A Manual for Shadowhunters

"Welcome and Congratulations. You have been chosen to become one of the Nephilim." 

The Shadowhunter's Codex is a manual for new Shadowhunters. It is meant to guide them into their new, dangerous, usually short life. The life of a Shadowhunter is violent and often brief, but their role in containing rogue Downworlders and preventing harm upon mundanes by demons and the like is an important one. While most Shadowhunters are born into the life, some mundanes can ascend to become Raziel's soldiers. For those who have not been raised as a Shadowhunter, there is a lot to learn. The Codex is meant to guide those young, new Shadowhunters to prevent their even more untimely deaths. 

This is a brief little book that is mostly unnecessary if you have followed along with the series up to its most recent book. It details everything from the Mortal Instruments to a Shadowhunter's weapons to the different kinds of Downworlders. While I didn't mind all this information, and enjoyed this little manual, it is pretty repetitive and would make only the most die-hard fans happy. The most important information you get is the history in the last part of the book. The history of the Shadowhunters has been touched on in bits and pieces throughout the series, but it was good to have it all together in one place. 

The most entertaining part of this book wasn't the actual book itself, but the "notations" made by Clary, Jace, and Simon. They were funny little quips, especially about the parts where the Codex is lacking due to plot events from previous books. If I hadn't read the series, though, these little smart-guy comments wouldn't make much sense. I would use this book for a student who is going through the series but reads slow and might lose track of different names that are complex and unfamiliar. Using this as a dictionary/reference of sorts for those oddball items and names would help them keep up with the series at their own pace. It was a cute companion to the story, but if you read pretty steadily with the series, it isn't entirely necessary for your Mortal Instruments enjoyment!

City of Losing Interest a Little

Clary and Jace aren't exactly a normal couple. In fact, they have probably had the most traumatic and bizarre relationship as any couple in history. From assuming they were brother and sister, still being attracted to one another, being attacked, death, etc., they are a bizarre couple from the word go. And in The City of Lost Souls, the fifth book in Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series, their relationship doesn't get any easier.

Clary thought it was over. Sebastian, her real brother (and also known as Jonathan Morgenstern), was defeated, Lilith was killed (or as killed as the oldest demon in history can be), and Jace was safe. She couldn't have been more wrong. When she returns to the roof, both Jace and Sebastian, who was supposed to be dead, are gone with no trace. They can't even be located magically. After an exhaustive search, the Clave can't afford to keep everyone looking for Jace. They are ready to close the search, but Clary refuses to give up. She will do anything to find him, even go to the Seelie queen. When she tries to steal the payment for the Queen from the Institute, she sees Jace, with Sebastian. As thick as thieves, the boys who were once mortal enemies seem to be the closest of friends. Clary had thought any manner of things could have happened to Jace, but she never imagined he would turn to the dark side. 

When Jace and Sebastian show up at Luke's apartment to get Clary to join them, it is clear to her that something had to have happened to Jace to change him. When they attack Luke and stab him with a demon metal knife, she knows she has to do something. But when it becomes clear that anything that happens to Sebastian also happens to Jace, their connection becomes even more frightening. One can't be killed without killing the other. Clary knows the Clave will consider Jace collateral damage in an effort to get rid of Sebastian, so she decides to do the only thing she can do- make them think she is going to join them in order to find a weakness in their connection. But what if there is no weakness?

You know when you follow a TV show for a long time and you start to think about how many times the main couple has broken up and made up, or how many guys the main girl has dated, or how many times the main characters have almost died, and it seems laughable? Like when you think about how many kids died in Buffy the Vampire Slayer over her years at Sunnydale High, but no one ever thought it was fishy? That is starting to happen to this series for me. I mean, really, how many times can Clary and Jace be in mortal peril or have their relationship completely destroyed, only to pick up the pieces and start again? Now, I have to say, I enjoyed the story, as always. But I am starting to go weary of Clary and Jace. In fact, I wanted to skip through their half of the book, but I just couldn't do it for plot's sake. 

