“The Song of Achilles,” by Madeline Miller is a novel re-telling of the adventures of Achilles, the greatest Greek hero, from the point of view of Patroclus, his lover. “The Song of Achilles,” is a winner of the Orange Prize and has been popular ever since its release in 2011. Based on ideas from Homer's Iliad, this retelling of the story from Patroclus’ point of view is magnificent and captivating. This novel is great for older teens as it covers heavy topics that may be too mature for younger readers. 

Throughout the book, Achilles and Patroclus are faced with challenges revolving around prophecies told by the gods, from Achilles being the greatest warrior of all generations before him, to knowing when Achilles will die. Through these prophecies they learn that they cannot control their destiny and they must learn to accept and adapt to the future. 

This book covers many themes that contribute to the plot and create empathy for the characters, including  pride, belief, and control.  However, I believe that the most important motif is fate. These themes all contribute to the story by providing lessons for readers to relate to and learn from. 

Miller’s writing style will drag you back to the book every free second you have.  “He is a weapon, a killer. Do not forget it. You can use a spear as a walking stick, but that will not change its nature” (Miller, 154) She uses beautiful descriptions of both the setting and characters without being too wordy and knows how to attach readers to her characters by creating empathy and relating them to readers in real life. I would recommend this book to open-minded readers trying to rediscover a love for reading or readers trying to strengthen their prior relationship with reading. This book is long, yet is a captivating fast read if it hooks you, although it may seem slow and boring at first. The author does not include unneeded details though in the first chapters she gives seemingly irrelevant details that come back later in the story. 

Through this story, Miller is warning us about the dangers of pride in relationships and she really makes readers question destiny and fate, setting her writing style and stories apart from others by creating connections between readers and characters and drawing images for readers to imagine. It is important that Miller creates these themes because she teaches readers important lessons they will need in life and she draws readers in.