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fanboyriot's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I feel like I put off reading this book for so long because Sci-Fi wasn’t my genre but this book was good. I feel like I probably would have liked it more as a teenager. While the plot was entertaining it also left a few things unexplained. It just felt a little dull at some moments and dragged out for others.
I also kinda had a pet peeve about Citra’s and Rowan’s relationship, it felt very forced and out of place. It was honestly uncomfortable to read, it was like because they were around the same age they had to wind up together…
Spice Level: n/a
Release Date: 16, November 2016
POV: Duel, Third Person
Rep: n/a
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Gun violence, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Gore, Suicide, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Bullying, Racism, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Body horror, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Genocide, Torture, Grief, and Fatphobia
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Confinement
rachelditty's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This is my first re-read of Scythe since I read it in high school, and I honestly still hold the same opinion of it: it's an incredibly well-crafted story with awe-striking world building, interesting characters, and a fantastic plot.
My biggest gripe with this book is the same as it was years go--I don't really care for the romance between Citra and Rowan. On one hand I can get past it when I really think on it. They're two kids who have been shunned from society and can find a kind of solace in each other when they can't find it with anyone else. On the other hand, it's very rushed and doesn't seem like the characters are even truly aware of why they're in love. It really feels like Shusterman made them love interests for the sake of them having love interests, not because they genuinely wanted to be in love.
I had a lot more feelings about Rowan than I was expecting to when he was under the wing of Scythe Goddard. Rowan goes from being this kid who has deemed himself "the lettuce" of his family; constantly ignored and no one's favorite. Then, as an apprentice, he sheds that title and becomes someone, but in return he's feared by all and is put through numerous trials that change who he is as a person, and not even his journal is safe because Goddard reads it for himself. Then he tries to shape himself back into the lettuce again, fade into the background and let the scythes he's surrounded by take all the glory, and they just won't let him. The scene where Rowan walks out of the building with the axe behind him as people kiss Goddard's ring on his hand really had me going, I was just so incredibly sad for him. And when finds Volta self-gleaning in the Tonist monastery. I just felt so bad for him. Then he had to render his mother deadish and did it without any hesitance and with such precision that people looked down on him for it, when in reality he never felt close to her and had no reason to hesitate. Whereas Citra talking with Ben before she "gleaned" him was so compassionate it made me tear up.
I don't really even know how to put into words how sad for Rowan I felt when he was trapped in the apprenticeship with Goddard. Rowan was constantly barraged with parties that kept him up at strange hours, training that pushed him to his limits, pleasing Esme when she would play card games with him, trying to keep his own thoughts in order and keep his humanity in check while being pushed on all sides by Goddard's thoughts and actions, and he was sexually harassed by Scythe Rand, all while in Goddard's mansion. Rowan was exposed to such physical and emotional fatigue that it's such a salute to his character that he was able to withstand it and still come out wanting to do the right thing. Rowan spoke so many times, especially in the Tonist monastery, that he could hear Goddard in his head and feel him in his soul, and that he didn't' know how to get himself out of that way of living, and it was just heartbreaking. He became the perfect weapon, and he hated it. He was constantly detaching himself from the gleanings because when he couldn't rescue people, he wanted to stay as far away from everything as he mentally could. He was fully prepared to die in order for Citra to win and make things better, and now he gets to do the same thing with his own methods, as frowned upon as they may be.
Citra is such an intelligent and cunning YA protagonist, and I'm so in love with how much she's able to shape that with Scythe Faraday AND Curie. She knows exactly when to tell people information and what she can do to skirt around the laws of the scythedom and of the thunderhead. Where Rowan is Sly, Citra is Clever, and they are such a great pair. I wish we got to see more of them actually getting to know each other and really like each other before they jump into a romance, and before they get separated.
Some quotes I loved:
"Rowan would find a way to make sense of the senseless," (p. 24)
"'Tonight we witness the spectacle of human folly and tragedy... Tomorrow, we shall live it.'" (p. 36).
"They knew what had happened at school, and what was happening now, but they dismissed it in that self-serving way parents often had of pretending anything they can't solve is not really a problem," (p. 38).
"'[Death] never hides,' the scythe told them with a world-weariness that was hard to describe. 'Nor does it sleep. You'll learn that soon enough,'" (p. 60).
"'It was the only time in all my years as a scythe that I had been thanked for what I do,'" (p. 87).
"'One apology is enough... especially when it's genuine.'" (p. 93).
"She owed it to the dead man to hurt a little for him." (p. 95).