Instead, the true gems for me are in the supporting characters. The relationship between Alec and Magnus is simply fabulous (well, honestly, Magnus is simply fabulous and by influence, so is Alec!). I love having a serious gay couple in young adult literature where they aren't romanticized or too perfect, but rather experience the same insecurities any couple faces, gay or straight. This is a great for all young adults to have experience with. In addition, Simon and Isabelle are a great couple. As complete opposites both supernaturally and humanly, they are full of twists, turns, and surprises. I honestly felt these characters were more interesting than the same old Clary and Jace nonsense, and would have been happy to just have their stories in this book. But alas, there are bigger things at work, and we must have Clary and Jace together again for the big, final, epic battle that is surely to come in the final book of the series. (Wait. Didn't it end already?!)

City of Crazy Twists

While the series seemed to end neatly with the third book in The Mortal Instruments, it seemed Cassandra Clare wasn't ready for it to be over. Continuing the story of the Shadowhunters brings Clary, Simon, Jace and the others back again to make sure the world doesn't end at the hands of evil... again.

As the Shadowhunters try to adjust to life as kids, not heroes saving the world, they find themselves struggling to continue as thought everything is normal. Now that Jace and Clary are sure they aren't related, they feel like they can finally show their feelings for one another, but it isn't as simple as that. Since returning from the big battle, Jace hasn't been acting like himself. Suffering from terrible nightmares, he is almost terrified to even be around her. In his dreams, the awful things he does to Clary are so terrifying, he would rather avoid her than put her in danger.

But there is more going on than just a difficult adjusting. Shadowhunters are being murdered. At first, it seems like a simple attack from a Downworlder, but the story can't be simple as the bodies continue to pile up. When their investigations start coming up short, they enlist Simon as help, the newly adjusting Daylighter, a vampire who can walk in the sunlight. With every vampire faction, every evil being, clamoring to get Simon on their side, they have access to even the most elusive of creepy crawly, but Simon isn't as predictable as he used to be. Being a vampire requires blood, and the hunger is instinctual. While he can't imagine hurting someone, he might not be completely in control of his urges. Predictable or not, Simon is at the heart of the evil goings-on and the Shadowhunters must once again rely on the younger members of their order to get to the heart of the dark forces threatening their kind.

I am not sure how I felt about the continuation of this series because I really felt the third book was final and very complete. I know Clare has a penchant for beating a dead horse, and I assume this was her way of continuing with the familiar since it seemed to work so well in the past. With that said, I can't say I didn't enjoy this book, because I really did. I think the whole Jace angle was a bit much, but I liked that Simon played a larger role in this book. I think his story line has really evolved and I hope to hear more about him in the next two books to come. I do, however, hope Clare does give this series a deserved end and doesn't keep it dragging on until I regret reading them. It is so frustrating when an author just doesn't know when it is time to let go of a series. 

The Mysterious City

The Shadowhunters have a huge responsibility for such a young group of people: they must protect mundanes (you and I) from ugly nasties that go bump in the night. But life as a Shadowhunter isn't just dangerous because they hunt vampires, werewolves, and demons; it is dangerous because everyone they ever loved could be in danger because of their calling. Cassandra Clare's third book in the Mortal Instruments series, City of Glass is another thrill ride to keep you coming back for more.

Jace doesn't want Clary to go to the City of Glass on the hidden Shadowhunter island; she is determined to go even though it is illegal to travel to the city without being invited. Despite the dangers, Clary knows the answers to her mother's disappearance are on that island, and she isn't scared of the consequences. When Jace and the others leave without her, she drags Luke with her to the island, but the presence of a werewolf in the city is more than just illegal- it is dangerous. While the Shadowhunters Clary knows are comfortable working with some Downworlders like Luke and newly vampirized Simon, the Clave members and their families on the island have very different, very sheltered understandings of what it means to be a Downworlder. 

