Title: Scythe
Author: Neal Shusterman
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Series Status: 1st book in the Arc of a Scythe series
Page Count: 435
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Synopsis: 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.
Review: I have to be honest, I was leery going into this. I totally judged a book by its cover, because it honestly just didn’t look like anything that I would enjoy. I read the synopsis, and it still didn’t sound like anything I would enjoy. I am not very fond of dystopia or post-apocalyptic novels, and that is what I assumed this was, but I truly enjoyed this.
There were a few things that I did not like about this. The main characters, Citra and Rowan, just seemed to be so bland. The romance between them was confusing, and it never felt developed. They seemed to be just best friends, but I can understand how that can quickly blend into a deep love for one another.I wish we could have had the story told from Scythe Curie or Faraday’s perspective because they just seemed so much more bad ass and interesting.
The writing was so slow! I had to make a conscious effort not to skip ahead past the boring parts. It seemed to me that at the beginning of each chapter, it took about a page or two to get interesting or for something to actually happen. Also, the ending felt a bit rushed to me. I’m not sure why, but it just felt like everything was rushed and went by so fast. I did like the last chapter, or entry I suppose. It just felt right and fitting, and I enjoyed that.The story line was so interesting but it just wasn’t told to its full potential. Nonetheless, I did enjoy this very much.
Overall, this book was a fun read, sometimes hard to get through, but interesting.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars and would recommend it to fans of dystopia and fantasy.
For more reviews from readers of Scythe, click here.
