Review: Scythe

Title: Scythe
Author: Neal Shusterman
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Source: Purchased
Release Date: November 22, 2016
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads 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 loved this story!

I got into the world of the Scythes right away. It takes place in the distant future, when people no longer die natural deaths. There are no more diseases or accidents. Scythes must choose who dies and “glean” them. Considering how much technology has advanced over the past centuries, it almost seems possible. Many diseases are now curable and everyday activities are no longer dangerous, so perhaps one day we will have healing genes so that we can’t die naturally.

I really felt immersed in this world. There were so many twists from the beginning to end, and I couldn’t predict what would happen. I also liked that there were only a few main characters, so they were much more developed. Many contemporary YA fantasy novels have ensemble casts, so there are a lot of people to keep track of. But this one focused on a few main ones.

I just loved this book. I’m so glad that I won’t have to wait long to read the sequel. Thunderhead comes out in a couple of weeks, and I will be reviewing it then!

Author: jilljemmett

Jill lives in Toronto, Canada. She has studied English, Creative Writing, and Publishing. Jill is the creator and content producer of Jill’s Book Blog, where she has published a blog post every day for the last four years, including 5-7 book reviews a week. She can usually be found with her nose in a book. View all posts by jilljemmett