Welcome, everyone!! This is the Third official discussion post for the #READshadowhunter readathon! Be sure to visit Stephanie at Books in the Skye. If you don’t know what this is that’s alright because I am going to talk a little bit about #READshadowhunter before getting into the discussion.

 

The world is full of people who love the Shadowhunter series written by Cassandra Clare. I even ran into two of her fans at Barnes and Noble yesterday while I was taking a break from writing! We chatted a while about her books among others and it honestly made my day. Stephanie decided that she wanted to reread the series and better yet, she wanted all Shadowhunter fans to join in. Thus, #READshadowhunter was created. This is no ordinary readathon though. Many of you are thinking “There are so many books and I’m crazy busy. How the heck am I going to manage this?!” I’ll tell you… We are only reading one book a month so that everyone can keep up even if their lives are busy with blogging or reading other books. Yep there you go. Even people as busy as myself can manage to keep up with this one. I know the #OWLsreadathon2019 is going on as well so we are all busy this month. As far as OWLs go…I’d rather not talk about it. I gave my writing a front seat for a while and decided I’ll officially complete my OWLs next year.

 

Although these book series’ were published in a specific order, many of us agree they read better in a different order. Therefore we are starting with the Infernal Devices. The first book is Clockwork Angel and although you don’t need to follow along, there is a reading schedule for the entire readathon as well as each book to make it a little easier.

Readathon Schedule

 

 

Clockwork Angel Reading Schedule

 

Isn’t that super easy to follow along with?!?! That is roughly 100 pages a week! My husband does a chapter a night. Sometimes I do one, others I do two. Each Monday there will be a discussion post with two questions provided by Stephanie and then the discussion post host will expand with any further thoughts they might have. So, let’s get to our second #READshadowhunter Discussion Post! Be sure to comment below with your responses to the questions as well, I’d love to hear what you think as well.

 

There will be spoilers so do not read if you do not want to see them!

 

1. Jem’s illness is finally revealed. After being tortured by the demon who killed his parents for weeks, he has become dependent on the demon venom. In order to survive, Jem needs to take this daily, and more if he is fighting. Tessa asks why he doesn’t stop fighting. To that, Jem responds “But there is more to life than dying. I am a Shadowhunter. It is what I am, not just what I do. I can’t live without it.” If you were Jem, would you have this same view? Would you continue fighting or would you stop?

 

I would continue fighting for sure. Yes, it might be bringing a quicker death but what kind of life would I have if I gave up a big part of who I am? I would rather die soon fighting for what I believe in than die slowly staying home and watching others do it for me. I am an independent person and very stubborn. When sick, my husband has one hell of a time keeping me relaxing. That word ‘relax’ doesn’t belong in my vocabulary. Telling Jem to stop fighting would be like telling me to never clean again, or never read another book.

 

Let’s say that every time I read a book I fell ill and had to take some special medicine but in turn, it brought me closer to death each time. Would you still read? I know that I wouldn’t. To me, reading is a part of who I am. Without books…am I really my whole self? That might sound silly to some but books are so powerful and have always been with me. Reading is a hobby but has become an actual part of my being.

 

 

 

 

2. After years of searching for a cure, none has been for found for Jem. He asked everyone to stop looking. When Tessa talks to Will about this she insists that they keep looking but Will has said that they tried everything and now they are accepting Jem’s wishes for them to stop looking. Do you think Tessa is right and they should keep looking no matter what? Or that they should respect Jem’s wishes to not waste the time looking for something that isn’t there?

 

This is always a tough situation. Part of me wants to align my views with Tessa and say “Yes look! I need to help in anyway I can.” While on the other hand, this would be like a cancer patient saying they no longer want treatment, a person who is meant to die a painful death saying they don’t want to fight anymore. Despite how much you care, it is not your choice for them to keep living. This is their personal choice and they deserve at least that. I would have to agree with Will, no matter how much it hurt me to see it happen. I would want to continue looking, it’s who I am but I respect those I care about and if they ask me to stop I would have to.

 

Or…I would keep looking in secret and not tell anyone. If I did find one I would have to explain that I betrayed their wishes. Then I have to face the possibility of them still refusing to take it. What about when that happens? How far do you go? Do you force them to take it, force the medicine into their IV? What if they don’t want it and decide to find another way to end it and then risk them taking their own life. I would rather avoid all of that and abide by their wishes in the first place.

 

Further Thoughts

I’m going to share another quote I love.

 

Whatever you are ohysically, male or female, strong or weak, ill or healthy-all those things matter less than what your heart contains. If you have the the sould of a warrior, you are a warrior. Whatever the color, the shape, the design of the shade that conceals it, the flame inside the lamp remains the same. You are that flame.

 

I really love this quote. I feel it is so important, especially these days, to be who you really are. Don’t let physically appearances or anything else darken your flame. This is also a message to others who would judge those they meet by appearances…we don’t know what these people are like on the inside or what they are going through. Many see Jem as an addict and don’t know his past. They would rather judge him and treat him as any other person who chooses to continue using the drugs. Being a Shadowhunter is his flame…it is who he is.

 

The moment Jem told Tessa his story, I wanted to sit on the bed with him and just hold him in my arms. I wanted to tell him that I was there and I would always be there…until the end.

 

Jem talks about Will and how he lies all the time. Tessa doesn’t understand how Jem trusts someone who always lies. What do you think about Will? Do you trust him?

 

I think that I trust him…he seems to make himself look bad all the time but I think he is really good. He is trying to seem big and bad, covering the softie he really is. I’ve seen many guys do this, they act badly because it makes people keep their distance. In doing so, he also does not get close to them, letting emotions get in the way. Emotions are powerful and I think Will is trying to keep people at bay, avoiding getting close to them. Do you know or have you ever known someone like this?

 

Well…there you have it! Week three’s discussion post is officially done. What did you think? I’d love to see your responses below. Are you following along with the books? How are you liking Clockwork Angel so far? Do you have a favorite character?