Book Review: Scythe

SCYTHE by Neil Shusterman 

4 stars

Verdict: I had an existential crisis, but loved it in the end.

Based on a world where death is cured, Scythes are ordained in order to choose which people should be gleaned in order to maintain the population levels. Citra and Rowan are chosen to be Scythes. Neither want the honour, and only one will be chosen. 

I went on quite the journey with this one. I started out with the paperback and loved the quirky, dark tone...but didn't feel that 'pull' which I need to keep going. So I didn't. I switched to the audiobook and found it much easier to get through. 

The book is world led, not character led, and I think this was my problem. The main leads, Citra and Rowan aren't really too interesting to start out with. Once I worked out why I wasn't completely connecting with it, I actually started to like it a lot more.

I loved the quirky tone and dark humour. The snippets of journal entries from past scythes was also a interesting way to layer on that world building, and the way the two apprentices changed as their paths differed also had me more intrigued the more it went on. 

I had to pause at one point though, because - shock, horror - it made me think a lot about death. I know it's about scythes, but I wasn't quite expecting to feel this way. There's a touch of philosophy, ethics, and corruption within the scythe world that makes the dystopian world quite thought provoking. More so that the average YA read. 

By the end, I really loved it. The leading characters become very interesting in a way that makes me super excited for book two. I'll definitely continue with this series. 

Source: Borrowed from a friend. 

Affiliate link: Buy Scythe (Arc of a Scythe Book 1) on Amazon.

Video Review: https://youtu.be/5Oq0lcUfERc