In addition to her unwanted presence on the island and her missing mother, Clary is still reeling from the news that Jace is actually her brother. It was bad enough learning she is the daughter of Valentine, the maniac in league with demons to scare the Clave into waging full-scale war on the Downworlders, but to learn Jace was also his son was too much. She knows the island has deep answers, but the answers she has gotten so far have only made her life more complicated (and uglier). But everyone knows there is more dangerous evil out there than any Downworlder walking around: Clary's father. 

The interesting thing about reading this book so late is that I know there are 3 more books in the series, but at the same time, this installment ended with such finality. It almost makes me think the next three books were just an afterthought for Clare who has been notoriously stuck in this world for 5 or 6 series at this point (most upcoming)! Still, the stories are exciting. You can't deny that. They are entertaining, they are exciting, and they keep you wanting more. So even if you think Clare needs to move beyond this world, you still find it your guilty pleasure to join her in it time and time again! 

The series is great for a range of students. It is always action-packed, but the books are really long, and so could bog down a struggling reader. I once had a student who was very dyslexic but was addicted to these books, and he used to listen to the audio books. He loved them! Devoured them! So consider these books for a variety of ages and demographics, because they are just pure, easy fun! 

City of Magic and Conspiracy

Clary has never been more confused. The man who threatens all the Shadowhunters is actually her father, Valentine, the boy she couldn't stop thinking about is actually her brother, and there is a whole world her mother kept from her that is full of warlocks, vampires, demons, and werewolves, among other creepy beasties. Having been brought up as a mundane, Clary must find her way in the Shadowhunter world or quickly be devoured by it in City of Ashes: Mortal Instruments, Book Two by Cassandra Clare.


Clary doesn't know what to do about Jace now that they recently found out they share a father, and an evil father no less. She has trouble reconciling her feelings for Jace, but she knows her friend Simon, a simple mundane, is the less creepy option. Meanwhile, Jace has been thrown out of the only home he ever knew with the adoptive Lightwood family. Lost and alone, Jace is being punished for the sins of the father he never knew or had allegiance to. But now a war is brewing between Downworlders. A werewolf child and a warlock child were found dead, bled to death, and there is no one more logical to blame than the vampires. 


The vampires swear they had nothing to do with the deaths, but everyone suspects them. When Jace is investigated by the Clave and held prisoner in the Silent City, his father breaks in. He comes to see Jace and ask for Jace's help, but his own son was not his purpose for visiting the city and killing all the Silent Brothers. He was after the Mortal Sword. With or without Jace's help, Valentine plans to reverse the allegiance of the sword from good to bad so he can control the demons and finally fulfill his purpose- the extermination of the Downworlders who threaten the lives of humans and Shadowhunters alike. Even if the Clave doesn't believe in Jace's innocence, Clary and his adoptive siblings refuse to let him suffer for the evils Valentine has acted on. But will they make it in time to stop the conversion of the Mortal Sword?


These books sometimes seem overwhelming because they are quite large, but whenever I read one of Clare's books, I am immediately dragged right into it. I regret to admit I started this series almost 2 years ago and haven't kept up with it since. However, I have been keeping up with the Infernal Devices series, which renewed my interest in this series. Clare does a good job of giving you enough background that you can pick up a book even if you haven't read the one before it in a long while, and for that I was grateful (lately my ever-growing pile of books prevents me from much rereading). And after a few brief pages of catch-up, I was thrown right back into this story with a vengeance. The story was interesting and exciting, and as with all her books, she ends it with a satisfactory conclusion (no real huge cliffhangers) but still keeps you wanting more and leaves the end open for the next installment.


The stories are perfect for anyone who likes supernatural or paranormal stories. They are full of mysterious creatures, many of whom balance between their true evil nature and the life the Clave forces them into. There is a god deal of death and violence, but it is mostly of the supernatural type and isn't particularly gory. I love the excitement and in particular, the characters. Jace is that typical bad boy who really has a heart of gold despite his crusty, snarky exterior and you can't help but love him. My one icky-factor is the weirdness between him and Clary, who now appears to be his sister. So we have a Luke and Leia moment, but why is it continuing? And why aren't they grossed out now that they are brother and sister? I can only imagine this will resolve itself eventually and Clare won't have a Flowers in the Attic moment, but who knows where this plans to go... just please make them not be brother and sister because I am all in on team Jace!

