City of Fallen Angels

City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments, Book Four)

 By Cassandra Clare; McElderry Books 2011

Summary: The Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She's training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And—most importantly of all—she can finally call Jace her boyfriend.

But nothing comes without a price.

Someone is murdering Shadowhunters, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second, bloody war. Clary's best friend, Simon, can't help her. His mother just found out that he's a vampire and now he's homeless. Everywhere he turns, someone wants him on their side—along with the power of the curse that's wrecking his life. And they're willing to do anything to get what they want. Not to mention that he's dating two beautiful, dangerous girls—neither of whom knows about the other one.

When Jace begins to pull away from her without explaining why, Clary is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: she herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. The stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.

My Review: This book had a lot to live up to since the last three books and to be quite honest it didn’t live up to it at all in my opinion. The story took a long time to get started. I really felt like this book wasn’t needed. The ending however, grabbed my attention and I will most like read the next one in the series just to see what happens. This book brings new evil forces to fight and the cult activities and their project gave me the creeps!  I love the Jace and Clary love story, demons, werewolves, vampires, warlocks, and fairies. That must be why I keep reading this series. I will let yourself decide whether or not to read this book.

Things to Watch Out for: Violence (fighting, killings, torture, possession), Sensual acts (Kissing, embracing passionately, homo-sexual), Language, Mythical creatures (vampires, werewolves, demons, etc…)  and some drinking.

Recommendations:

Hugo Cabret

 Hugo Cabret

By Brian Selznick: Scholastic Press 2007

533 pages

Summary: Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks—like the gears of the clocks he keeps—with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the train station, Hugo’s undercover life and his most  precious secret are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo’s dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.

My Review: Wow! This was totally new reading experience for me. These 284 pages of drawings it provides the same experience as picture books, graphic novels, and films.  The lengthy sections of wordless illustrations are interspersed with pages of more traditional novelistic prose.  It is a heartfelt story about an orphan, the history of early cinema, the mechanics of clocks and other intricate machinery, and a little bit of magic.  I did not put this book down! I found it to be exciting and new because of the art, literature, and the entertainment it provided.  It’s a real page turner for sure! I highly recommend this book for people of all ages.

Things to Watch Out for:  Brief drinking and drunkenness. 

The Dark and Hollow Places

By Carrie Ryan; Delacorte Press 2011

Summary:  There are many things that Annah would like to forget: the look on her sister's face when she and Elias left her behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, her first glimpse of the horde as they found their way to the Dark City, the sear of the barbed wire that would scar her for life. But most of all, Annah would like to forget the morning Elias left her for the Recruiters.


Annah's world stopped that day and she's been waiting for him to come home ever since. Without him, her life doesn't feel much different from that of the dead that roam the wasted city around her. Then she meets Catcher and everything feels alive again.


Except, Catcher has his own secrets—dark, terrifying truths that link him to a past Annah's longed to forget, and to a future too deadly to consider. And now it's up to Annah—can she continue to live in a world drenched in the blood of the living? Or is death the only escape from the Return's destruction?

My Review: OMIGOSH! Carrie Ryan has done it again! She has officially made it on my top five favorite authors. She has only written three novels and she has already gained my approval because of her exceptional writing. Her Forest of Hands and Teeth series is amazing.  She loves imputing love triangles and zombie terrors. She makes you nervous  about whether the protagonists od the story will survie. The romance and the action of the story is satisfying. Each book is a different perspective of the characters Mary, Gabry, and now Annah. 

The Dark and Hollow Places has become my favorite in the series. The main character Annah is by far one of my favorite female heroes in a novel.  She is different than the other women in this story. She was brought up without a mother, she was left by her friend to live in the Dark City  by herself to survive, and she has brutal scars covering her body from a barbed wire accident. I loved watching her grow and change throughout this book. She learns to look past the  scars and the comparing of her to her sister to learn to love herself. She is the main reason I love this book so much because she made me realize several things about myself. I highly highly recommend this book, but read the other two in the series first.

Things to Watch Out for: Violence, gore, brief kissing scenes, sexual advances, brief mention of nudity, and zombies. 

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