Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Pages: 435

Intended Audience: Mature Teens

Genre: Dystopian

Notes for Parents: Contains violence and death

The Back Cover

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. They learn living in a perfect world comes only with a heavy price.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This is a Printz Honor Book and is the first in a series.

What’s good?

Citra and Rowan are drawn in to an extraordinary world when they’re chosen to apprentice to a scythe. I was quickly drawn in to this story thanks to its engaging plot and fast past. There was tension, suspense, moral complexity, and a mystery in need of solving. Many twists and turns and moments I never saw coming kept me reading well past my bedtime. Both main characters were sympathetic, but different than each other in so many ways. This story is a clever exploration of morality, humanity, and the practice of mercy. The scythe community was intriguing and unique.

Best Part: “My greatest wish for humanity is not for peace or comfort or joy. It is that we all still die a little inside every time we witness the death of another. For only the pain of empathy will keep us human. There’s no version of God that can help us if we ever lose that.” ~ from the gleaning journal of H.S. Farady (pg. 388)

What isn’t good?

The premise wasn’t logical to me. Why kill randomly? Why not just limit how long people can live? The twist at the first conclave is unfair and contradicts what seemed to be a moral tone set earlier. Why would everyone agree to it? And why does no one have a problem with what Scythe Goddard’s group is doing. I don’t understand.

Worst part: The worldbuilding is weak.

Recommendation ☺☺☺☺☻ (4/5)

This was an unexpected and unique story. Despite the weakness I felt permeated the worldbuilding, I was quickly drawn into the plot and championed the main characters instantly. The writing is strong and the characters are well-developed. Definitely recommended.

Shusterman, Neal. Scythe. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2016.