Let me start off by saying: I normally don’t read these kinds of books. Essays by other authors about another series, et cetera. But with the huge hype about the Mortal Instruments movie coming out, as well as having read all of Cassandra Clare’s work, I figured I’d give it a shot. And it’s an ARC, (Advanced Reading Copy) so...

When I started to read this book, I noticed a reoccurring trend in the essays (aside from the fact that the e-reader edition of this book is horrible proofread): There is a lot of ‘how’ [said subject is in Cassandra Clare’s series] but not a lot of ‘why’ [it is important for the series or as a reader]. I have written a lot of English papers in my college career, so the subject of an essay is to, in general, find a motif/theme in the material you are writing on and find out how it becomes bigger than what it is in the confines of the novel. Do I believe any of the authors really did that with their essays in this piece? Ehhh...

In order to keep this brief, I’ve cut down my list to the most notable of the essays in the collection (edited by Cassandra Clare, which in my humble opinion, wasn’t the greatest of ideas.)

The Best: Michelle Hodkin’s “Simon Lewis: Jewish, Vampire, Hero”
The amount of research Hodkin does for the essay is impressive and important. To understand Simon as a character, you must understand the culture and tradition of Jewish religion. Only then can you understand the ‘outsider’ feeling that Simon has, based on who he is as a person, not because he’s a vampire. Hodkin finds significance in his character through his beliefs, that honestly made me go “wow, I never thought of it like that before”. Hodkin’s essay was the only one that struck a chord for me, and worth a read for any fan of Clare’s novels. I really think this essay should be compiled as a supplement sold with every book, but that’s just me.

More here at BOOKISH reviews
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Let me start off by saying: I normally don’t read these kinds of books. Essays by other authors about another series, et cetera. But with the huge hype about the Mortal Instruments movie coming out, as well as having read all of Cassandra Clare’s work, I figured I’d give it a shot. And it’s an ARC, (Advanced Reading Copy) so...

When I started to read this book, I noticed a reoccurring trend in the essays (aside from the fact that the e-reader edition of this book is horrible proofread): There is a lot of ‘how’ [said subject is in Cassandra Clare’s series] but not a lot of ‘why’ [it is important for the series or as a reader]. I have written a lot of English papers in my college career, so the subject of an essay is to, in general, find a motif/theme in the material you are writing on and find out how it becomes bigger than what it is in the confines of the novel. Do I believe any of the authors really did that with their essays in this piece? Ehhh...

In order to keep this brief, I’ve cut down my list to the most notable of the essays in the collection (edited by Cassandra Clare, which in my humble opinion, wasn’t the greatest of ideas.)

The Best: Michelle Hodkin’s “Simon Lewis: Jewish, Vampire, Hero”
The amount of research Hodkin does for the essay is impressive and important. To understand Simon as a character, you must understand the culture and tradition of Jewish religion. Only then can you understand the ‘outsider’ feeling that Simon has, based on who he is as a person, not because he’s a vampire. Hodkin finds significance in his character through his beliefs, that honestly made me go “wow, I never thought of it like that before”. Hodkin’s essay was the only one that struck a chord for me, and worth a read for any fan of Clare’s novels. I really think this essay should be compiled as a supplement sold with every book, but that’s just me.

More here at BOOKISH reviews
( )

I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would. I mean, I'm a fan of Clare's series about Shadowhunters and Downworlders, but I've never read a collection of essays analyzing a series I'm into like this before. I was pleasantly surprised. I have even made a note to myself of a few of the authors from this collection to check out their books, based on the way the essays impressed me. My favorites were the final two in the book. The conversational style of the essay by Holly Black and Kelly Link was very entertaining. And don't even get me started on how much Sarah Rees Brennan made me laugh. It's nice to see how much other authors enjoy a particular work or series like this. I'm glad I picked it up! ( )

Really wish I hadn't bought this. ( )

I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting from this book. I just know that I was a bit disappointed. I think I was hoping that it would be more entertaining, less serious. However, this was a lot like reading essays for a literature class. The essays were very well-written, it's just that I think the authors were looking WAY too deeply into the world that Clare created. For example, there is an entire essay devoted to Simon and his being a Jewish vampire. Well, having only read the first volume in the series, perhaps I'm not as involved in it as other readers, but quite frankly, I didn't even remember that Simon was Jewish, much less did I give it any deep philosophical contemplation. The essays appealed to my intellectual side, but the side that was really wanting some attention was my "I really don't want to think too hard, I just want to read something entertaining" side. ( )