Dear Cassandra Clare,
I haven't picked up a YA novel in a while - frankly because YAs feature phrases such as 'Will smiled the way Lucifer might have smiled, moments before he fell from Heaven', which spark absolute disgust. Fortunately, Clockwork Angel has encouraged me to read similar novels. But, at times, this book acted as a deterrent rather than an incentive to read this genre.
We meet the protagonist, Tessa Gray, in the year 1878. As she explores London's supernatural elements to find her missing brother Nate, she comes across danger and two 'mysterious' Shadowhunters, Jem and Will. With their help and the Institute, they fight against the Pandemonium Club, a group flooded with Vampires, Warlocks, Demons and humans, who have designs to rule the British Empire.
I shall start with the positives! The pacing was fantastic, and I couldn't put the book down. Recently, I haven't felt compelled to read (I kept starting books and not finishing them, for my attention had drifted elsewhere), but I finished this relatively large book within two days! I even stayed up, and once I woke up, it was the first thing that came to mind. The two and a half stars mainly derived from the excellent pace and a plot brimming with action. Due to my preconceptions regarding YAs, I had very low expectations going into Clockwork Angel. Therefore, you can guess how pleasantly surprised I was to find a YA book that not only yanked me out of my reading slump but was well-paced and gripping.
I'm afraid that's it for the positives. You can stop reading now; I'm writing this quite late at night, so my clouded judgement on whether I'm too harsh or not won't be entirely enjoyable to endure.
To explain one of the negative aspects, I have to briefly mention a particular moment of the book I loved. There was a moment when Jem explains Charlotte's (the woman who runs the Institute) determination to run the Institute properly. He states that 'as a woman, she must fight to be heard, and even then her decisions are second-guessed... She feels she has no freedom to make a mistake.' I can't begin to describe how satisfying it is when an author seamlessly incorporates feminist viewpoints without it solely reduced to bombastic phrases such as - 'I can do whatever I want because I am a strong and independent female!' Because one would naturally want to see the said female character in action, rather than being told that she is indeed powerful.
The issue Jem brings up is absolutely relevant to today's society, and it reminded me of a conversation in my English class (which is why it probably struck a chord with me). We were discussing feminism - once our class gets started on feminism, we don't stop - and we began to talk about Kamala Harris. Whilst some people in society celebrated the first female Vice President in history, others heavily condemned Harris's actions in the past, which we discussed in class. We asked ourselves if Harris was a man, would her past actions receive as much scrutiny as they have been recently? I immediately thought of that discussion when I read that sentence about Charlotte because there is no lie. I was grateful you raised this issue.
However, my gratitude was short-lived because of the despicable, disgusting main character - FUCKING TESSA GRAY. Tessa's stance (I'm hoping it isn't your stance too, at least) seemed to be a confusing mess. When she was told that Charlotte was going to take part in a fight, 'she blinked in surprise' and said Charlotte couldn't possibly fight 'because she's a woman' (hardly empowering, is it?)
Now, given the year this book is set in, Tessa's reaction was understandable. Wilkie Collins' 'The Woman in White' was set in the nineteenth century too, and I remember one of the female characters having to rest her oh-so-gentle body every five seconds - so yes, Tessa must've been shocked that a woman was fighting. However, just a few pages later, you said that 'if there was one thing Tessa hated, it was being told that there were things she couldn't understand...because she was a girl.' So, Tessa is in disbelief when she hears a woman fighting, but God forbid someone judges her because she's a woman!
This confusion carries on, but I feel like it translated into your incapability to write a strong female character. Tessa is utterly useless in battle, and when Charlotte actually fights (quite skilfully), her efforts are forgotten because all the focus shifts to how 'small' and 'harmless' Charlotte still seemed. Even after being effective in battle (which cannot be said for your so-called 'strong female protagonist' Tessa), we are forced to focus on her appearance, which bears no importance to her bravery and skill - something that should've been celebrated! Let me twist Jem's own words for a bit: 'If there was one thing AkatsukiVivi hated, it was having any acknowledgement of her efforts thrown away in favour of commenting on how small she looked...because she was a girl.'
Tessa is involved in a love triangle with Jem and Will, two handsome men, but I can't understand why. I know that nearly every YA book includes a dreadful love triangle - I mean, if there isn't a love triangle, is it really YA? - so I wasn't completely shocked. But why Tessa? I couldn't find any redeeming qualities that would mean she has two men pining for her. There are so many reasons why I disliked her character, including:
Her 'witty' remarks were not witty at all. If she were a glass of water, she'd be lukewarm
She's completely useless in battle; this was a missed opportunity to write a strong female character
She's American. I don't think I need to elaborate on this point.
Let's talk about the main love interest, Will (I would talk about the overly sweet, saint-like Jem too, but I don't want to fall asleep). Will is a cunt. I found out why he was such a cunt to Tessa in the second book, and it was slightly underwhelming. I've criticised him thus far, but in all honesty, he was very interesting; not only was I intrigued by his mysterious past, but I was intrigued by how he could fall in love with such a bland and brain-dead character – Tessa.
I wasn't entirely convinced of their relationship too. Perhaps Will's on and off coldness towards Tessa threw me off a bit (but at least I found out the reason in the next book). However, one aspect of their relationship, which gave me an icky feeling, was their love for literature. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adored the poetry extracts at the beginning of each chapter, but the passion for literature they shared became odd from the moment they started quoting Dickens – come on now, I bet Dickens couldn't even quote Dickens. I didn't feel like their passion was genuine, but instead overly saturated to the point where I just COULD NOT DO IT ANYMORE.
Will is an absolute asshole towards Tessa, but the moment he quotes A Tale of Two Cities, she drops her panties. Ridiculous if you ask me.
Sorry for all the damage that's been done. Even after being truly horrid throughout this letter, I hope I still don't appear 'small' and 'harmless' to you. Also, side note: I felt the Victorian setting of the book was underdeveloped, but thankfully there was a fascinating steampunk theme! Machines go brrr.
Yours Sincerely,
Akatsuki Vivi (>‿◠)✌
Rating: 2.5/5 ★
Date Started: 16/02/21
Date Finished: 17/02/21