actual rating 2.5 
 Blerg. This book was on like my list of things I may want to pick up at some point list for a long time because so may people liked it but that was like 6-7 years ago. Now having read it, I don't know that I would have liked it then and I don't really like it now. 
 Everything in this book is so obvious and when Clare tries to touch on social issues it is so heavy handed it's like being beaten about the head. I didn't like the writing style that much. The characters are mostly terrible and while some of their adventures are... fun, it's so cookie cutter that I was really bored. Really no one is that interesting. And the big "twist" was obvious way before because Clare didn't lay subtle hints she made neon signs. 
 So of course because I loved this So Much, I picked up the second book, and now I'm reading the third book. Really they are all pretty bad but I find that they are great to listen to when I'm at the gym because they don't take a lot of mental attention, and you aren't going to miss anything if you're not listening closely but it's interesting enough that I don't have to focus on the fact that my legs are exhausted because I'm practicing my hiking on a treadmill at 3.5-4mph.