Review: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (The Infernal Devices #1)

Let me start by saying I have not yet read the Mortal Instruments Series. Clockwork Angel is the first book I have read by Cassandra Clare, and I intend to read the rest of the Infernal Devices series before beginning Mortal Instruments. Ahem.

Clockwork Angel introduces us to Tessa Gray, concluding her journey from New York to London, where she expects her brother and a bright new life will be awaiting her. Unfortunately, neither expectation is present upon her arrival, and instead she is abducted by two hags who confine her in order to train her to "Change."

Apparently Tessa is able to turn into other people, to assume their bodies, personalities, and memories. She had no knowledge of this ability prior to her arrival in England, but her captors are both resilient and insistent in her training, and she becomes skilled in this ability quickly. When she is finally able to escape, thanks to the help of Will, she is exposed to a whole new world, filled with supernatural creatures and the politics that concern them. She meets the Clave of Shadowhunters, part angel and part human, who offer her sanctuary and aid in finding her brother in exchange for her help in return. 

My favorite thing about this book is the way that Cassandra Clare incorporates so many mythical creatures and combines them for one solid story. I don't often encounter books that deal with all this supernatural variety (angels, demons, faeries, vampires, warlocks, etc.) and make it work. You would think this many creatures would seem like overkill, but it really isn't. In fact, it all works together rather nicely.

I personally find it to be a good thing that the mystery of Tessa's origin is not immediately (or really, ever) revealed. It would certainly take away a lot from the merit of this story if it were all wrapped up neatly for us. But, at the same time, aside from a baseline frustration that comes along with wanting to know what's going on, I find this story well paced in the fact that it reveals its secrets in a timely fashion. It's not too drawn out, but things also aren't revealed entirely too soon. The former would make it irritating, and the latter would make it boring.

On the subject of Tessa's origin... how is she not ecstatic to discover what she is able to do? I realize that she is an 1800s lady and that there is a great deal of unpleasantness in this supernatural world, but she seems resentful of her abilities, or, at best, indifferent. Never once does she relish what she is able to do, nor does she appreciate the edge it gives her over everyone else. This is not mere shape-shifting (although that would be phenomenal all by itself); this is the ability to become another person or being, to know their thoughts, their pasts, their secrets. This is essentially the ability to become invisible, to walk through walls, to go anywhere or do anything, all because you can assume more than just a person's face; you can learn what they know, speak as they speak, do what they can do. I'll stop ranting about it, but, for the book's entirety, I was blown away at Tessa's response (or lack thereof) to her newfound power.

I loved the literary references thrown in throughout the book, particularly the reference to Dante and the cold ninth circle of hell. I often read about characters that proclaim to enjoy reading, but unlike many of them, Tessa truly seems to love it. She backs it up her claim with numerous titles, particularly relevant to the time period in which she lives. I've even taken a few of her beloved titles and added them to my To-Read shelf.

It would seem that we have a love triangle on our hands, although this one is much more subtle and less obnoxious than I find most others to be. Will and Jem are pretty solid characters, and I'm interested to see where this is going. But, personally, I am rooting for Jem, because I think bad boys are just a little overrated. On that note, it’s a shame that Magnus isn’t in the mix.

Ultimately this is the start to what appears to be a very solid series. I find it to be engaging and well researched, although I think bits of it are predictable, such as the fate of Tessa's brother and the true identity of the magister. But, for the most part, the twists are thrilling and the imagery is compelling. It’s certainly worth reading; this is obvious even from the beginning. I blinked and the first 100 pages had blown by.

Review: I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

I’ll Give You the Sun is the story of twins, Jude and Noah, coming of age socially, artistically, and sexually. The chapters alternate between Jude and Noah's perspectives, Noah’s taking place when they are around fourteen and Jude's when they are sixteen. During the two-year gap between time frames, their mother dies, Jude goes from being that girl to hiding in heavy clothing, and Noah denies himself from both his art and his sexual preference.

First off, the chapters are so long that it takes some getting used to. It's not really that big of a deal, as there are natural stopping points along the way, but the book is so harshly divided between Noah and Jude, in a sort of then and now kind of way, that there is bit of whiplash when transitioning between characters. You forget the specifics of what happened to Jude in her last chapter, because there is such a long Noah chapter in between, and vice versa.

I'm still not sure how I feel about the characters. I certainly did not like the book for at least the first third of it and was not entirely sure why other than it had to do with the people in the story. In the beginning I did not care for either twin, especially Noah. This is not because of the angst (although he is one of the most angst-ridden characters I have ever read about); it was a little more complicated than that. I just found Noah to be a rather self-obsessed person, even after taking into account the fact that he’s a newly adolescent boy with a big secret.

I definitely don't think the twins are ever shown having a good relationship, even in Noah's chapters before the great divide occurs. There's always sort of a past tense feel to the good times. They think a lot about how close they used to be. The time when they were close seems like so very long ago, but how far away can it really be if they are fourteen? There are less than a handful of interactions between the twins in the whole book. The love between them is all tell and no show.  

There are also way too many coincidences here, even for a book that is meant to thrive on coincidences. Everything from both twins' secrets and their relationship affairs to their mother's death to the art school is so intertwined that it just somehow feels... fake. Not saying that this has to be a realistic book or anything, as I quite enjoy books that aren't, but this stretches the imagination a little too far, annoyingly so.

And there's something just a little too... crass about the writing itself. I don't mean profanity or even anything explicit (and heaven knows I'm not a prude). There's just something that feels a bit perverted, like everything leads back to mounting sexual tension and its awakening. And toilet-licking? What’s up with that?

While I did not care tremendously for the characters, the plot, or even the writing style, there are things I appreciated while reading this, especially the fact that both characters are artists, and very different artists at that. Jude’s sand sculptures, dressmaking, and ideas for stone carvings, Noah’s various paintings both real and imagined. The way that art saturates every aspect of this book is fantastic. But even that’s sort of overdone.

I’m glad so many people enjoyed this book, but I hope I’m not going to get any hate for not falling in love with it along with them. I’m not going to lie and say that I loved it, because, really, aside from the art aspect, I didn’t even like it. Everything is just so unnecessarily full of angst and, for the most part, clichés.  It’s also incredibly frustrating to realize that, while each twin only had one half of the story, they could have had the whole picture with just one candid conversation.