Scythe: Arc of Scythe #1 by Neal Shusterman - Book Review

Find it on Goodreads

5 out of 5 Stars

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.

What can I say about this book... I seriously fell in love with Neal Shusterman's writing all over again. I did love Unwind and plan to continue with that series but I think I am going to have to delve into this one first!!

Well let's get to it. Dislikes, Likes, Who I think will like this book/Wrap up, and of course spoilers way down at the end!

Dislikes:

I can't say I have any dislikes, hence the 5 stars, I felt immediately connected to the plot, I loved most of the characters and I thought the entire world's premise was fascinating. Favourite character being the Thunderhead. But I guess for dislike sake I will say I didn't really connect with Citra. I found her the most frustrating of all the character's until the end. Was she a terribly written character? Not at all, I just personally couldn't connect with her, more specifically with her choices and decisions. Again at the end I had a better understanding of her and did enjoy her arc! 

Some people may feel this book fat shames... I myself didn't feel this way as it's world pretty much abolished all health risks we currently face, obesity being one of them. They only truly described a handful of characters fully and I feel they only pointed out traits that were strangely obvious and easily fixable, but I thought I'd mention it because it was something I heard complained about.

Likes:

Again, the idea that we have abolished all things that threatened the human species essentially, so people now live forever and because of that the population or more like depopulation, needed some help so of course they limited children, nope, capped the amount of years you could live? nope, they made a society of scythes to "glean" keeping the population at bay. It was a fascinating synopsis turned amazing novel. I felt like while reading every time the book reached a part where I was so sure it was going to turn into a typical YA trope it went and surprised me in all the best ways.

I loved the morally grey characters, and the nemesis that you totally understood (albeit hated, but understood). Loved the sentient being in control.. the little glimpse given of the Thunderhead's mind (the Thunderhead being the "cloud" you currently upload all your data too upgraded into a all knowing governing body of the human race) was just too little.. I wanted so much more and am glad to know that the second novel has it/him as a main character.

Scythe Faraday... oh that old man had me in love.. lol. I liked that the new scythes had to apprentice and that the character most looked for in new scythes was that they not want to be a scythe. The rules for scythe everything that just left you knowing that nothing is quite so perfect but perfect if the right people get behind it.

Who should read:

There was just too many things to love about his book.. so lets talk about who I think would like to read it. Fantasy lovers, Young Adult and Adult alike. People who like stories loosely based on the world we live in.. sort of a what if this happened context. Light Sci-fi lovers will most likely find the utopia and the AI quite intriguing. If you like Dystopians or Utopians that lean towards disaster. And for those who are far more interested in a plot that moves fast and keeps you engaged, but is a little more light on the character building (that being said the characters are still amazing).

All in all I was greatly pleased with this book... definitely a favourite of 2019! But what do you think?? Did you love sythe? have you read it? is it on your tbr? what are your thoughts and feelings?? If you read it be sure to check out the spoiler section below!! Otherwise leave some comments about your Scythe experience!

Buy Scythe (affiliate links):

________________
SPOILERS
________________

Did anyone just absolutely love Rowan's arc like me??? I mean I could completely understand how his mind started to curve to the dark side.. how much he despised but wished to be praised by Scythe Goddard.. and that ending.. I was like if he doesn't kill Goddard right now.. so help me!!

Find me on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads