City of Bones Read-Along: Chapter 2

In honor of the movie coming out in theaters on August 21st, I have decided to join the City of Bones Read-Along. If you haven't read this book, now is the perfect opportunity! Especially if you're planning to see the movie. If you would like to join, click here for more info. NOTE: If you haven't read the book, please beware of spoilers in the Read-Along posts. There will be quotes and chapter summaries, as well as my own thoughts on certain events that occur within the story and I don't plan on holding back.


Chapter 2: Secrets and Lies

Not-So-Short Summary:

The chapter starts off with Clary attempting to draw the blonde haired boy, growing frustrated that she can't get it right. She gets a phone call from Simon who at first pretends to be one of the "knife-carrying hooligans from last night" but then invites her out to his friend and bandmates poetry reading. Clary is hesitant because her mom is mad at her for coming home so late, but reluctantly agrees. She glances around the room, taking in her mom's artistic ability displayed around the room. She sees a picture of her father Jonathan Clark who died in a car crash before she was born. Clary's mom uses her maiden name instead of her father's last name and she never talks about him, but keeps a box with the initials J.C. on it which holds a lock of blond hair. Clary's "uncle" Luke walks through the door carrying empty boxes and Clary asks Luke about seeing things no one else can see which clearly surprises him. It is here that Jocelyn walks into the room and Clary asks her mother what the empty boxes are for to which her mother replies that they will be going on "vacation" to the farmhouse for the rest of the summer. An argument ensues in which Clary tells Jocelyn that she's not going. Luke pulls Jocelyn aside and they have a conversation in hushed voices. As Luke leaves, Simon walks in to take Clary to the poetry reading and Clary walks out with him. It is here that Clary catches a glimpse of a man with gold-green eyes like a cat, coming out of her psychic neighbor Madame Dorothea's apartment and becomes dizzy, almost fainting. Simon offers to buy her food and they eat at a Mexican restaurant while Clary complains about her mother dragging her off to the farmhouse for the rest of the summer and confesses that she doesn't really know a thing about her mother or her life before Clary. Simon mentions the scars on Jocelyn's arms and back; Clary admits she's never noticed them. She gets a phone call from her mother but decides not to answer it. Simon then begins talking about his band and the names they've been thinking about using, when Clary spots something moving out of the corner of her eye making her feel uneasy. Her phone rings again, and choosing to ignore it, Clary and Simon head to the show.


Quotes:

"Besides, it's not a favor," Simon added, "it's a poetry slam around the block from your house. It's not like I'm inviting you to some orgy in Hoboken. Your mom can come along if she wants."
"ORGY IN HOBOKEN!" Clary heard someone, probably Eric, yell. Another symbol crashed.

"Clary, you're an artist, like your mother. That means you see the world in ways that other people don't. It's your gift, to see the beauty and the horror in ordinary things. It doesn't make you crazy--just different. There's nothing wrong with being different."

The door flew open. Jocelyn gave a little scream.
"Jesus!" Luke exclaimed.
"Actually, it's just me," said Simon. "Although I've been told the resemblance is startling."


Thoughts:

This chapter brings about so many small details that are very easy to pass up and forget about only to rediscover them later on in the book. The box with the initials J.C. on it, the lock of blonde hair, the picture of her father, the fact that Clary doesn't know anything about her mom, the hushed conversation about Jonathan and the word "...Bane", her mom's artistic ability, the man with the cat eyes that Clary forgets almost instantly after seeing him, Madame Dorothea, seeing the wings of a pixie doll flutter out of the corner of her eye, the scars on Jocelyn that Clary has never noticed but Simon has. All of these things are very important to the plot, but upon reading this book the first time can very easily be forgotten. I know that I forgot several of them the first time I read the book and only after rereading it did I realize just how much I had missed the first time through.



Do you have any thoughts or comments to add/share about this chapter? Maybe your favorite quote?
Feel free to leave a comment!


Happy Reading!


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