By Kayli McGlynn
Staff Writer

With the Harry Potter books clearing a path for young-adult fantasy novels, The Mortal Instruments series has a more modern take on the genre.

The Mortal Instruments series is a six book series by Cassandra Clare. With five books already published, the sixth and final book is set to come out on May 27, 2014, giving new readers plenty of time to finish the other five books before the final book is released.

The first book in the series, “City of Bones”, takes place in New York City. Most of the main characters are people called Nephilim, or shadow hunters, who protect the human world from things like demons, werewolves and vampires.

Books with werewolves and vampires tend to be looked down on ever since the Twilight series made its debut, but The Mortal Instruments does not romanticize the creatures, or even use them as the main focus. “City of Bones” is a “fantasy packed with just about every creature known to the genre,” stated Publishers Weekly in an article published on April 9, 2007.

Part of the reason “City of Bones” is good is because even though it is based on fantasy, the characters react how you would expect normal teenagers and human beings to react if they were thrust into the situations that take place in the book, just like the main character, Clary Fray.

Clary is a decent main character because she is relatable. She gets in fights with her mom and does not have amazing, killer confidence, just like most teenage girls.

“I found the characters realistic and relatable,” freshman Maeve Potash said. “I think that’s one of the reasons I love “City of Bones” and the rest of the series.”

The plot of “City of Bones” twists and turns, and even with the potentially cliché love triangle, is very original and has an ending that will make you want to throw the book across the room and start the next one right away.

Along with The Mortal Instruments series, Clare has written The Infernal Devices trilogy, which is a prequel to The Mortal Instruments series. Even though it is technically a prequel, The Infernal Devices does not need to be read first.

According to an article on Clare’s website, Clare announced that a sequel series to The Mortal Instruments is in the works and is set to be released sometime in 2015, taking place five years after The Mortal Instruments is over, and will move the setting from New York to Los Angeles.

With the books comes a movie franchise. The first film adaptation came out on August 21, 2013 and was a slight disappointment for many fans of the books.

Many key points of the books were changed for the movie, and the biggest upset was the fact that the movie revealed a big secret that does not come out until at least the second book. Books are generally better than their movies, so it was not a complete shock when many were disappointed with the product.

People who are looking for a light read and tend to favor fantasy novels will fall in love with the characters and the book itself.