Good Enough
Fiction – YA - Steampunk
Reading level: Ages 14 and up
479 pages
Publication Date: October 4, 2011
Infernal Devices Book 1
Literary awards: RITA® Award by
Romance Writers of America Nominee for Best Young Adult Romance (2011),
Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award (RT Award) Nominee for Best Young Adult
Paranormal/Fantasy Novel (2010), Voya Perfect Ten (2010), The Inky Awards for
Silver Inky longlist (2011), Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2013) Goodreads Choice Nominee for Favorite Book,
Favorite Heroine, Young Adult Fantasy, Goodreads Author (2010)
American Tessa Gray goes to England at the behest of her brother, Nate,
after the death of their Aunt Harriet.
Tessa expects to meet Nate when she steps off the boat, but she is
instead intercepted by the “Dark Sisters”.
Believing they are sent by Nate she allows them to escort home. Instead of finding herself delivered into the
loving arms of her brother, Tessa is kept prisoner by the Dark Sisters, because
they believe she can shape shift. Driven
by fear and torture, as the days turn into weeks, Tessa somehow manages to
shape shift into various people. The
delighted Dark Sisters believe she is now prepared to be turned over to a
mysterious figure only known as “The Magistrate”. After a failed escape attempt Tessa almost loses
all hope until Will appears out of nowhere and rescues her from the Dark Sister’s
clutches. Will then takes her to a place
called the Institute, home of the London Shadowhunters, beings who police the
Underworld. With their help Tessa hopes
they can discover what happened to Nate and possibly figure out what she is.
In the beginning I found the writing a bit bumpy and felt as bewildered
as Tessa as I tried to grasp what was occurring. After a few chapters, however, I finally
quite groping blindly for understanding and the writing flowed a bit better,
but the writing never really did feel organic.
Though, supposedly set in Victorian London, things pertaining to the era
seemed more as an afterthought than a real plot point and I never got the sense
the story really felt at home in the era.
As for the characters living at the institute, they definitely came
together to make a very dysfunction unit I would loosely call a family. As the main character I never found Tessa
incredibly likable. She always seemed
very aloof and I never got particularly attached to her. The only remotely likable characters I found
was Jem and possibly Sophie. I also kind
of thought it funny how dramatic the blurbs about the book sounded in
comparison to what actually took place in the book.
For all of my little complaints I really did like this book overall. I found the mythology fascinating and appreciated
the new world I was introduced into. The
story was captivating, even if I didn’t find Tessa all that lovable. The characters all came together to play
their parts and as a whole they made the story work well enough that I didn’t
mind my lack of empathy for most of them.
I also liked the playful interplay during the dialogue and the
understatedness of the love triangle.
Clockwork Angel has been my first real introduction into the Steampunk
genre and I find myself wanting more.
With a slight lowering of my expectations, I look forward to reading
Clockwork Prince, book two in the Infernal Devices series.
ISBN 1416975861 (ISBN13: 9781416975861)
