Scythe (1) (Arc of a Scythe)
A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021)
Two teens must learn the “art of killing” in this Printz Honor–winning book, the first in a chilling new series from Neal Shusterman, author of the New York Times bestselling Unwind dystology.
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.
Scythe is the first novel of a thrilling new series by National Book Award–winning author Neal Shusterman in which Citra and Rowan learn that a perfect world comes only with a heavy price.
Two teens must learn the “art of killing” in this Printz Honor–winning book, the first in a chilling new series from Neal Shusterman, author of the New York Times bestselling Unwind dystology.
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.
Scythe is the first novel of a thrilling new series by National Book Award–winning author Neal Shusterman in which Citra and Rowan learn that a perfect world comes only with a heavy price.
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Community Reviews
This was definitely a 5 star read for me. I love that romance was not the focus.
This book gave me everything that I love about stories that aren't romance focused. it gave me drama, scandal, and it briefly made me sad. For humanity to have gotten better it was still bad and has its issues that need to be fixed. I'm excited to see what happens in the 2nd book.
It’s giving SOUL EATER BABYYY! DEATH SCYTHE TIME WOOOO!!!
This review is also dedicated to twenty one pilots because I’m pretty sure Tyler Joseph ghost wrote it. They used the word lavish like 8 times and also mentioned Dom Pérignon ( capri suns are obviously superior). So yeah, the theme song for this book is Lavish.
I loved Rowan, Citra and Curie, but Faraday stole the show for me. He’s my favorite, he wins. Mentor character for the win. I liked when we found out he has warm milk every night… that so old man of him.
Serious time- this society sounds like a nightmare to me. Nobody dies unless these randos decide to kill you? Insane. Also… I don’t wanna live that long. SORRY. Seems weird to be alive at the same time as your great great grandkids AND grandparents. Also interesting take on AI. They’ve got like an AI god… which also seems like a nightmare.
Good book, the ending ROCKED. I got my soul wrecked a couple times which is always a good sign. Very interesting.
Amazing story. Characters are well flushed out and multi dimensional. Makes you really think about the ramifications of immortality on many levels
This book was a lot of fun to read, and the plot was very unique! It had a good beginning, and got me hooked right from the start. It was fast paced and interesting. No sluggish sections for me.
Humanity has perfected, well, everything. There is nothing left to learn, and death no longer exists. Well, outside of gleaning by Scythe or death by fire anyway. Humans can live forever. Getting old? Turn the corner and reset your age to anything beyond 20. Hit by a truck, fell off a 100 story building? Someone will whisk you away to the nearest revival center. Sick? Nope, no such thing anymore.
But in this state of, um, perfection, humans are bored. When you have an eternity, decades zoom by in the blink of an eye. Passion and drive seem to have vanished right along with all diseases and death. Why should people pour their heart into something when they have an eternity to accomplish it?
When two teenagers are selected to be Scythe's apprentices, they become part of a world they had never before imagined being a part of. Training to become the bringers of death will change them drastically, and also highlight who they were inside all along. This isn't a life Citra and Rowen ever imagined for themselves, but there is no going back now.
I can't give this book 5 stars however. The reason are this: The plot bothered me. Humans have taken control of death. The protagonists are training to be Scythes, whose sole purpose is to kill people. There is no getting around that for me. No matter how human they are, no matter how compassionate they are, they are still training to kill, and that was something that made me uncomfortable.
The other reason is the narration of Citra (I read this book on Audible.) Greg Tremblay did a wonderful job, but her voice was just a little bit too breathy for me. She constantly sounded timid and afraid. And that's just not Citra.
I'll most likely read the second book, because despite my misgivings, I was hooked. I enjoyed reading it, and liked the pacing.
Humanity has perfected, well, everything. There is nothing left to learn, and death no longer exists. Well, outside of gleaning by Scythe or death by fire anyway. Humans can live forever. Getting old? Turn the corner and reset your age to anything beyond 20. Hit by a truck, fell off a 100 story building? Someone will whisk you away to the nearest revival center. Sick? Nope, no such thing anymore.
But in this state of, um, perfection, humans are bored. When you have an eternity, decades zoom by in the blink of an eye. Passion and drive seem to have vanished right along with all diseases and death. Why should people pour their heart into something when they have an eternity to accomplish it?
When two teenagers are selected to be Scythe's apprentices, they become part of a world they had never before imagined being a part of. Training to become the bringers of death will change them drastically, and also highlight who they were inside all along. This isn't a life Citra and Rowen ever imagined for themselves, but there is no going back now.
I can't give this book 5 stars however. The reason are this: The plot bothered me. Humans have taken control of death. The protagonists are training to be Scythes, whose sole purpose is to kill people. There is no getting around that for me. No matter how human they are, no matter how compassionate they are, they are still training to kill, and that was something that made me uncomfortable.
The other reason is the narration of Citra (I read this book on Audible.) Greg Tremblay did a wonderful job, but her voice was just a little bit too breathy for me. She constantly sounded timid and afraid. And that's just not Citra.
I'll most likely read the second book, because despite my misgivings, I was hooked. I enjoyed reading it, and liked the pacing.
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