The Song of Achilles by Brianna Carter

carterb24 — 2024-04-10 14:58:05 UTC

It states on page 1 "He married my mother when she was fourteen and sworn bt the priestess to be fruitful." Although this book was written in 2011 it is set in earlier times so they still had arranged marriages unlike present day. But the authoe does a good job at making it understandable for the reader.

carterb24 — 2024-04-10 14:59:56 UTC

It states on page 2 "A hundred servants work for twenty days beating out the racing track and clearing it of stones." This shows the reader that this is set in an earlier setting because we do not have servants in present day.

carterb24 — 2024-04-10 15:03:32 UTC

On page 13 it states "Here, inside, it was a more propitious choice than a bull..." The author uses older and more formal vocab throughout the book to really set the mood. I had no clue what the word propitious meant because that is not something that is used daily in 2024.

carterb24 — 2024-04-10 15:14:02 UTC

On page 1 it states "When I was delivered, a boy, he plucked me from her arms and handed me to a nurse." The book starts off my telling the main character, Patroclus, telling the story of him growing up. I don't remember a book (that I've read) doing this so I thought that it was unique.

carterb24 — 2024-04-10 15:16:35 UTC

On page 65 it states "...and the sight of his heels, flashing up the beach. Forgive me, it was a mistake." The author uses italics to show the thoughts of Patroclus. This allows the reader to distinguish between thoughts and storytelling.

carterb24 — 2024-04-10 15:19:03 UTC

On page 27 it states "In the fourth week of my exile..." The author writes the book almost as if it were a journal. I find this unique because normally books are written in first person or third person and although this book is still doing that, it uses words that sound more of a journal than a story.

carterb24 — 2024-04-10 15:22:42 UTC

On page 1 it states "...she was an only child." I and many other readers can relate to that because I am also an only child. So that made me think of my own life.

carterb24 — 2024-04-10 15:24:29 UTC

On page 23 it states "I started down at my bread, its course grains that rubbed rough against my fingers." This reminds me of my life because I love making bread. And a lot of other people that like to bake can also probably relate to this as well.

carterb24 — 2024-04-10 15:28:06 UTC

On page 26 it states "His days were separate, princely, filled with duties we had no part of. But he took each meal with is, circulating among the tables. In the huge hall, his beauty shone like a flame..." This reminds me of another book I have read. It reminds me of the Red Queen because in that book one of the supporting characters, Cal, is a prince that wasn't in classes with the others but he would make appearances and he had fire powers so when the author said "shone like a flame," it really reminded me of the Red Queen.

carterb24 — 2024-04-10 15:29:51 UTC

On page 32 it states "'To my lyre lesson. So, as you say, it will not be a lie." This reminded me of my own life because I used to go to instrument lessons also.

carterb24 — 2024-04-10 15:31:47 UTC

On page 2 it states "Hair lit like honey in the sun, and within it, glints of gold." This stood out to me because the imagery the author used was very vivid and I can clearly picture what the princes hair looks like.

carterb24 — 2024-04-10 15:32:52 UTC

On page 3 it states "He turns to me. 'This is what a son should be.'" This shows me as a reader that Petroclus's dad is a very high expectation man that doesn't care about other peoples feelings.

carterb24 — 2024-04-10 15:34:44 UTC

On page 21 it states "I gaped at the cold shock of his beauty, deep-green eyes, features as fine as a girl's." This stuck out to me because the author compared Achilles facial features to a girls and the word "shocked" shows me that he looks very beautiful. This is a good example of imagery.

carterb24 — 2024-04-15 14:46:48 UTC

On page 102 it states "I will never leave him. It will be this, always, for as long as he will let me." This shows the reader that this is a novel that relates to love and love will always be around, which makes this book timeless.

carterb24 — 2024-04-15 14:48:50 UTC

On page 120 it states "He has clay tablets in front of him, and on them the men's marks from the night before." This shows that the book takes place in the past. This makes the book timeless because the book is set in the past but it was written in the present so the author included things that the reader would understand but still make it relevant to the past.

carterb24 — 2024-04-15 14:51:40 UTC

On page 101 it states "Do not stop, I said." This is unique to me because the author did not put the dialogue in standard form. She did not put it in its own paragraph or use quotation marks. I have not seen that before so I found that unique.

carterb24 — 2024-04-15 14:55:45 UTC

Something I find very unique about this book is that is has a very quick pace. The book is constantly going and you are often on a whole other day with just a flip of a page. For example, on page 124 it states "The ships captain stared when I handed it to him," and then on page 126 it states "'I am seeking a friend of mine, who would have arrived here perhaps a month ago." This shows the reader that within 1 page it was a whole month.

carterb24 — 2024-04-15 14:57:17 UTC

On page 107 it states "I had never seen him with another centaur." This made me relate this book to Harry Potter. It reminded me of the centaur that lived in the Forbidden Forrest that saved Harry Potter.

carterb24 — 2024-04-15 14:59:50 UTC

On page 125 it states "The Bay of Scyros was so small that I did not see it until we had swung around the rocky islands southern rim and were almost upon it." This related to my life because I read another book called "The Island" and it was about a rocky island that was an amusement park. And the way the author described the Bay of Scyros reminded me of that island.

