Everyone grows up hearing all the stories about vampires, werewolves, warlocks, and faeries. No matter how old people get, they never truly let go of the feeling that those things may be out there. It doesn’t matter how completely improbable the notion is. Literature can help us visualize these alternate worlds in their entirety. “City of Bones” by Cassandra Clare keeps these dreams alive in the most entertaining, mind-grasping ways.

The book takes place in New York City and follows the adventure of one fifteen-year-old girl named Clary who discovers her mundane life thus far has been a lie. One minute, Clary is celebrating her birthday with her best friend Simon and the next she finds herself right in the middle of a demon hunt. That’s where she meets the Shadowhunters. They are a group of super humans who are fated to kill demons for as long as they live, which usually is not long. The leader of their group is a teenage boy that goes by the name of Jace who excels at everything he does and totally knows it.

Although it was not love at first sight for Clary, after a few lines, the reader becomes enamored with this mysteriously excellent warrior. Clary is thrust into the world of Shadowhunters with Jace as a her guide. Clary is on a quest to save her mother from the ruthless villain, Valentine. The rest of the Shadow world is all looking for a Mortal Cup which turns out to be connected to Clary’s mom’s disappearance. Soon Clary begins to unravel her mother’s past and thus starts to realize that her boring black and white world is filled with colors, both dark and light. This new world also brings toils with vampire, dealings with werewolves, counsels with warlocks, and secret meetings with faeries.

“The Mortal Instruments series is a story world that I love to live in. Beautiful!” says Stephenie Meyer, author of “Twilight.” While the storyline will keep the readers on the edge of their seats with the twists and turns, the characters won’t allow the readers to get off the ride. They all generate severe feelings of either love or hate out of the reader. Clare leaves no room for lukewarm feelings in this novel. Clary cannot help but make her audience root for her in her struggle to find her mom and come to terms with her true self. Her best friend Simon delivers hilarious commentary and remains relatable to the human audience. Jace is an interesting boy yet one will not find a reader who doesn’t severely appreciate his witty responses, his compassionate gestures, his skill with a seraph blade, or even his dark side that always seems to be showing itself in the slightest of ways.

“One must always be careful of books and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us,” said author, Cassandra Clare. Clare knows the power of books and has created a novel with the power to change people, if not only to brighten their day. Clare’s writing for this book is exceptional. She creates the perfect mix of adventure, wonder, romance, and humor. This book is the kind of bestseller that will have one racing to the bookstore to purchase the rest of the series. When people gets a taste of this fantastic fantasy world, they must consume as much as they can. This book truly keeps childhood dreams alive and reminds the unsuspecting reader of the reasons to be alive.