Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

As a high school teacher I am always looking for a good YA book to use as a Directed Reading Lesson for my students to get them more interested in reading for pleasure. I had heard good things about, City of Bones, so I bought it. I wish I could give it a good review, but I cannot. Why? There are two reasons and I will explain them. One, as a teacher, I could not in good faith say with a straight face to a parent that this book was age appropriate for *any* high school student, unless they were over 17 years old and in a Gifted and Talented program. Meaning I consider this to be an R-rated book (if we were going by movie standards). And before you label me some right-wing Bible-thumping conservative, I am the direct opposite of that. But I know what PARENTS want their *children* to read and I don't think this book is it. I think the book's target age should be 17 and up, so that lets out all my 9th, 10th and 11th (and some of my 12th) grade students. And why do I think my students who are under 17 shouldn't be reading City of Bones? Because of the violence and sexual content (incest factor and the homoerotic content). I would have a hard time explaining to any parent or my local school board why I was reading a book to my students about a boy who French-kissed his sister in a scene. And while *I* have no problem with homoerotic content in movies and books (see my other reviews *g*), I think most parents do not want their underage children reading about that topic without some discussion beforehand. And quite frankly it just isn't my job as an instructor to explain homosexuality to students, that is their parent's job. The second problem with the book besides not being able to use it in a classroom or school setting because of the above discussed problems, is that the plot lacks orginality. This is another factor I must have when I pick a book for my students. I want them to read about something exciting and *new.* City of Bones is fast-paced, but its characters are all ones we've seen before. The main female character, Clary, is a cross between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Leia from Star Wars. Just as Jace is Luke from Star Wars and Angel from Buffy. And if Simon isn't Xander from Buffy, I'll eat my hat. Plus Hodge is Giles (and a little Albus Dumbledore, complete with bird thrown in for good measure). Isabelle is Cordelia from Buffy and Alec is Draco from Harry Potter -- who is in love with Jace. Plus my favorite rip-off is Valentine, the bad guy. He's Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine all rolled in one. Get it, Palpatine = Valentine? As a huge Star Wars fan if I saw one more Star Wars reference I was going to write to George Lucas and tell him he should be getting royalities on this book! So, if you were thinking of buying this book for your teenager, I would take a pass. If you were thinking of buying it for yourself and you are over 17, I would buy it with a grain of salt and know that you are not getting something new, but plots that have been used before (and much better in my opinion).