Tuesday, April 23, 2013

An Open Letter to Ms. Clare: On the Subject of Books and a Girl

EDIT: I submitted this article to Hypable and they so kindly published it. You can view it here. It’s copied word-for-word below also.
Dear Ms. Clare,
I do not know if you’ll actually ever happen upon this (here’s for trying), but whatever the case, let this be a letter for all those who have read The Infernal Devices, and love the series as I do.

I fell in love with books as a child (after I got over the whole, “Oh, learning to read is a drat task!” conundrum, of course), but it wasn’t until Harry Potter when I realized the depths that love went to. I was then 11 years old (how appropriate, no?) when I realized this dream. It was not so much the first dream of my soul, but rather the first dream that made me aware of my soul. I suddenly felt the great responsibility of carrying a burden, in the way of a 12 year old who has positively no idea the nature, weight, or reason of what she carries - she only knows that she’s entered a contract of love, not heartbreak.
For awhile, the girl found her way on her own. Harry Potter introduced her to the world of classical literature, and her awareness grew. As did her burden. She found friends in Austen, Bronte, Carroll, Shakespeare and more. High School introduced her to Dickens, Wilde, Spencer, Wordsworth, Shelley, Pope, and her beloved Augustine. But they came after. 
People often say, “Be careful what you wish for!” Truthfully, wishes we wish for now are rarely answered by a fairy godmother. But words. “Words have the power to change us.” A simple and evident truth! I have often thought, ever since I learned that there’s an effect after every cause, and that books are a cause, that we should say, “Be careful what you read,” or rather, “be careful how you read.” 
Looking back, it’s kind of scarily coincidental (or not?) how I picked up Clockwork Angel right when I was learning that reading all books with an open-heart was not necessarily good. Open-mind, yes. An open-heart, though…Change is good. And many books have changed me for the better. But I also learned that not all books will be the castle on the cloud I thought they were. Some can change one for the worse.
I have no idea what prompted me to pick up Clockwork Angel that day. I was out of town for a soccer tournament, hanging in a bookstore as I was want to do in between games. My ventures into the realm of YA were incredibly limited, and I hadn’t even hear of TMI at that point. But I picked it up (I admit, there was probably a large bias for the beautiful cover), read the synopsis, and bought it on the spot. That was the fall the book came out.
I immediately connected with Tessa. Her love of books was palpable, and I know that this all sounds crazy and weird and you must be wondering what you have done to me, but Tessa helped show me how to properly love books. Tessa and Will, really. They running around and breathing out quotes taught me to look for the moments in books that really counted. Will saying that he sometimes pretends he’s a character helped me look for the characters worth admiring. Tessa drawing strength from her familiar friends, and turning to them when she had nowhere else to go, but also, learning how to act without them, to act as her own character, taught me independence.
And of course, Will and Tessa introduced me to some new friends. I read A Tale of Two Cities the subsequent spring break, and there have only been two other occasions when I have loved a book as much as I loved that one. I’ve come to adore Tennyson and Wilkie Collins. I want to read The Castle of Otranto
Yet, there is so much more to this series than Tessa and her books. Tessa herself is amazing. She’s a Victorian girl, with Victorian Values, in Whovian language, but she also has the spirit of a warrior. Honestly, it is because I respect her so much as a wise, firm, courageous, yet humble woman that I know our similarities stop at our love of books. Humility has never been my strong suit (as this outrageously long letter is proving), but Tessa makes me want it. 
Jem was, believe it our not, the first boy I fell in love with in this story. When I read that first book, it was Jem who I adored. Will stood nowhere near him, in my eyes, and what a shock it was when that second book rolled around. Jem was a saint, and Will was not. I loathe changing my opinions (yet another fault), and it was hard for me to accept how these two boys grew into men - yet altogether natural. 
Honestly, I love all the characters in this trilogy. But Jem, Will, and Tessa are the three I feel. In some ways, they remind me of the Trinity, in how they are connected in a circle of love, three people, but one person. I did not come to feel that until Clockwork Princess came out. I did not expect to feel that. I expected to be devastated that I was parting from my beloved characters. I expected to be satisfied with the ending. I even had faith that I would love it! There have been many books and series I have read, modern and classic, and I have loved many of them. But sometimes there comes along a special book, not necessarily special to the world, but special to you. And it does something that I didn’t even know a book could do. 
Reading Clockwork Princess was a dream. Not the last dream of my soul, and not the first. It was the dream that touched my soul. I know that when an author writes a book, they write it for them self  and hope that others will love it as they do (I think). But honestly, reading your book the past couple of days, and I had the incredibly selfish thought that you had written this for me! It encompassed all my quirky interests, and the values I strive for most. Everything, from the worm, to the jokes, to the dialogue, to the infernal devices, to the prose, to the plot, to the choices, to the consequences…were done in a way that I could not find fault. Not with my subjective self, at least. Not with the part of me that dreams. But who’s to say that’s wrong? I know that C.S. Lewis would say that those romantic longings are exactly what lead to reason and advancement. That it all comes full circle.
And that, Ms. Clare, is why I really don’t feel the lose of my dear friends, that you so blessedly created. Whether they lived or died, loved or suffered, the wheel turns ever more, and I can feel their presence in my heart as they journey on without us as an audience. Always growing, yes. But always remaining Jem, Will, and Tessa. I’ve never felt I could know any fictional characters such as I know them in my heart. I could barely describe them, I should think, for even my precious words could not do them justice. Only your words, and not descriptor words, but your narrative words, have the ability of accomplishing that task. 
I’m hardly vouching for the rest of the world, but you have accomplished what I thought impossible and brought these characters alive in my heart. I’ve had characters live in my mind, but never in my heart. I did not think it possible for fictional characters to become so real, for an entire series to touch me in such a way. But you managed that, for one silly girl over here.
Unless you are despairing now, let me say that I do know the difference between reality and fiction, and that I hardly expect Tessa to come knocking on my front door. And I know that she, Jem, and Will won’t figuratively guide me through life’s journeys. But it’s nice to know that they are friends I can always revisit, without reserve, and still be surprised by what they say (no matter how many times I read your books).
And now, just as Jem, Will, and Tessa have ended their journey with us, so now am I ending one of my own. It’s been nearly 6 years to the day since I first fell in love with books. It makes me think of how Jem and Will spent 6 years together, too, though my years with books are far from over, just as those two will forever be together. And in less than a month, I’m 18 and off to college (think Catholic and Leprechauns). Right when Jem, Will, and Tessa start the new stage of their lives. It’s odd to think it’s only been 2 1/2 years since I’ve met them, but it’s thanks to your tremendous talent that I’ll carry these characters in my heart for the rest of my lif - Too grand a statement?
Lots of love from a very thankful reader,
Makayla Manta

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