Cassandra Clare’s City of Bones, the first book in her "Mortal Instruments" trilogy, has a lot going for it: the twists and turns of the plot make sense, the dialogue is lively, and—unlike so many YA authors—Clare actually develops her characters, rather than just (*ahem*) name-dropping the brands of their clothing*.

In the New York of City of Bones, vampires, werewolves, and demons are lurking all over the city, unnoticed by everyone but the Shadowhunters, a secretive, highly trained group of monster slayers. 15-year-old Clary Fray has always considered herself as a normal girl, but when she comes across a trio of tattooed teenagers killing a demon that only she can see, she is drawn into the Shadowhunters’ world.

Apart from a plot twist late in the novel that any telenovela fan will see coming a mile away, City of Bones is pretty darn good. It isn’t as funny as Rosemary Clement-Moore’s "Maggie Quinn: Girl Vs. Evil" series or as darkly dramatic as Holly Black’s books, but it is extremely entertaining, with solidly constructed characters and a creative storyline. The third and final book in this series just came out, so urban fantasy fans should hie themselves to a bookstore and check these titles out.

*The heroine wears green Converse, but we’ll give her that one.

Labels: Book Reviews, Fantasy, teen literature