Scythe

By Author / Illustrator

Neal Shusterman

Genre

Adventure

Age range(s)

11+

Publisher

Walker Books Ltd

ISBN

9781406379242

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

01-02-2018

Synopsis

\"A true successor to The Hunger Games.\" Maggie Stiefvater

In a perfect world, what is there left to fear? A chilling and thought-provoking sci-fi novel from New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman.

A dark, gripping and witty thriller in which the only thing humanity has control over is death.

In a world where disease, war and crime have been eliminated, the only way to die is to be randomly killed (\"gleaned\") by professional scythes. Citra and Rowan are teenagers who have been selected to be scythes' apprentices, and despite wanting nothing to do with the vocation, they must learn the art of killing and understand the necessity of what they do.

Only one of them will be chosen as a scythe's apprentice and as Citra and Rowan come up against a terrifyingly corrupt Scythedom, it becomes clear that the winning apprentice's first task will be to glean the loser.

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Reviews

In the year 2042 the human race conquered death, you cannot die, unless you are 'gleaned'! ... People have nanites in their blood that heal them and mask pain and, if they do die, they can be revived quickly and painlessly. In order to control the population, as it's no longer in the hands of nature, a group of people called Scythes are tasked to 'glean' (kill) people. They kill according to their Ten Commandments and the first one is Thou Shalt Kill!! Citra and Rowan, after showing compassion to others after an encounter with Scythe Faraday, are chosen by him to become his scythe apprentices. However, only one of them can become a Scythe and the winner must glean the other candidate. As they both learn the skills needed from Scythe Faraday, they face and experience the conflicted emotions many scythes endure as they approach their responsibilities, and the physical, mental, and intellectual skills needed to become a good scythe. There is a touch of romance in the story as Citra and Rowan are drawn to each other but they know that they cannot be together and then a cruel twist in the plot has them pitted against each other. Who is going to wear the Scythe's ring? You will have to read the book to find out! The story is told in alternative chapters between the two main characters, which I found to be equally likeable. In between the chapters, the reader also gets an insight of some of the Scythes' thoughts as there is a snippet from their daily gleaning journals. This is a well written, page-turning story that is quite thought provoking and terrifying as you get deeper into the plot. Suitable for well read, confident dystopian readers and reluctant ones as well due to the short pacy chapters. I loved this YA book, of which I truly believe is a genuine successor to the Hunger Games. I also understand that it may become a film in the near future. I'm now eagerly awaiting the sequel titled Thunderhead, which is out in November. Please read it, as I'm 99.9% sure you will enjoy it! 450 pages / Ages 12+ / Reviewed by Linda Brown, school librarian.