Like Clockwork

A world filled with Nephilim and warlocks and vampires and werewolves and demons may be old hat by now, but one filled with creepy clockwork armies certainly isn't. Cassandra Clare continues her Infernal Devices series, a prequel series to the Mortal Instruments series with the second book, Clockwork Prince. 


Tessa knows she has lost her brother to the dark side, but she still doesn't know who she is. As the London Clave Institute fights Mortmain, a mundane with ties to black magic, she finds herself constantly confronted with the fact that she truly has no idea who she is- Shadowhunter? Mundane? Downworlder? Tessa is intent upon helping Henry and Charlotte remain in control of the Institute, as they are the only family she has left with her blood family all dead or gone. In their fight to keep the institute, they continue to investigate Mortmain. It leads them to find Will's family being held in one of Mortmain's home. While he knows Clave law prevents him from contacting them, he can't help but worry himself to death about them. It also forces him to acknowledge the curse he is burdened with that foretells everyone he grows to love dying a horrible death.


But there is a deeper problem in the London Institute. They have a mole. Someone has been funneling information to Mortmain about the investigation and where they are searching, which gives him the jump on them each and every time. When they find out who has been giving him the information, it is a  betrayal like they can't believe. The only thing that may repair their damaged family is that Jem, dying from an addiction to a demonic drug that was forced upon him, finally finds the love he never let himself hope for.


Oh. This book ended and I didn't know whether to cry or jump for joy. Talk about bittersweet! It was a typical Clare book full of action and cryptic back story that leaves you satisfied yet still wanting more, but somehow, the way she ended this was just too much! There is this heartbreaking love triangle between Jem, Tessa, and Will that will wrench your heart straight from your chest! It makes you unsure who you want Tessa to finally be with, kind, dying Jem or scampish, brooding Will. I love them both so much! I still can't decide! But the beautiful thing about this story is that the supporting characters are just as lovely as the main characters. You will find yourself loving everyone in the London Institute- even some warlocks and werewolves!


This is a very interesting series, but the books are long and dense. I often save them for a holiday when I have the time to sit down and just read the books with no interruptions. I think there are students out there who would love these books, but they look a little intimidating. I wonder how they would be as audiobooks. I imagine the story is even more magical, and that might be the key to sucking a struggling reader into the large but fantastic series. 

Steampunk and the Supernatural

Sometimes I am intimidated by the sheer size of Cassandra Clare's books. I have only read the first of the Mortal Instruments series because they are sooo big! But I was talking to my sister about them the other day and she made a very good point- they might be big, but they are so good you fly right through them. She was right! I am glad I picked up Clockwork Angel, the first book in the new Infernal Devices series, a prequel to the Mortal Instruments series. Had I not, I would have missed out on so much supernatural goodness!

Tessa comes to London to meet her brother. She hasn't seen him since he left New York and now that he is the only family she has left, she is anxious to reunite with him. Immediately she is captured by two vile women who call themselves the Dark Sisters. The Dark Sisters kept Tessa for months, forcing her to get control of a power she never knew she had: shape-shifting. But Tessa's is no normal shifting, she can actually become the person, thoughts and all. The Dark Sisters use her to tell them what happened to people they thought might be dead, as Tessa could relive their last moments. The shifting was terrifying for Tessa, especially since she thought she was dying along with the person she had become. Finally, when Tessa is finished training, they prepare her for her wedding (magical) to the Magistrar, the head of a very powerful supernatural group who wants to control London.

