Clockwork Angel

VOYA Tessa, a sixteen-year-old orphan, travels solo across the Atlantic to Victorian England to join her brother in London. But her brother doesn't meet her at the port—the Dark Sisters do. The Sisters keep Tessa captive while teaching her to use her "talent," the ability to change into anyone else, dead or alive. Eventually Tessa is rescued and thrust into a fight between the Shadowhunters and the Downworlders. In a world of new friends and enemies, vampires, werewolves, and automatons, Tessa isn't sure who to trust. But she must act to ensure the victory of the demon hunters and save her brother. Sold as a prequel to the Mortal Instrument (McElderry Books/Simon & Schuster) series, this highly anticipated novel is the first of an expected trilogy. The Mortal Instruments series started with City of Bones (2007), continued with City of Ashes (2008) and City of Glass (2009), and a fourth book, City of Fallen Angels, will be published in March 2011. Steampunk is hot, and Clare conquered it! Methodically researched, her Victorian London is dark and romantic, and the strong-willed Tessa is an unexpected hero readers will love. Her love interest, Will, is the bad boy only Tessa can understand, while the sweet James is a possibility, too. At completion, the reader has more questions than answers, but the clarity of writing and quick plot turns will ensure its popularity. Reviewer: Sarah Hill