Cassandra Clare fans of all ages congregated at C.H. Booth Public Library on Tuesday, August 20, to celebrate the upcoming release, on August 21, of the City of Bones film, based on the author’s book of the same name.

City of Bones is the first novel of the Mortal Instruments series, with five of the six installments already published and the sixth and final novel set to be released in May. It begins with 15-year-old Clary Fray as she stumbles upon teenagers with strange tattoos committing a murder in a New York City nightclub.

Stranger than the tattoos, though, is the fact that the individuals and their crime are invisible to all passersby except Clary, according to the book’s description. These teens refer to themselves as “Shadowhunters,” or a group of warriors who dedicate their lives to ridding the Earth of demons, and they are equally as confused by Clary’s ability to see them as she is. The novel follows the Shadhowhunters and Clary as she attempts to maneuver through her new life in possession of the Sight.

Young adults at the library’s premiere party designed their own rune tattoos, which give the novel’s characters different powers, and molded clay steles, which are the instruments used to create the tattoos.

Party attendees enthusiastically spoke about their hopes for the film adaptation of City of Bones, and their disappointment in Hollywood for often making unnecessary changes during the translation from book to big screen.

 “I don’t really think the person playing Jace [a Shadowhunter] is well suited for the role,” Grace Howgego, 12, said. “But I’m still going to see the movie.”

Fellow attendees agreed, but 12-year old Rebecca McHugh added that the book was amazing, so any changes in the film are not too important.

“It just grabs you,” Rebecca shared. “You stop paying attention to the world around you when you read it.”

Twelve-year-old Sofia Marcelli additionally described Cassandra Clare as “brilliant.”

Interested readers can check out a copy of the City of Bones book from C.H. Booth Library. The City of Bones film is in theaters now.