10/10
WARNING: SPOILERS
Every once in a while, I read a book that makes me wish I’d written it myself. Scythe is exactly that kind of book. From the cover, to the intro, to the content inside, every little bit of Scythe kept me gripped and enthralled.
Scythe follows the story of a girl called Citra and a boy called Rowan who live fairly normal lives in a world where death and disease have been eradicated. This utopian world keeps its population down through the method of gleaning. Those who glean are called Scythes. When Citra and Rowan are both chosen as apprentices, they stumble on a world of intrigue.
Citra and Rowan are pitted against each other and, when things take a turn for the worse, it becomes apparent that whoever is chosen to be ordained as a scythe will need to glean the other.
To get around this, their scythe gleans himself – inadvertently making matters a whole lot worse for Citra and Rowan. The pair are forced to go their separate ways and train under other scythes. One of them will become a scythe – but at what cost?
What I loved…
The character depictions. The book is mainly dual-perspective, with different journal excerpts from other characters. The author’s remarkable ability to switch tone of voice was brilliant – making it easy to determine whose journal we were reading.
The concept. Truly original concepts are rare – but I feel this was one.
The world building. I love the utopian world Neal Shusterman has created and the way the most human of qualities, like resilience, greed and love, come to the fore even in a utopia.
The pace. I love books that get straight into the story – and this does exactly that. Throughout the book, I feel the pace is pitch-perfect.
What I didn’t love so much…
Absolutely nothing. There’s a reason why I gave Scythe a 10 out of 10. I’ve already ordered the other two in the trilogy from AbeBooks. If I’m being really picky, I would prefer Citra and Rowan to be just friends. Their love story doesn’t have enough development in this book and feels shoe-horned in at the end. I feel having the pair be just close friends would result in a stronger, slightly more plausible storyline.
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