When Tessa sees an opportunity to escape, she takes it. Luckily it happens to be at the exact same time a wild young man named Will comes in to investigate a dead girl he tied to the Dark Sisters. He takes Tessa back to the Institute, a place where Shadowhunters are trained to control magical folks and if necessary, hunt and kill them when they threaten the mundanes (non-magical folks). There, Tessa finds people she can trust and who will help her find her brother, who is now missing. The people at the institute track her brother Nate to a mundane who dabbles in the supernatural. He directs them to a vampire who controls the most powerful London coven and seems to have forgotten the Accords, laws created by the Shadowhunters that prevent magical people from hurting non-magical people. When Tessa shifts into a vampire and goes with a Shadowhunter into the vampire's party, she finds evidence the Accords have been broken as well as her brother Nate, bound and ready to be eaten by the head vampire. The Shadowhunters break in and kill most of the vampires, but the head of the coven escapes. Now they must find him before he can give life using demon energy to his army of robotic clockwork minions, because he won't stop until he has Tessa all to his own, even if it means killing every last Shadowhunter.

For those of you who don't know, Steampunk is an interesting subgenre of science fiction. It involves alternate history with interesting technological advances for the time period (usually 19th century). The movie "Wild Wild West" was a type of Steampunk, as well as a lot of stories by Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. This book is not only full of your typical supernatural beastlies like warlocks and vampires and werewolves, it also has these creepy automatons that are being created as a new, unstoppable army. The uses of clockwork cogs and wheels to led to the name "clockwork army". It is a really interesting subgenre, and one our kids might not have had any exposure to.

The story is interesting from start to finish and although it is long, it doesn't feel like it is long. Instead, you find yourself plowing through all 500 or so pages like it was a couple hundred, shocked when you get to the end. The story is a little sophisticated, but not in terms of adult content or language. Instead, it just seems like a grown-up story, which would appeal to kids who don't like "childish" stories. The alternate history, science fiction, and Steampunk might appeal to those a wide range of students, including quirky kids who are hard to find a book for. It is exciting and engaging. While the size of the book might intimidate some kids (or adults!), don't let that keep them from starting this series- it's too good not to give it a shot!

Darkenss Lit Up My Day!

Greek Gods? Love 'em! Shape shifters? Can't wait to see what they'll "pop" into next! Vampires? Oddly intrigued, but hate to admit it. Witches, wizards, and warlocks? Put a spell on me baby! New Orleans French Cajun culture... oui! Put it all together and what do you get? No, not seven separate books, silly. You get Darkness Becomes Her, by Kelly Keaton, and you are going to love it!

Ari had a strange childhood. Given up at the age of four, she was bounced from horrible foster home to horrible foster home until she was taken in by loving bail bondsmen, Bruce and Casey, who not only love her, they teach her to kick some butt (and full weapons training of course). But Ari needs to know what happened to her mother, so she tracks down the mental institute her mother was committed in when she died. It is there she learns her mother committed suicide shortly after giving Ari up. Ari collects her mother's possessions and in the box, she find a letter from her mother telling her to run, and run fast. Ari ignores the letter at first, but when a big scary man speaking another language attacks her and is impervious to bullets, she knows her mother wasn't crazy after all.

Barely escaping with her life, Ari is determined to find out what really happened to her mother. So she ventures into New 2, what is left of New Orleans. Around the time Ari was given up, a wave of hurricanes all but destroyed New Orleans. The US wanted to abandon it entirely, but a group of 9 New Orleans families came together and bought the city from the country, making it the only privately owned city in North America. New 2 is rumored to be lawless and a paranormal haven, but not many people dare to enter (except a few silly tourists). The culture still exists, but as Ari arrives, she realizes so does a whole population of "freaks"- strange people who turn out to be as paranormal as the rumors said they were. Apparently the 9 families who own New 2, Novem, are made up of vampires, witches and warlocks, and shape shifters. They work together to take care of the city and keep it safe from the real nasties out in the ruins.

