Hush, Hush

     Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick was a rip-off of Twilight by Stephanie Meyers, but I was unable to stop reading it.  It was like watching a soap opera.  You know it is stupid and a waste of time, but you have to know what happens to these characters.
     The plot was an obvious ripoff of Twilight.  Nora and Patch are even together in high school and sit by each other every day in biology.  They have a love-hate relationship, but alas, love is elusive when she is human and he is...a fallen angel.  An evil force is plotting to kill Nora, but luckily Patch is the one who keeps coming to her rescue.  (Sound familiar?)
     The characters were two-dimensional and predictable.  The writing was mediocre.   I have no great reason to recommend this book, but I could not stop reading it.  I must have a weakness for angels or something.  

City of Bones

     One of my students suggested I read City of Bones by Cassandra Clare.  It seemed like a perfect book for me because it is the story of God's angels (Shadow Hunters) fighting the fallen angels (demons) to protect humans.  Fifteen-year-old Clary finds herself in the middle of the battle after her mother is killed by a demon.  Clary moves in with the shadow hunters for protection and discovers she is not an ordinary girl. 
     Although there were sections of the book that I enjoyed, like the midnight scene with Jace on Clary's birthday, I was bored through most of the book.  I usually enjoy this genre, but found this book to be trite and superficial.  By throwing in demons, vampires, werewolves, angels, and shadow hunters, it became chaotic, rather than exciting.  It almost seemed like Cassandra Clare was trying to appeal to readers of Twilight, which made it lose credibility on its own merits for me. 
     City of Bones reminded me of a soap opera.  One part was straight from Star Wars when Darth Vadar reveals that he is Luke's father.  Jace and Clary have a touching relationship until they discover they are related.  I hated the plot twists because they seemed forced and unnatural for the characters.
     Rarely did I forget I was reading a book and escape into the book.  That was frustrating for me because escape is one of the things I love best about reading novels.
     Oprah chose it for her bookclub and Stephanie Meyer put a quote on the front of the book saying how much she loved this world, but I was disappointed by the hype and the book.  If you love fantasy books, you may enjoy this book, but I think there are far better choices to read in the genre.