The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare. First may I say, I so wish I had written these books! We love them. I started reading them because we could get more than one copy out of the library allowing me to read the same book as my daughter at the same time. (Which is lovely!) City of Bones (published March 27, 2007) City of Ashes (published March 25, 2008) City of Glass (published March 23, 2009) City of Fallen Angels (published April 5, 2011) City of Lost Souls (published May 8, 2012) City of Heavenly Fire (published May 27, 2014) We have so far read the first four books in the series and love them. Clare creates a great world within our world that readers can relate to. The topics of love, friendship and loyalty are quite relevant. The characters are quite different from each other and yet all full, rounded characters. The main characters is Clary and we read the story from her point of view. Other main characters who appear in each book include Jace, Simon, Isabelle, Alec, Magnus, Jocelyn, and Luke. Each book also has other characters that round out the stories. There are shadowhunters, vampires, fairies and werewolves but none are ridiculous for a fantasy story. The kids are mostly relatable teens for teenage readers. The books are much better than the book. There is a fair amount of fighting and blood but nothing we found disturbing and my daughter started reading these at 12. In the fourth book there is some sexual but not sexual scenes. I guess it was just foreplay scenes. As we were reading together, my 13 year old did not find them disturbing at all. I was glad she was reading this one this year and not last year but it is merely a matter of four pages. I think it was not gratuitous however just demonstrating the bond between these two characters and necessary to the storyline. I highly recommend these books for mature kids 13 and over and their moms!

The Rag and Bone Shop by Robert Cormier

The Rag and Bone Shopby Robert Cormier is an interesting book about a detective trying to solve a murder of a little girl. It is an easy read, only 154 pages. This would be a good book for reluctant readers, especially males. The boy in the book is 12 years old and that would be a good age to read this maybe 12 - 15. It is a really quick read, not complicated but keeps your interest.