Scythe Book Review
Hey friends!
Today I’m going to be sharing with you a quick no spoiler book review of
Scythe by Neal Schusterman.
Book: Scythe
Recommended for: Anyone 13+
I was provided a copy for review by Walker Books however all thoughts and opinions are my own and this is an honest review.
About the book.
Author: Neal Schusterman
Series: Arc of a Scythe #1
Series: Arc of a Scythe #1
Publisher: Walker Books Australia
Pages: 435
Pages: 435
Synopsis: Thou shalt kill.
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. (source)
Genres: Sci-fi, Dystopian 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. (source)
I was provided a copy for review by Walker Books however all thoughts and opinions are my own and this is an honest review.
My thoughts.
{ writing }
The writing was told in a very interesting way where the
chapters alternated between perspectives and in between, there would be a
little section of a page from the journal of a Scythe that gave readers an
insight of what it was like to be a Scythe and how they felt about the task. I’ll
admit, there were times where I skim read the entries because I wasn’t that
interested in reading them all but I did quite like that they were included.
Other than that, the writing was okay. I felt it wasn’t the
part of the book that stood out the most because it got the job done, it wasn’t
overly info-dumpey which was good because I hate when books overdo world
building at the beginning and had the right amount of build up for a plot
twist.
However in regards to writing good character dialogue and
having that strong character development and an excellent villain, I feel this
one fell flat. There was a lot of potential to build up strong, multi-faceted villains
through the use of the writing, but unfortunately, it just didn’t happen. As
well as that, the two main characters didn’t really develop much either but
more on that later.
{ idea + plot }
Okay, this was the best part of the book! I think the idea
is so clever and unlike any other dystopian because it presents the idea of a
utopia but with a twist because tbh I wold rather the world we have now where
no one decides who dies other than fate and luck (depending on what you believe
of course) than a person choosing my death.
It presents this very conflicting idea of ‘would the world
be a better place if everything was perfect?’ which I feel no other YA novel
has been able to portray. I think Schusterman did this aspect with a lot of
thought and not too much bias, unlike other dystopian and futuristic novels,
and the idea of the Scythes, as well as the stand-off between good and bad was
incredibly complex. A lot of it is left up to interpretation as the characters don’t
necessarily question whether the system in place is good or bad and that task
is left up to the reader.
Other than that, the plot was so interesting! It had many twists
and turns which I was really, really not expecting and I think the build-up for
them was excellent. There were drier moments in between and the pacing wasn’t
perfect but the surprise elements managed to make up for it.
{ characters }
This, sadly, is probably the most disappointing part of the
book. The two main characters were SO, SO bland and dull. They had zero
personality and most of it was so incredibly flat and 2D. Other than that, like
I said before, there was no real character development and you didn’t feel like
you were proud of the characters by the end and happy to see who they were and
what they’ve become. I felt pretty much indifferent to them throughout.
As well as that, the chemistry between the characters was
non-existent. I hate when authors try and stuff a romance in a book where there
is clearly no need for it such as in this one. I did not care for the characters
apart and I certainly didn’t care for them together. I couldn’t see anything
particularly stand out in them and any reason that they’d choose to be
together.
{ overall }
Despite the extremely poor characters and average writing, I
did give this book 4 stars because of how excellent the idea and the plot were,
which I felt is what carried this book. It’s sad because this did have the
potential to be a 5 star read for me but unfortunately the dull characters got
in the way of that.
Nonetheless, the book is quite well crafted and worth the
read!
Have your read Scythe? Do you plan to?
Have your read Scythe? Do you plan to?
OVERALL RATING:
★★★★
4 happy thoughts
I've been intrigued by this book for a while and I definitely plan to at least try it! Lovely review!
ReplyDeleteOh no, it seems like it has so much potential for another great villain, I'm so sad that it fell flat! I still want to read it though, the original premise is just too good to be passed!
ReplyDeleteTasya // The Literary Huntress
I feel like everyone is super in love with this book! I keep seeing super positive tweets and stuff but nothing about the actual parts of the book so your review was perfect for that :D
ReplyDeleteFor me, characters are pretty much the most important aspect of a book in terms of my enjoyment. If a book has a subpar plot and the writing is okay but the characters are amazing and I love them then I am pretty okay with that. But if it's the other way around and I don't fall in love with the characters... then it's hard to care about whatever is happening in the book. And that makes a book boring, in my opinion.
I have to admit I think the story of this one sounds unique and interesting so there is a chance I will pick it up. It's been a super long time since I read a dystopian so it'll seem pretty fresh, haha.
I hope you like the sequel if you decide to pick it up! And thank you for the lovely review <3
I loved this book so much, so it's so nice to see other people reading it. I loved your review and the pictures you shared are beautiful! Thank you for your thoughts, Anisha <3
ReplyDeleteMegan @ http://wanderingsofabookbird.blogspot.co.uk/
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