City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

‘City of bones’ is the story of a 15 year old girl named Clary and her best friend Simon. One night the two friends decide to go to a club and while in there Clary notices a boy and girl going in to the store room with two boys following them who appear to be armed. Nobody but Clary seem to notice them, she gets Simon to go get help though he doesn't understand what she sees. Clary overhears a strange conversation about demons and the supernatural and soon she witnesses the the ‘boy’ being killed and vanishing into thin air. After this incident Clary beings to notice more unusual things going on around her more and more. Clary is determined to find out what is going on and to fill in the gaps in her life, she soon finds herself welcomed to the crazy world of the supernatural.

The story is set in modern day New York. This makes in easy to understand what is going on as it is set in the present time. It is written in third person narrative but gives you and insight into Clary, the main character’s perspective. The author includes dramatic irony in the story and I think the reason that the story is written in third person is so that the audience can understand what is going on without seeing things the way Clary does since she doesn’t understand things at first and whether what she's told is true or not. I thought writing the story this way was a smart choice as it would have made the story hard to understand if the reader didn't know what was happening or if they didn't know what Clary was missing.

The main Characters are Clary, Simon and later on Jace too. Clary and Jace’s characters show significant development through out the story. You learn about their life more and you know what they thought of each other in the beginning and how they felt towards the end.

The story follows a linear structure and features some flash backs. The turning point of the story was particularly interesting as you could see the sudden change of thinking of the characters and and how they began feeling about their situation and the people they are with.

Overall I really enjoyed this book . It kept me engaged throughout the whole time I was reading it and it was interesting to me to see how one character was so blind sighted at first but slowly became more open and understanding. I chose to read this book because of a friends recommendation.

Between Shades of Gray

‘Between Shades of Gray’ follow the story of a young Lithuanian girl named Lina Vilkas. She is introduced as very gentle and artistic. One night Lina’s home is invaded by Soviet officers (NKVD) taking her father and dumping her mother, brother and herself into a overpacked train cart. They make their way to the coldest part of Siberia. They are forced into laborious days and nights but find a way to befriend people working around her and