hannahmccornack's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
lori_reads_a_latte's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this series. But this was probably my least favorite of the three.
studyinglifewithgigi's review against another edition
4.0
A surprising and refreshing end to the Scythe trilogy
themooncodex's review against another edition
5.0
I cried. I cried so many times with simple things like a two line chat between characters, an emotion running through the characters heart, I’m just. I’m shaken in the most beautiful way.
ecemeee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
mateuscaixeta84's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
houseoflusos's review against another edition
3.0
Well, I am... underwhelmed. Scythe and Thunderhead were both incredible 5-stars read for me, I loved everything in them, but The Toll felt so different from the first two books.
The pacing of this book was incredibly slow. The ending of book 2 was so intense that I immediately picked up book 3, but the first half of this book is basically people walking around and talking, nothing much happens really. The bad guy in this book raises to power but you can't really understand why everyone is so okay with it, and although I can see what the author was going for, the execution was pretty bad.
A new character is also introduced in this book, Jeri, and wow. This character is the definition of tokenism, I cannot believe Shusterman wasted so much time on this character and the concept of gender-fluidity that was never mentioned in the first two books. The dialogue this character has with all the main characters is (and I usually hate this word) cringe. So many times, the fact that he is gender fluid, is brought by the characters, Jeri also drops a "you binaries are so ..." a few times before explaining how the gender of people from Madagascar depends on the weather, I mean okay? It wouldn't have bothered me if was just something mentioned in passing, but this book is already slow, the fact that this character and their gender-fluidity take so much space made it just annoying to read.
The ending, though satisfying for the overall series was also underwhelming (at least comparing with the endings of book 1 and 2). The bad guy is betrayed, just in time so he can't kill the main characters and that felt like a big plot convenience, especially he had already been betrayed by the same character before, when he had one of the main characters in book 2. It was so disappointing.
Overall I'm giving this a 3.5 stars, because it concludes a series that I absolutely loved with books 2 and 3, and because the main characters are still great despite the flaws of this book.
The pacing of this book was incredibly slow. The ending of book 2 was so intense that I immediately picked up book 3, but the first half of this book is basically people walking around and talking, nothing much happens really. The bad guy in this book raises to power but you can't really understand why everyone is so okay with it, and although I can see what the author was going for, the execution was pretty bad.
A new character is also introduced in this book, Jeri, and wow. This character is the definition of tokenism, I cannot believe Shusterman wasted so much time on this character and the concept of gender-fluidity that was never mentioned in the first two books. The dialogue this character has with all the main characters is (and I usually hate this word) cringe. So many times, the fact that he is gender fluid, is brought by the characters, Jeri also drops a "you binaries are so ..." a few times before explaining how the gender of people from Madagascar depends on the weather, I mean okay? It wouldn't have bothered me if was just something mentioned in passing, but this book is already slow, the fact that this character and their gender-fluidity take so much space made it just annoying to read.
The ending, though satisfying for the overall series was also underwhelming (at least comparing with the endings of book 1 and 2). The bad guy is betrayed, just in time so he can't kill the main characters and that felt like a big plot convenience, especially he had already been betrayed by the same character before, when he had one of the main characters in book 2. It was so disappointing.
Overall I'm giving this a 3.5 stars, because it concludes a series that I absolutely loved with books 2 and 3, and because the main characters are still great despite the flaws of this book.
nat1018's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
It was a bit of a slow read, a bit long. The ending was sweet though, with a twist.
slkobza's review against another edition
5.0
I love all of Shusterman’s books but this one is by far one of my favorites! Along with being very well written
allegiant3000's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, what a thrilling conclusion. I have to be honest, book 2 didn't really do it for me. It was a struggle to connect with characters even with a solid storyline. There seems to be an epidemic of books that are difficult to get through in the first half, and become delightful in the second. But this books snatched me within the first few pages. Its very long, but it honestly felt shorter than plenty other books with hundreds of less pages.
Each character in this book is dripping with personality and life. The constant jumping between perspectives usually annoys me but when the characters are actually able to be real people, it works. I adore the Thunderhead so much more in this book than the last one that focused on it. And I love Jeri so much it's unreal. Nonbinary representation off the charts baybee I love u jerico ❤
This book was filled to the brim with fun additions like the scythe journals, Toll testaments, and scholars analyses, as the last ones were, and those give me so much joy. The world building of this series is just stellar. It feels complete and makes sense to me, and the pages that are not the actual current plot help boost this world.
This books doesn't really have twists but it doesn't need any. It has plenty hidden and unsaid that give that feeling of suspense and of wanting to know more. While that feeling is often more gratifying than the reveal itself, I felt these reveals were pretty cool. Not astounding, but cool.
The only thing that lacked for me were the last few pages. I understand the need for vagueness, but I would have loved just a few more pages to know a bit more about what happens in the future, especially on Earth. Not a disappointing ending, just left me wanting a bit more. But it honestly doesn't even matter. I knew I was going to cherish and love this book early on.
The lessons and humanity Neal injects into his work is palpable and I recommend you give it a shot and find that humanness yourself.
Each character in this book is dripping with personality and life. The constant jumping between perspectives usually annoys me but when the characters are actually able to be real people, it works. I adore the Thunderhead so much more in this book than the last one that focused on it. And I love Jeri so much it's unreal. Nonbinary representation off the charts baybee I love u jerico ❤
This book was filled to the brim with fun additions like the scythe journals, Toll testaments, and scholars analyses, as the last ones were, and those give me so much joy. The world building of this series is just stellar. It feels complete and makes sense to me, and the pages that are not the actual current plot help boost this world.
This books doesn't really have twists but it doesn't need any. It has plenty hidden and unsaid that give that feeling of suspense and of wanting to know more. While that feeling is often more gratifying than the reveal itself, I felt these reveals were pretty cool. Not astounding, but cool.
The only thing that lacked for me were the last few pages. I understand the need for vagueness, but I would have loved just a few more pages to know a bit more about what happens in the future, especially on Earth. Not a disappointing ending, just left me wanting a bit more. But it honestly doesn't even matter. I knew I was going to cherish and love this book early on.
The lessons and humanity Neal injects into his work is palpable and I recommend you give it a shot and find that humanness yourself.