The end of a saga...or is it?

I am writing this post even though I had to tear myself away from another book to do it. That being said, I will attempt to be brief. In fact, I'm not going to include much about the plot of Cassandra Clare's final book in the Mortal Instruments series, so no "spoiler alerts" needed. I finished the book a few days ago and I am thoroughly satisfied with City of Heavenly Fire. Satisfied and disappointed. Not disappointed with the book, but disappointed that as I was reading it, I knew I was saying "goodbye" to her wide variety of colorful characters.

The plot picks up right where we left off at the end of City of Lost Souls. Jace is now housing heavenly fire within his own body due to an exhilarating climax involving Jace, Clary, Sebastian, and an angelic sword. It is literally heavenly fire running through his veins which complicates things for Jace and Clary and their physical relationship, both to their frustration and teen (and adult) girls everywhere! I spent the first 100 pages or so (there are a whopping 725 pages to enjoy) confused. The prologue includes a heading the, Los Angeles, December 2007. Not confusing on its own, but confusing when the first chapter begins pretty much right after the events in the prologue. I finally realized that this makes perfect sense since the entire saga takes place over the course of several months rather than the several years that writing the series took. (Duh!) This also explains why everyone has a flip phone which frankly, was annoying me because teenagers always seem to have the latest gadgets.

Clare continues to give almost equal time to all her characters including Magnus and Alec (their break-up in the previous book really devastated me), Maia, Simon, Izzy, and all the other vampires, fairies, wolves, and Shadowhunters. I enjoy that she doesn't write in a strictly linear time line. Meaning that when she moves in and out of characters' plot lines, they are happening simultaneously rather than as separate moments in time. To me, this amps up the urgency within the story.

A word of advice about reading this last book. If you have already begun reading her Victorian era prequel trilogy, The Infernal Devices, you should probably finish it before reading City of Heavenly Fire. I have only read the first book in the trilogy. Plot lines and characters from that series are mentioned in this book which I will probably think about when I get around to reading the rest of the trilogy--kind of ruining the mystery of a story unfolding. If you haven't read the trilogy at all, I think you'll be just fine. However, if you love Magnus Bane as I do, I would definitely make time to read The Infernal Devices!

The title of this entry questions whether this book is really the final book. Cassandra Clare takes great care to introduce the readers to a new set of young Shadowhunters. It was quite obvious that she is setting up something new for the future. Of course, I was delighted then, when I found a one paragraph teaser at the conclusion of the book which included a title to a new series and book promised to be out this fall! What remains to be discovered is if characters from The Mortal Instruments return in the new series.

There's something to be said for an author giving us a happy ending after we've invested in 1000's of pages about her characters! I didn't want to throw my book across the room upon completing it as I did so desire with Allegiant. And, contrary to many readers of the Divergent series, I actually enjoyed Allegiant and Veronica Roth's bold move--because, well, it was bold. "Happily Tied Up" is maybe a better phrase to use because when demons are involved, there's never going to be "Happily Ever After." Which of course means, more books for me to read for my enjoyment! 

Don't judge this book by the current cover!

I have realized that I was happier when I was writing entries for the blog regularly. Since everyday life often gets in the way of me spending all my time reading and keeping the blog updated, I won't promise myself to do better because I just feel bad when months go by without writing anything. What I will commit to is writing an entry when a book gets me excited! Hopefully there will be many books that meet that qualification in my near future! My extensive list of books is quite promising after attending an event at Harold Washington Library for CPS librarians. The yearly event is a book lovers dream come true...a whole day of listening to book talks while annotating the provided book list!

The book that has me so desperately excited is Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys. Let me say just a few words about the cover art before I really begin. I don't understand book publishers and the marketing decisions they make at times, but the image on the left is the original artwork while the image on the right is how the book was delivered to me from Amazon. To be honest, I felt a bit apprehensive and embarrassed  about taking the book out in public with me. To me, it looks a bit like a cheap, romantic beach read. (Which have their time and place. I have been known to enjoy a "quick summer read" with the best of them.) This book is technically YA/Teen, but the story is so good that maybe the publishers are marketing to a whole new demographic with the new cover.

Out of the Easy is set in New Orleans and begins just as the city is celebrating the new year in 1950. Josie, almost 18, narrates her life in the French Quarter where her mother is a prostitute in a whore house. What Josie lacks in pedigree and motherly love and guidance is made up for with her intelligence and unwavering determination to be the complete opposite of her mother. She works in a small book shop with her best friend Patrick. Jo has rented a room above the shop from Patrick and his father since her early teens to avoid living in the whore house. Jo also works for Willie, the madame of the whore house, cleaning the girls' rooms every morning and being a sort of assistant to Willie. Jo's biggest dream is to get as far away from New Orleans as possible and to attend a college where no one will remember that her mother once attended a parent night in nothing but a fur coat because the teacher was handsome!

On New Year's Eve a well-to-do gentleman, Forrest L Hearne, Jr., comes into the shop to purchase some books. Jo is captivated by him, fantasizing that her father could be someone like Mr. Hearne. When he turns up dead the next day from an appaent heart attack, she is shocked. Even more so when she finds Mr. Hearne's expensive, engraved watch under a bed in the whore house. Jo gets caught up in keeping the secret of the watch even though she doesn't know who she's protecting. Soon she's protecting herself when the death is re-ruled a homicide because she's withholding information from the police investigation. As the story progresses it seems as if Jo is destined to a life in the French Quarter and everything that entails.

Honestly, there's so much more to the plot than just the few sentences I shared, but to share more would only confuse you and make the story that much less enjoyable when you read it. There are many other plot lines and colorful characters. Each one is fascinating and fully developed. Sepetys' writing is beautiful. She uses detail and description to move the story forward and enhance the character development rather than to impress the reader. From the moment I began reading, I loved her voice and have not put the book down these past two days. I'm seriously sad that the mystery was solved and that I had to say goodbye to Jo and the characters who loved and supported her.

Now I must say this. Read this book. I don't care if you are young, old, male, female, or think you aren't a fan of young adult fiction. Read this book! Half way through the book I double checked to see that this book was actually published for teens (it was.) It doesn't have the usual angsty, "I don't know who I am" or rising up against authority themes. Jo does struggle with her identity, but that's to be expected with a mother for a prostitute! I would recommend this story to anyone who loves a beautifully written and intelligent story. There's mystery, danger, humor, some commentary on society's social statuses, and just enough romance. The beauty of Sepetys' book is that never once did I feel as if she was writing to fulfill someone's expectation of what would make a good story. Instead, the story felt like how life really unfolds. Life is sometimes unexpected, frightening, unfair, and disappointing. But at the same time, we find strength in ourselves and those who love and support us along the way. Even in the midst of horrible events and circumstances something new and exciting can happen too.

Seriously, just read this book! This is Sepetys' second book. I actually own her first book, but it's in my office at school and I'm currently enjoying spring break. You can bet that I'll be reading her first book, Between Shades of Gray, also historical fiction, as soon as I get back to work!