Group Read Discussion: Parents as real people in City of Bones

The September group read, City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, is a young adult novel, but one of the key themes we picked up on was that of parents as real people. Often teenagers are so focused inward they are unaware that their parents have lives, hopes and passions. We don’t begin to see these things until coming of age.

In the novel 15-year-old Clary has to speed through that realization (in a more dramatic fashion, of course) as her mother goes missing. In the quest to find out who took her mom she learns about this history her mother had — a whole other life opposite of who Clary thought her mother was. It’s shocking and upsetting to Clary, but there isn’t a choice to avoid the truth. (Read our full thoughts on City of Bones)

Those who have finished the book, did you pick up on the theme, too? Did it remind you of any realizations about your parents?