"I fear for all of us if scythes begin to love what they do." (p. 96).
"No one rages against the system anymore. At most, they just glare at it a bit." (p. 101).
"And which is worse--to be despised or to be ignored?" (p. 155).
"...Scythe Goddard loved nothing more than performing to the gallery, even if it was just a gallery of one." (p. 240).
"...it shook the world, but the world was already shaking just fine without me." (p. 273).
"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." (p. 388).
"And if ever Scythe Lucifer comes my way, I hope he'll see me as one of the good ones. The way he once did." (p. 435).
I'm so ready to start the second book. I might even do it right now, to be honest. The Thunderhead already has such personality, I'm so excited to start the next book and get more from it. A great read I'd recommend to all!
I had a lot more feelings about Rowan than I was expecting to when he was under the wing of Scythe Goddard. Rowan goes from being this kid who has deemed himself "the lettuce" of his family; constantly ignored and no one's favorite. Then, as an apprentice, he sheds that title and becomes someone, but in return he's feared by all and is put through numerous trials that change who he is as a person, and not even his journal is safe because Goddard reads it for himself. Then he tries to shape himself back into the lettuce again, fade into the background and let the scythes he's surrounded by take all the glory, and they just won't let him. The scene where Rowan walks out of the building with the axe behind him as people kiss Goddard's ring on his hand really had me going, I was just so incredibly sad for him. And when finds Volta self-gleaning in the Tonist monastery. I just felt so bad for him. Then he had to render his mother deadish and did it without any hesitance and with such precision that people looked down on him for it, when in reality he never felt close to her and had no reason to hesitate. Whereas Citra talking with Ben before she "gleaned" him was so compassionate it made me tear up.
I don't really even know how to put into words how sad for Rowan I felt when he was trapped in the apprenticeship with Goddard. Rowan was constantly barraged with parties that kept him up at strange hours, training that pushed him to his limits, pleasing Esme when she would play card games with him, trying to keep his own thoughts in order and keep his humanity in check while being pushed on all sides by Goddard's thoughts and actions, and he was sexually harassed by Scythe Rand, all while in Goddard's mansion. Rowan was exposed to such physical and emotional fatigue that it's such a salute to his character that he was able to withstand it and still come out wanting to do the right thing. Rowan spoke so many times, especially in the Tonist monastery, that he could hear Goddard in his head and feel him in his soul, and that he didn't' know how to get himself out of that way of living, and it was just heartbreaking. He became the perfect weapon, and he hated it. He was constantly detaching himself from the gleanings because when he couldn't rescue people, he wanted to stay as far away from everything as he mentally could. He was fully prepared to die in order for Citra to win and make things better, and now he gets to do the same thing with his own methods, as frowned upon as they may be.
Citra is such an intelligent and cunning YA protagonist, and I'm so in love with how much she's able to shape that with Scythe Faraday AND Curie. She knows exactly when to tell people information and what she can do to skirt around the laws of the scythedom and of the thunderhead. Where Rowan is Sly, Citra is Clever, and they are such a great pair. I wish we got to see more of them actually getting to know each other and really like each other before they jump into a romance, and before they get separated.
Some quotes I loved:
"Rowan would find a way to make sense of the senseless," (p. 24)
"'Tonight we witness the spectacle of human folly and tragedy... Tomorrow, we shall live it.'" (p. 36).
"They knew what had happened at school, and what was happening now, but they dismissed it in that self-serving way parents often had of pretending anything they can't solve is not really a problem," (p. 38).
"'[Death] never hides,' the scythe told them with a world-weariness that was hard to describe. 'Nor does it sleep. You'll learn that soon enough,'" (p. 60).
"'It was the only time in all my years as a scythe that I had been thanked for what I do,'" (p. 87).
"'One apology is enough... especially when it's genuine.'" (p. 93).
"She owed it to the dead man to hurt a little for him." (p. 95).
"I fear for all of us if scythes begin to love what they do." (p. 96).
"No one rages against the system anymore. At most, they just glare at it a bit." (p. 101).
"And which is worse--to be despised or to be ignored?" (p. 155).
"...Scythe Goddard loved nothing more than performing to the gallery, even if it was just a gallery of one." (p. 240).
"...it shook the world, but the world was already shaking just fine without me." (p. 273).
"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." (p. 388).
"And if ever Scythe Lucifer comes my way, I hope he'll see me as one of the good ones. The way he once did." (p. 435).
