Note: This is part of a series on BookTok and the books it features by my fall intern Kaitlin “Kait” Carmichael. We hope you enjoy it.
Alright, time to pull out the tissues. This week, I read Songs of Achilles by Madeline Miller. This Greek Tragedy places you smack in the middle of Ancient Greece, where gods and goddesses are adored and feared.
This story follows the life of young Patroclus and his exile from his kingdom as a young boy. As he moves to a new kingdom ruled by the gracious King Peleus, Patroclus meets the title character, Achilles. The two boys go from barely talking to becoming inseparable, much to Achilles’ mother, the goddess Thetis’, dismay.
With a prophecy to fulfill and an army to rule, Achilles trains with the famous Chiron. With heroes like Heraclus under his training, Chiron trains Achilles and Patroclus to fight and defend themselves.
Achilles has been deemed the greatest warrior of his generation, while Patroclus is well… just a mortal. Patroclus and Achilles go through the toughest times and risk everything to be together. When the unthinkable happens to Spartas’ princess, Helen, all warriors are called to fight against Troy and find her. To save Helen, the pair are summoned, but the Fates and Thetis have other plans.
Miller incorporates classic Greek mythology and young adult fiction into a beautiful love story, and her work threw me back to my middle school obsession with Greek mythology. I knew my heart was going to be ripped out of my chest reading it, and I can say I most certainly cried.
Song of Achilles is like the cool older brother or sister to Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan. This story is a 10/10. No question. If you were to read any book from BookTok, this is the one buy!
After you read it, stuff your heart back into your chest, tune in next week for a review on the Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller!
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