When Ari arrives, she is "adopted" by a group of freaks who live in an abandoned house. Sebastian, the leader, agrees to help her find information about her mother. Instead, they find Sebastian's grandmother knew Ari's mom and even paid her hospital bill when Ari was born. When they go to the Novem, of which Sebastian's grandmother is part of, they find there is a terrible curse on Ari's family where the women in her family all die by 21, but not before delivering a baby girl. Sebastian's grandmother agrees to help her fight the curse, but before she can, Ari is kidnapped by a supernatural soldier and taken to a hidden prison. It is there she learns the truth of who she is. She manages to escape and help the other prisoners- a harpy, a shapeshifter woman/spider, and even Sebastian's father, who he thought was gone forever.

The prisoners tell her it is the petulant Greek Goddess Athena who imprisoned them, and it is Athena who cursed Ari's family. It turns out, Ari's curse goes farther back than she or anyone else expected. Now she has the Novem who want to keep her as a weapon, an angry goddess who is simply a jerk, and Ari finds out she can be a real danger to everyone, her friends included, when she comes of age. But Ari won't just give up. She is determined to take control of her life, even if it means showing a Greek God who is really the boss!

This was SUCH an interesting book and it took so many twists and turns I had no idea what was going to happen. I read it in one sitting and was really annoyed when anyone interrupted me because it was so addictive! The interwoven myths and supernatural creatures are so cool, and the truth behind Ari's curse dates right back to Greek mythology. There is another book planned for next year, and I have already pre-ordered it! I can't wait!

There is some forceful language in the story, but most of it is totally deserved (wouldn't you throw out a curse word or two if an awful goddess cursed your family for countless lifetimes and is trying to cook your brain?!). The content can be violent at times, but is nothing gratuitous or violent for the sake of being violent. Instead, it is just the nature of such a story with life and death situations around every bend. This is a great book for almost any student, as it is fast-paced, exciting, and the characters are awesome. You won't be sorry if you pick up this book... but you might be trapped where ever you do because it is too good to put down until you reach that last page!

Hex Hall Put a Spell on Me!

"Of course the only words I actually managed to yell at at the werewolf as he ran at me were, 'BAD DOG!'" You need a book that will actually make you laugh out loud? Look no further! Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins had me laughing all night! I couldn't put it down!

Sophie Mercer is a sarcastic young witch who has gotten herself into trouble, again. Unfortunately, this time caught the attention of the Council, a group of witches and warlocks who keep magical folks from exposing their world to humans. Now she must stay at Hecate Hall, nicknamed Hex Hall, until she is 18 and considered trustworthy with her magic. Unfortunately, with a human mother and a warlock father who left before she was born, Sophie doesn't know anything about the Prodigium, or magical world.

Even though Hex Hall is supposed to be protected, a girl was killed before Sophie arrived, and another girl is attacked just after school starts. Everyone is blaming Sophie's roommate Jenna, the only vamp on campus as part of the Council's attempt to integrate them with the rest of the Prodigium, but Sophie knows she is innocent. Even Sophie's crush, Archer, is convinced Jenna's guilty. But it quickly comes out that there is more to Sophie's family than just magic. Between her possibly murderous roommate, a father who is the reason most kids were sentenced to Hex Hall, an evil group of mean witches who has it in for Sophie, and all the dark witches dropping like flies (Sophie being a dark witch herself), Sophie has found Hex Hall to be worse than her past 19 schools. Now she has to find a way to exonerate Jenna!

This is a great story with fun, spunky characters who anything but the whiny females you can sometimes find in YA lit. They are sassy and don't take crap from anyone. Even the teachers have different dimensions; Lord Byron, the real Lord Byron, is a vampire who teaches poetry at Hex hall because when he was turned, he was too conspicuous, and when the Council released him, all he wanted to do was turn all of Europe into vampires!

This is fun, fast-paced read that is enticing to anyone. The reading level and content are appropriate for middle school to high school. As this is the first in a series, it is a perfect opportunity to suck a student into an exciting story and keep them reading. Give the story a shot, but don't be surprised when you find yourself giggling out loud as you read!