Clockwork Angel

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

You are going to find this book in the Young Adult section. Characters are generally teenagers and young immortals. My definition of young immortals is centenarians that look perpetually teenaged and sometimes act as such. I would recommend this book to kids in high school and early 20-somethings. There will be junior high kids clamoring to read it as well. The book goes no further than a couple of passionate kisses, but there are innuendoes and implied sexual relations. Followers of the Twilight Saga, including the moms, will enjoy these books although they are not as emotionally powerful.

Clockwork Angel is the first of a new trilogy called Infernal Devices. This trilogy is a prequel to the Mortal Instruments trilogy that began with City of Bones which won the Abraham Lincoln Young Readers Award. Where City of Bones (review) was set in present day New York, Clockwork Angel is set in Victorian London.

Nathaniel and Theresa Gray are orphans who grew up living with their aunt in New York. Nate moved to London to take a job with their father’s former employer when he came of age. The book begins when Tessa Gray travels from New York to London to join her brother Nate because their aunt has died.

Excited to see her brother, Tessa is chagrined to be picked up by two strange women called Mrs. Black and Mrs. Dark who present her with a letter from her brother. In writing, Nate assures her that she will be well taken care of. Instead, the women force her to train in her, until then, unknown, supernatural ability. Tessa fears for her brother’s life as the women threaten to harm him if she does not comply. They abuse her as well until gradually she learns to “change”.

Tessa is a shape shifter. If she holds an article belonging to a person, she can turn into that person, even if the person is dead. She looks like the person and sounds like the person. With experience, she can access the other person’s thoughts and feelings and can act like the person. Because she can share their memories, she has the ability to see their experiences – how a person was murdered for instance.

Quite by accident, she is rescued by a beautiful young Shadowhunter named Will Herondale. If you are familiar with the first trilogy, you will recognize some family names. He takes her back to the London Institute for Nephilim and they offer her sanctuary. In exchange for her help with their investigation of certain strange, mundane deaths – deaths of mere humans – and the use of her truly rare ability, Tessa is promised the help of the Nephilim in finding Nate.

As with the first trilogy, there are many secrets (is Tessa a warlock and how?), hidden agendas (why is a vampire helping them?), love triangles (will she fall for Will or Jem?), vampires and warlocks (remember Magnus Bane?). Everyone has a hidden background that they are either unwilling or unable to share. And most questions will go unanswered, leaving you impatient for books two and three. The book is enjoyable if mostly predictable. The overall blueprint is the same as for her previous works. The surprises are in the small change in details. I will admit I prefer this setting.