When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder — much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Clary knows she should call the police, but it’s hard to explain a murder where the body disappears into thin air and the murderers are invisible to everyone but Clary. Equally startled by her ability to see them, the murderers explain themselves as Shadowhunters: a secret tribe of warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons.

I finished it in three days. I still say, “Meh.” But it was cotton candy for the brain, the mindless silliness that cleared my head between two non-fiction biographies. Judge me if you will.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars – Mediocre vacation reading

And that’s about all I have to say. I cannot deconstruct the author’s style. IMO, she’s a story teller, not an “author.” (Pronounced as Auuuu-thor, with a British accent, of course.) And she tells a story well. Even cutting her that slack, I got a little pissed off at the beginning of the fourth book, where her heavy handed exposition was driving me nuts. “So Vampire X — you know, the one who tried to kill me last year?” Or, “My friend, who had shocked me when I found out he was a werewolf?” Yes, I get it. Your publisher wants a first-time reader to be able to pick up the last book and follow along. Your publisher is pandering to me, and therefore, so are you. Shut up and let’s get on with the blood-sucking drama already.

Was it a satisfying conclusion? I suppose so. I didn’t really expect anything but an uncomplicated happy ending, so no surprises there. I know, SHOCKER! But I enjoyed burning my way through the books. They’re my equivalent of watching a marathon of Golden Girls on Lifetime, or re-watching all of the Sex and the City episodes. Are they surprising or challenging? No. But that there is some great entertainment.

I seriously hope that young girls are reading other things that DO challenge the mind a little. Though I know I have friends who still find her intimidating, check out Jane Austen. Seriously, they’re love stories, straight-up love stories. They just have a different language and culture in them.

No vampires, though. Bummer.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars – Vacation reading

And yes, sigh, I’ll get the third one from the library, too. Of course, I’m No. 141 on the library’s wait list. By the time I actually get the novel, I’ll hopefully have read enough meatier literature to justify another three-day reading spell in bed.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars – Vacation reading

Not to sound even more judgmental and snobbish than I usually am (see above tangent), but I am one of those people who deplore the state of American readers. God bless Harry Potter. I read the first book and love the movies, but if all you’ve read in the past year is Harry, the Golden Compass and Twilight, I’m probably going to downgrade you as reader. Not as a person, take note. But only as a reader. That said, the overwhelming success of the Twilight series — especially among ADULTS — was offputting. (I mean, come on. Even Oprah puts non-young-adult books on her list. You’d think women would read “The Road” or “Grapes of Wrath.” Even if I hate the fact that she put her O stickers on Steinbeck and McCarthy.)

However, I was very, very surprised that I liked Twilight. Trite and formulaic? Yes. Catering to the yearning teenaged girl in all of us? Yes. But did it make me want to fall in love with a vampire? Hell yes.

Even being the book snob that I am, sometimes it’s so fun just to reconnect to the joy of reading, where you can’t wait to see what happens next. Throughout my childhood and into the teens, I was the kind of person who could hole up and read an entire book in one day, and this was one of those. If I had a whole day without work and obligations anymore, of course. As is, it took me three. But the joy? It was there and I relished it.

I’ll admit, the culminating drama at the end was a little unbelievable and forced. The narrative climax was a bit hit-you-over-the-head and please-please-suspend-your disbelief. But the relationship between the main characters is cute and engaging — even if it contains more than a bit of the of wishful thinking that every girl indulges in.

Like Harry Potter, I’m very glad I read the first one. I don’t know if I will continue into the second, but I suspect my romantic tendancies will trump my literary sensibilties and I will. Of course, I will be disappointed if I never find out what a real relationship (you know, IT) is like between a vampire and a mortal. But it’s a young-adult book, so I’ve resigned myself to the thought that I’ll never know. Perhaps they can make an adult version for that part? Here’s hoping.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars – Book club vacation reading

I LOVED this book. I read most of the series in elementary school, and I re-read this prequel to the series at least two or three times. And I was in the library, walking past the YA section, and the thought of this book came into my head. This was one great kids book they hadn’t yet made a movie of (too bad). Did they still have it? Did kids still read it? I turned into the children’s section of the library to find out, and there it was, sitting on the shelf along with most of the rest of the series, sitting there to tell me that not much could be wrong with the world if kids are still reading about Martin the Warrior (mouse), Gonff the mischievous theif (mouse), Dinny (mole), Tsmarina (wildcat) and the other squirrels, otters, badgers, rabbits, weasels (gee, I wonder whether they are on the good or bad side, huh?) and more of Mossflower Woods.

No, it’s not complex writing. But the plot still feels decently original after all these years and the heart-warming effect I remember from so long ago was still there. I read it through in a matter of four days and it was a very fun retreat into fantasy. It’s a book I think should be required reading for kids aged about 10 or 12, though I don’t know if every adult would love this book the way I do. So much of their appeal to me is pure nostalgia, a craving for the lost days of childhood where I spent hours hidden in the stacks at the library and once read 2,000 pages in one month during a Book-It contest. So maybe this series will never make it among grown ups the way Harry Potter or others have. Maybe after a certain age, you’re never going to like this peanut butter and banana sandwiches if you didn’t first taste it in your youth.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars – Book club selection