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A review by fengxin
Scythe by Neal Shusterman

adventurous emotional reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i knew from the first chapter this book would be 5 stars. everything about it is so well done: the setup, the characterization, the exposition to the worldbuilding which could've easily read like a textbook but felt natural instead, the dialogue. i was immediately taken by the philosophical aspect of it, the very concept this story explores, and although every character was compelling, i think my favorite is scythe faraday, he's so interesting i'm truly fascinated by him. the journals of h.s. curie before each chapter were such a cool addition, every journal was but hers especially — the retrospective, the almost nostalgia of it, the way she speaks of crime and death and humanity, all so detached from her current reality. i did disagree with the part about religion, how she wrote that nearly all had become irrelevant after conquering death. i think it's so diminishing to reduce faith to a belief only connected to death. it's definitely my personal opinion, but i don't believe faith in any god(s) would be obsolete after people becoming immortal, because people don't just pray to ward off death.
faraday's "death"?
i lost my mind. there's just no way. i'm glad it did properly introduce scythe curie's character outside of her journal entries, i really like her. goddard however? easily one of my most hated characters in fiction. chapter 36 was glorious in every possible way, if i had confetti i would've thrown them. and the ending? just incredible. oh rowan i love you so dearly. i find him so wonderful, his arc was so complex but truly well done, and i absolutely can't wait to see him develop more. i adore citra as well, she's everything i love in a female character. but my number one stays faraday, with marie right on his heels. overall an incredible setup to a trilogy, i'm so excited to continue with it and i can only chastise myself for not picking it up sooner.
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