QUESTION: When did you first discover it?

Answer: To tell you the truth, I wasn't in the right mindset when I first discovered it when I was a teenager. I bought it, read it in a few days during study hall and just wasn't *there* for it, if you know what I mean. I had a lot of anxiety and trouble at school for much of my public school days, so there were times when it really affected my focus or interest on much of anything. The second time I read it--around the time City of Glass had just been released--I reread the first book, wandered into the second and third within a matter of a couple of days. The rest, as they say, is history.

Side Note: I was Clary's age when the first book was published and felt quite attached to this fact. Somehow, it was just a nice little nod. It made it easier for me to connect with the character of Clary. At that point, there weren't many books out there in which I was the same age as the characters when I read them. I think, to be honest, the only other time I had that experience was when The Clique was first published and I was a tween. And, eventually, when Gossip Girl was first airing on the CW the characters were my age.

QUESTION: How did it make you feel? 

Answer:  I can't believe I'm having difficulty putting to words an answer to my own set of questions but here we are! Funny how that works, huh? The best way to describe how I felt/feel about City of Bones--or The Mortal Instruments--is warm. As cliche as it sounds, there's something about the series that always felt like a second home to me in the same way that Harry Potter did and the rest of Cassandra's Shadowhunters novels would grow to be. I picked it up and it felt like something familiar and cozy all the while still being this heart pounding ride.

And as the series expanded, I felt understood in a lot of ways--like parts of me were scattered in the characters.

Magnus Bane, for example, was one of the first characters that made me feel like it was normal to be attracted to more than one gender. Up until a certain point, I felt really uncomfortable and confused by this fact and it helped to see a character who was open about it. He, along with Emily Fields in the Pretty Little Liars books, was one of the turning points in me being able to explore my sexuality and confirm that I am attracted to both men and women.

Side Note: The general humour, politics and heart in this series also contributed to my feelings of love to the world Cassandra Clare created.  

 Answer: Completely. I don't think such a profound emotional attachment to a beloved book just goes away on its own. I mean, sometimes, sure. But I have a lot of great memories involving this series and it's just always been present at the back of my mind. A few years ago, for example, when I was having all my stomach issues and City of Heavenly Fire was finally released, I kept the books by my bedside at all times. City of Heavenly Fire kept me company in the E.R. when I was certain I was going to get sick before I could actually see someone (it was a Sunday and no place else was open) and all that jazz. Clary, Jace, Simon, Maia, Isabelle, Magnus, Alec and Jordan kept me company while the rest of the world went about their days.

Side Note: I was sick for about a month straight before caving and going to the E.R. after I couldn't keep anything down or rest. It helped. We got to the bottom of things. Everything was sorted. I have a weak immune system and come from a family with a lot of stomach disorders. My anxiety didn't help the issues and while it didn't cause them, it certainly made symptoms seem about ten times worse. 




Answer: It means a lot of things to be that cannot possibly be described in a few sentences or paragraphs. I think, ultimately, that feeling of warmth and home is the number one thing I associate it with. Because, at the end of the day, that's what a good series does--it makes you feel something and like you're approaching an old friend. Any time I revisit the series, it's definitely like being embraced by your #1. I feel hopeful during times. I feel like anything is possible when you read stories with this kind of magic. I feel like I'm reading it for the first time and it's just a vivid and extraordinary sensation.