carterb24 — 2024-04-15 15:04:22 UTC

On page 100 it states "...soft as the delicate velvet of petals." This stood out to me because the author did a really good way at describing how Achilles hands felt. It shows the reader how soft they were and used a unique way to describe them.

carterb24 — 2024-04-15 15:06:29 UTC

On page 119 it states "The space beside me on the bed was empty, but the pillow still held the shape of him, and the sheets smelled of us both." This stood out to me because the way the author described how the pillow kept the shape of Achilles was very interesting and it gave me a clear image in my head of what the pillow had looked like. And the author said the sheet smelt of both the characters so that was interesting.

carterb24 — 2024-04-15 15:18:04 UTC

On page 48 it states "Our friendship came all at once after that, like spring floods from the mountains." This shows me that the 2 boys instantly clicked when they first met. This proves that the theme is "the power of love is strong" because the boys instantly were getting along and it didn't take a lot of time to become something that came naturally.

carterb24 — 2024-04-15 15:27:54 UTC

On page 103 it states "We were like gods at the dawning of the world, and our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other." This is after the boys first expressed their love for each other. They were finally able to touch and express their emotions without being in the sight of Achilles' mom. They felt invincible when they were allowed to be with each other, showing the reader that the theme is "the power of love is strong."

carterb24 — 2024-04-15 15:42:23 UTC

On page 70 is states "My stomach rolled, awash with relief and nerves at once." This showed me as a reader that the love between the boys was powerful because it gave Patroclus relief to see Achilles. This shows me the theme is "the power of love is strong" because even though the boys had to separate they found eachother.

carterb24 — 2024-04-15 15:46:39 UTC

On page 134 it states "I could recognize him by touch alone, by smell; I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world." This shows me that no matter what stands between the boys, they will always find eachother. This shows me the theme is "the power of love is strong."

carterb24 — 2024-04-15 15:53:39 UTC

On page 167 it states "'I would not care,' I said. The words scrabbled from my mouth. 'Whatever you became. It would not matter to me. We would be together.'" This shows me that Patroclus has so much love for Achilles that he will love him no matter what. This shoes me the theme is "the power of love is strong."

carterb24 — 2024-04-22 16:47:13 UTC

On page 204 it states "Artemis, he said, had been displeased with the bloodshed this huge army intended. She demanded payment for it, in advance, in kind. Cows were not enough. A virgin priestess was required, human blood for human blood." This shows the book is timeless because it is referring to the way the Greeks handled things in the past.

carterb24 — 2024-04-22 17:05:23 UTC

On page 209 it states "They were frequently scrubby, brush struggling up besides olives and cryresses." This shows me the book is timeless because I know that olive trees and cypress trees were common in Greek life and the author implies it several times throughout the book.

carterb24 — 2024-04-22 17:07:56 UTC

On page 203 it states "Then the girl stumbled. I remember Achilles frowning. I remember him shift, to catch her." This is unique to this book because I have never read another book where the main character is speaking in past tense, almost as if it is a journal.

carterb24 — 2024-04-22 17:12:06 UTC

On page 369 it states "At first I do not understand. But then I see the tomb, and the marks she has made on the stone. "ACHILLES" it reads. And the one beside it, "PATROCLUS". This was very unique to me because it not only started with the birth of Patroclus, it ended with his death. So the book was the entire span of his lifetime.

carterb24 — 2024-04-22 17:16:42 UTC

On page 202 it states "Her brown eyes were lit with excitement." This relates to my life because I have brown eyes. It can also relate to other readers life because they have brown eyes or know someone with brown eyes.

carterb24 — 2024-04-22 17:19:14 UTC

On page 212 it states "...all dressed in dark crimson of the house of Priam. A chariot flew along their ranks, churning up sand. The man in it wore a horsehair helmet." This relates to my life because it made me think of the Park hill Trojans mascot. Their school colors have red in it and their logo is a horsehair helmet.

carterb24 — 2024-04-22 17:23:58 UTC

On page 203 "...and I saw him start to, reach towards her tapered fingers, fine as sea-smoothed shells." This stood out to me because I could clearly imagine her fingers. I picture them really pale, like the whiteness of a shell. And very small and fragile and smooth.

carterb24 — 2024-04-22 17:26:38 UTC

On page 204 it states "Iphigenia had known, he said, had agreed to do it. Most men had not been close enough to see the startled panic in her eyes. Gratefully, they believed their generals lie." This shows me as a reader that the general is a cruel man to lie about her being ok with being sacrificed just to get the army to be approving of the situation.

carterb24 — 2024-04-22 17:34:36 UTC

On page 299 it states "“You ask a question that philosophers argue over,” Chiron had said. “He is worth more to you, perhaps. But the stranger is someone else’s friend and brother. So which life is more important?” We had been silent. We were fourteen, and these things were too hard for us. Now that we are twenty-seven, they still feel too hard. He is half of my soul, as the poets say." This proves that the theme is "the power of love is the strongest power because Patroclus believes that Achilles is truly his other half and they are unrepeatable.

carterb24 — 2024-04-23 01:54:48 UTC

On page 224 it states "And I wanted to be able to listen, to digest the bloody images, to paint them flat and unremarkable onto the vase of posterity. To release him from it and make him Achilles again." I think this proves the message of the book is "the power of love is strong" because Patroclus makes Achilles feel normal again even though he just had to go fight in war, Patroclus gives Achilles the power and emotion ease to keep doing it day after day.