Changes

When Clary Fray witnesses a murder in a New York club, you'd think she would call the police. But without a body, who would believe her? And there is no body, nobody because the murdered boy simply shrivelled and disappeared before her very eyes. Not only that, but to her shock, Clary realises that the perpetrators are walking around the club freely, invisible to eveyone everyone except her. Unnerving as this is, it's nothing compared to going home, finding her mother gone and a vicious, horrifying monster lying in wait. Clary soon discovers that she is not like other humans - she is a Shadowhunter, a race of demon-hunters living in a world of vampires, werewolves and warlocks slap bang in the middle of New York. And Clary will need their help if she is to find her mother.

Um.... ok. I didn't enjoy ''City of Bones'' very much. It's not that I don't like this kind of urban-horror fantasy, although if I'm honest, I'm not that keen. But if it's fresh and original, if the characters grab me, if the world -building gives way to the plot, then I'll enjoy it as much as anyone. But ''City of Bones'' is none of these things. It's tiresomely derivative - yes, we enjoyed Buffy, but not that much - and one of the plot lines is a direct borrow of one of the most famous Star Wars plot lines of all. The world -building and backstory isn't woven into the story - it's just plonked down into pages and pages of dull as ditchwater exposition. The villain isn't that villainous. The characters are inconsistent and fluid, so you don't root for them. And there isn't even a cursory resolution at the end - you're just left with everything up in the air as you are after an episode of a soap opera. But this isn't a soap opera, with the next episode on Thursday - it's a book, with the next one coming out lord-knows-when.

Ultimately though, I'm afraid ''City of Bones'' is a rather unsatisfying book. I could certainly recommend it as a holiday read for teenagers heavily into this kind urban fantasy, but beyond that , I feel it has little appeal.

Teens looking for a more satisfying urban fantasy could look at Kelley Armstrong's [[Otherworld]] series - although parents should note it has plenty of sex! You might also enjoy [[Betwixt by Tara Bray-Smith]].