City of Bones (Clare novel)

City of Bones is a young adult fantasy novel written by Cassandra Clare, published in 2007. It is the first book in The Mortal Instruments series. The story follows Clary Fray, a seemingly ordinary teenager who discovers on her fifteenth birthday that she is a Shadowhunter, a human born with angel blood who hunts demons.

The novel introduces Clary to the Shadow World after her mother is kidnapped. Guided by Jace Wayland, another Shadowhunter, Clary learns about her own hidden abilities and heritage. She becomes entangled in a quest to find the Mortal Cup, one of the Mortal Instruments, which can create new Shadowhunters.

The narrative unfolds in New York City, revealing a hidden world of Downworlders (vampires, werewolves, warlocks, and faeries), demons, and angels coexisting alongside mundane humans (referred to as mundanes). Central themes include identity, destiny, family, love, and the battle between good and evil.

Key characters include Clary Fray, Jace Wayland, Simon Lewis (Clary's best friend), Isabelle Lightwood, Alec Lightwood, and Hodge Starkweather (a Shadowhunter mentor). The primary antagonist is Valentine Morgenstern, a rogue Shadowhunter seeking to create a new world order.

City of Bones received generally positive reviews and has been praised for its fast-paced plot, imaginative world-building, and complex characters. It has also been adapted into a film (2013) and a television series, Shadowhunters (2016-2019).