I'm so ready to start the second book. I might even do it right now, to be honest. The Thunderhead already has such personality, I'm so excited to start the next book and get more from it. A great read I'd recommend to all!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Child death, Gore, Death, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Gun violence, and Murder
tinytrashqueen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Suicide, and Gun violence
ggcd1981's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Scythe foi definitivamente melhor do que esperava. Talvez estivesse com as expectativas baixas pelo público alvo ser adolescentes (nada contra literatura para adolescentes, mas eu não sou o público alvo). O fato é que Scythe é uma obra muito bem escrita com personagens interessantes e plot twists que eu não previ. A obra acompanha Rowan Damisch e Citra Terranova como aprendizes de Scythe, especificamente do honorável Scythe Faraday. Tanto Rowan quanto Citra não realmente querem se tornar Scythes, mas aos olhos de Faraday isso é exatamente o que os torna ideias para a “profissão”. Após alguns acontecimentos inesperados o que devia ser uma simples disputa entre os dois jovens protagonistas pela vaga de Scythe, se torna uma disputa pela vida, já que é estabelecido que a pessoa que for escolhida para substituir Scythe Faraday, como primeiro ato, deverá matar (gleam é o termo utilizado) o outro candidato. Contextualizando, a história se passa em um futuro em que os avanços tecnológicos dos seres humanos superaram todas as doenças, inclusive a morte. Os humanos criaram a nuvem e esta evoluiu para o que é chamado no livro de Thunderhead. Este é uma inteligência artificial responsável por governar o mundo e garantir que todos os humanos permaneçam em boas condições socioeconômicas e ninguém sofra danos permanentes a saúde, incluindo trazer os humanos de volta a vida em casos de morte acidental (ou intencional). Todos são imortais então é necessário haver controle populacional. Os Scythes realizam esse controle decidindo quem será permanentemente morto. A filosofia inicial dos Scythes era de que as pessoas ideais para se tornarem um são aquelas que não querem a tarefa. Porém o livro mostra que cada vez mais essa filosofia vinha sendo corrompida e havia diversos Scythes que desfrutavam da tarefa e gozavam das vantagens de estar acima das leis do Thunderhead, pois os Scythes são uma entidade separada fora da jurisdição da Inteligência Artificial. Um exemplo disso seria o Scythe Goddard, a quem somos tentados a ver como grande vilão pelo seu amor por matar e pelo seu estilo de vida de ostentação, porém há elementos inesperados a esse respeito. A obra fez um excelente trabalho em termos de reviravoltas, muitas delas imprevisíveis para mim. Gostei de todos os personagens, exceto pelos que o livro intencionalmente nos faz odiar (Scythe Volta é uma exceção, pois o autor tenta criar no leitor empatia por ele, mas para mim só consegui odiar Volta, pois ele é hipócrita e fraco). Achei que os personagens principais foram bem trabalhados e interessantes. O livro teve enredo complexo e fez um bom trabalho de amarrar a maioria das pontas soltas, é claro deixando espaço para a continuação. O final foi inesperado para mim, o que é sempre ótimo, e foi bem executado o suficiente para que esse livro funcione como standalone. Não tenho críticas objetivas sobre o livro, apenas que, por comparação a outros livros que amo, me apeguei menos aos personagens. A narração do audiobook realizada por Greg Tremblay também foi muito boa. Desta forma dou 4.75 estrelas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Kidnapping, and Grief
nicnevin's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Picked this up because death is sexy.
This has challenged me greatly because I don't really know what to say. There are parts I like and some I don't. I couldn't care less about the romance and yet it is stitched together as vital to the plot. The world building is interesting but kinda vague and I want to discuss that a lot but I don't think this is the right place. It places a weird emphasis on race, like everyone really cares about their 23&Me results.
I guess I want to read the rest, mostly to try and pin down what the point the author is trying to make. It is both too obvious and too obscured. There are screeds about how life was better when death was a thing, actually even though death... Still is a thing?
Idk I need to parse this on my brain.
This has challenged me greatly because I don't really know what to say. There are parts I like and some I don't. I couldn't care less about the romance and yet it is stitched together as vital to the plot. The world building is interesting but kinda vague and I want to discuss that a lot but I don't think this is the right place. It places a weird emphasis on race, like everyone really cares about their 23&Me results.
I guess I want to read the rest, mostly to try and pin down what the point the author is trying to make. It is both too obvious and too obscured. There are screeds about how life was better when death was a thing, actually even though death... Still is a thing?
Idk I need to parse this on my brain.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Murder, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Child death, Medical content, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Fatphobia, Torture, Violence, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Mass/school shootings
_savannahreads_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
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