Book Review

Cassandra Clare’s trilogy, The Clockwork Angel, depicts the nineteenth century with a fictional new perspective for her fantasy world. Clare creates interesting characters, three of whom become closer, growing from strangers to friends and romantic interests. She weaves her peculiar magic within the book as she brings the supporting cast into the midst, mastering their relationships with each other and with the main characters. 

        The narrative she writes is engaging and thoughtful, making it easy to follow along despite the complexity of the plot. It is evident through her book that Clare has focused on the readers when writing to ensure a masterful piece that will have our hearts in pieces. Therefore, I want to rate this book as positive. Due to Clare’s unique storyline and world, I feel that the content is compelling, and her syntax fits the young adult genre. However, there are also inconsistencies throughout the book that had caused the slightly lower ranking. Despite that, I still feel like any reader should give this book a thorough read if one’s interested in fiction and fantasy.  

      An American woman Tessa finds herself in England searching for her missing brother. She gets caught up in the shadow hunter world, forced to take their aid in the search. She is an independent and determined woman compelled to the world, only to find herself a part of it. This book explores family, tragedy, good and evil, love and sacrifice, as Clare enchants us with her portrayal of it all. We meet Will and Jem. Best friends bound together who begin to get closer to Tessa. Unaware of her own part in the illusive world of Warlocks, she finds herself stepping closer to a tragedy waiting to happen. 

      There are many hidden layers within the characters. Even the supporting characters have a crucial part as well. These characters are how Clare sets up the groundwork in worldbuilding. She uses her own type of magic to create an intricate timeline important to the plot and the development of its history. She weaves her words in a manner to create a structure that flows smoothly from one scene to the next, putting importance within each dialogue. Each of Clare’s sentence is used in a discreet matter to propel readers forward, ensuring an enjoyable read. For instance, a scene that I really enjoyed was one that would collude with a lot of readers: a romantic display that we see for the first time over a shared interest of books and authors: The Tale of Two Cities. The scene here helps move the character's relationship forward, and when we look closer, we can see how Clare is able to bring in the major themes from Dickens book within her own story. 

     Though Clare shows her best work, there’s also some parts of the book that doesn’t fair well. For instance, if anyone read her previous work (this is the second series she had written), one could argue that her characters are too alike, that there isn’t enough of a difference between them to make them “unique” to their storyline. The second thing I have noticed is the dragging of certain scenes. Though it is interesting, there are several chapters throughout the book, where it seems stuck and doesn’t move the characters or plot forward. For instance, there’s a chapter where we focus too much on the side characters of the novel and their history. There are some side characters that I feel that are crucial to the plot, but they aren’t as discussed or seen. Why these side characters specifically? 

     This book can be read by children, young adults and adults, as it has an interesting take that can help a person rediscover their love of reading. It bides its readers with it’s beautiful cover, a portrayal of its melancholic content. Her book design had taken the overall theme of the book in account, hence the shadows in order to bring in readers that would be interested. The clothes of the character on the cover also allows us to comprehend what setting the story will take place. It was beautifully done and once a reader is done reading the book, the cover only further helps implicit the content.  

     This book is a 448-page read, published by Simons & Schuster and is for anyone who would like to take a peek into an elusive past filled with magic. It is an exceptional read for any age group who takes an interest in fiction and magic. It can be found in your nearest bookstore or can be bought online.