The Main Theme in "City Of Bones" Novel

In City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, Clary Fray is presented with a new world unlike her own. Clary, your average teenage girl, goes to the Pandemonium Club to try and spice up her life. While there, she saw and followed some cute boys into a closet after realizing they had knives and watched them kill a demon before her own eyes, “...folding in on himself, growing smaller and smaller until he vanished entirely” (14). Clary later received a phone call from her Mother telling her not to return home, but like anyone would, she ran straight home. Frightened at the sight of her destroyed apartment and missing mother, Clary set off on a mission to save her mom. Jace Lightwood, one of the cute shadowhunters Clary previously encountered at Pandemonium, befriended and guided Clary throughout the Shadowhunter realm. They slowly made way to Magnus Bane, who revealed that he “‘... erased her memories…’” (225), due to her mother’s request. Clary traveled a winding path of twists and turns while trying to locate her mother, and along the way she realized that love is complicated, and sometimes you don’t realize what you are getting yourself into.

Love, which is talked about throughout the entire novel, is confusing, and sometimes you don’t understand it. Clary falls in love with Jace, who guides her throughout the Shadowhunter world. Meanwhile, Simon has been holding in his love for Clary for over ten years. “‘...I've been in love with you for ten years, so I thought it seemed like time to find out whether you felt the same about me’” (320). People also had suspicion that Simon gay, “‘Is he gay’” (37)? After falling deep into a love triangle, Valentine reveals that he is the father of both Clary and Jace, making the two lovebirds biological siblings. “‘This is my father’” (434). In order to reach Valentine’s lair, though, Clary and Jace had to work in unison.

Teamwork is necessary for survival, which is apparent in both City of Bones by Cassandra Clare and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. In City of Bones, Clary and Jace had to work together to avoid being killed by the demons sent after them, similar to how Katniss and Peeta must work in alliance to avoid certain death from the opposing tributes. Clary would have died if it wasn’t for Jace’s courageous and heroic actions. Without the ability to work in unison, Katniss and

Peeta, and Jace and Clary would have been unable to survive.

Clary and Jace were being followed by demons of the Shadowhunter realm on their journey to retrieve the Mortal Cup. Cassandra Clare was able to convey the fictional beasts and other aspects of the Shadowhunter world with her use of imagery. Clary Fray has “...her vision…” (229), which allows her to see fictitious and unreal objects that are ungraspable by the reader without explanation, but Clare does an excellent job of conveying the objects with her beautiful use of imagery. For example, “A blade shot from the tube…” (90), “...clear as glass, with a glowing hilt, wickedly sharp, and nearly as long as Jace’s forearm” (90-91).

Just how Clary and Jace use teamwork to survive, I use teamwork every day on the football field with my fellow teammates. Without the ability to work as one, no team will win, regardless of their individual abilities. Clary and Jace use teamwork to survive, just as my teammates and I use it to thrive as a team and progress through the season without losing. For example, if the linemen did not work well together and block in unison, they would be unable to create holes for the running-back, ergo the team would be unable to gain yardage and score. Without teamwork in City of Bones, Clary and Jace would not have been able to reach Valentine’s lair and release Clary’s mother.

City of Bones was a fantastic read. Cassandra Clare wrote beautifully with the perfect amount of imagery and personification to aid the reader with their comprehension of the novel. The fight scenes were fantastic and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Overall, it was a great book and I would definitely recommend it to my friends.