The Secret Readers Society discussion

So this is our book of the month guys! I believe we will start the discussion on April first via Google Meets but the details aren't finalized yet. If you have any thoughts as you go please post them here! Also we would love to hear any book related activities we could do for the club we are all ears :)

Hi guys! Sorry that we were a bit late in telling you officially that The Song of Achilles was our book of the month. Since we have spring break this month, I hope everyone will get a chance to read it over that time! We will make sure that our poll for next month's book choices is up by the last week of March, so if anyone has any requests or suggestions for books that they would like the read for April....comment them down below! Remember if you are suggesting a book, try to keep them around 200-400 page books. Thanks!

March is more than halfway over...! If you haven’t started reading The Song of Achilles🏹, you can still do it!! I have finished the book and I really liked how it was a spin on a classic Greek tale.

(⛔️don’t read past here if you haven’t finished the book yet⛔️)

I liked the scenes when the two boys were training with Chiron with all of the teachings of medicine and nature. If you have finished the book, did you like the ending? I did! It was the perfect tie together and our main characters were treated properly, I’m glad Thetis finally accepted Patroclus for who he was and allowed his soul to go to rest! What parts of the book did you like? Comment some of your favorite quotes! :)👋

I feel like it is really intresting how all Greek prophecies are fulfilled and have their full circle moment in the way you least expect them.
🏛S P O I L E R S B E L O W🏛

Achilles causes his own death by killing Hector through his grief to avenge Patroclus, but we were all thinking that Achilles was going to be the one to die first. For a moment, I thought after Achilles died, Briesis and Patroclus were going to get married, but we saw how that turned out. I thought the ending was satisfying-it left just the right amount to the imagination. One thing I wanted to comment on was when Odysseus was talking about Patroclus and he said something like everybody admired him and it was true. People would look to him as a friendly face and he was the one person who knew everybodies backstory which was why he touched the hearts of so many and was the man Achilles couldn’t be, or as he said it, the better man. I hope if you are reading this that you enjoyed this story! Don’t forget to leave your vote for the April book of the month!

Happy Trails,
Annabelle

Happy Trails**

P.s, do you think the song “Achilles Come Down” was sung through Patroclus’s POV?

I just finished and not gonna lie I’m crying a little bit just cause it was really beautifully written (especially at the end) and I liked how it came full circle on a lot of things but it still made me sad. 😭😭

⚠️SPOILERS!!!!
I really liked how towards the end of the book (chp. 24 for me) Thetis tells them of a new prophecy where “the best of the the Myrmidons will die before two years have passed”. I had my suspicions then that it could be Patroclus but it wasn’t until the end obviously that I was sure. I really liked this because I think that it highlights one of the major themes (besides pride, love, etc) about how fame and power don’t define your character. achilles is called “best of the Greeks” because of his power on the battlefields but Patroclus is, in my opinion, the best of the Greeks because of his character. Because the story is told from Patroclus’ pov we don’t get a lot of this theme bc he doesn’t see himself that way but the prophecy was a great way of showing this theme because not only did Achilles risk his own life (and honor) by going into battle as achilles but also his loves life too because he knew if Hector killed him, Achilles would seek revenge. By sacrificing himself and his love (which is arguably one of the hardest things to do) he showed true honor which i think makes him one of“the best of the Greeks” even over Achilles.
It also showed major character development because throughout the book he would do anything to keep Achilles alive and to himself, praying that Hector would live just so Achilles would. But in the end he sacrificed it for the people.

Yes Rylie!! I was texting Annabelle and telling her how chapter 31 was making me cry! How Madeline Miller wrote the feelings of Achilles when he found out that Patroclus died was so powerful and I felt like you couldn’t help but cry!

i loveeeeeee this book, you have good taste lol

very gay