in this book,
it’s much better than City of Bones in terms of character and plot
development. Definitely much better
than Twilight. However, parents
who want to screen the reading material their kids are reading must know that
this is a book with a number of gory scenes.
This is not a book for the squeamish or the faint of heart. Definitely not for very young kids who
easily get nightmares from scary stuff.
I’m a grownup and even I found myself shuddering inwardly at some of the
passages in this book (poor Brother Jeremiah!).
In addition, parents would probably need to advise young
readers if they read this, for the book touches upon not-so-kiddie subjects,
like abuse within one’s family. It also
hints at a homosexual relationship between a young man and someone who’s much
older (though I really believe Cassandra Clare is just trying to throw us
off-track), and (gasp!) incest (though I also believe Cassandra is just pulling
our leg and will drop a bombshell when the last book comes out). I’m actually quite amused that there are
readers who were/are freaked out by the inclusion of these themes in the
book. I’m pretty sure she wrote this, telenovela
fashion, and the twists will come (and restore the status quo!) very
soon!
RATING: 4
1/2
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