Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Hardcover, 435 pages

Release Date: November 22, 2016

Published by: Delacorte Press
Read from: December 10-16, 2016 

Arc of a Scythe, #1

Source: Library

For fans of: Dystopian, Dark & Stabby, YA

     Thou shalt kill.
A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.
Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

*MY THOUGHTS*

     I was late to everything about this book. I found out about it late, added it to my TBR late, AND I requested the book from the library late. But even with all that, I finally got my hands on this book and I’m happy I did.

“We are above the law, but that does not mean we live in defiance of it.‘”

pg. 49

In the very near future there is a world where there is no death and no war. There are only a few people who can bring death, the scythes. Otherwise the person becomes “deadish” and comes back to life. To become a scythe is a great honor and there are two people chosen to become a Scythe. Citra and Rowan must fight to be something that neither of them wants to become.

“…power comes infected with the only disease left to us: the virus called human nature. I fear for us all if scythes begin to love what they do.‘”

pg. 96

Ok, so if you know me, you know this book is out of my element. I am very much NOT a fan of dystopians, but for this on, I can honestly say I was intrigued from page one. It was the society that most intrigued me and I wanted to know all I could about it. And with every turn of the page things got so much more interesting. It was just something about the society that made me want to continuously turn the page. I’m not even sure why I wanted to know so much about it.

“…to be painless is to be gainless.‘”

pg. 198

I also liked the writing style and the characters. I’ve never read anything by Shusterman before and this was an interesting start. The world was so imaginative and it was pretty awesome to see everything happen in my imagination. I can see myself going to read more by him.

“Without the threat of suffering, we can’t experience true joy.‘”

pg. 244

Buttttt, there were also some things I didn’t like. I wasn’t a fan of the pacing in this book. There was really nothing that was happening in the first 55% of the book. But I was so intrigued that I couldn’t put it down. And then when things started moving, it was about more than what I expected and I got even more hooked. I almost quit reading it at the beginning, but I decided I wanted to know what happened, so I pushed through and I’m glad I did. The ending actually shocked me.

“The world has a talent for rewarding bad behavior with stardom.‘”

pg. 273

I also didn’t like the fact that this is a series. I mean, what could the next one be about? I felt that everything was completely answered at the end and there didn’t need to be another one. This one already felt like a filler because of the pacing, so I’m hoping that when the next one comes up it gets right away to the action. That book will be obviously be something I want to check out, but I can honestly say I would be happy with this one as a stand-alone.

“…rot grows on even the sturdiest of foundations.‘”

pg. 434

This one was not what I was expecting but it was in a good way. I was happy to see that it’s not ALL dystopians I dislike and that sometimes if the concept is done right I will like it.