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A review by emily_m_green
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
In Neal Shusterman’s Scythe, the world has reached a post-death era. There are no illnesses and nearly any injury can be healed and people brought back to life. Only a scythe, a person chosen for the job, can bring someone death. The scythes of the world are seen as both carrying out a noble and necessary job and as untouchables, estranged from nearly everyone except other scythes.
It happens that Scythe Faraday has decided that he needs to take on an apprentice and he meets two young people who seem as though they may be capable of the job. Though he can only choose one, he believes that healthy competition between them will allow him to choose the best person for the job. Of course, Rowan and Citra, two teenagers with unremarkable backgrounds, while not thrilled about being chosen to apprentice, have enough healthy competition in them to fight it out.
As the two learn more about what it means to be a scythe and all the knowledge that is required that they learn, they seem uncomfortably drawn to the life. That is, until another scythe decides that he does not like the idea of two apprentices and is determined to change the playing field altogether.
Scythe, an option for the dystopian book club I am now teaching, is my favorite of the picks. The world is beautiful and terrible. The people lost a good deal of understanding of what life is when they lost death. And now, the scythes bring back some of the value.
There are elements to the world that are particularly interesting--for example, “turning a corner” which means that after you get so old, you turn back the clock to a younger year, such as twenty or thirty. People can live for virtually ever and therefore can have many families and start over and over again. There is no poverty unless a person chooses it. Everyone is comfortable, though some are more comfortable than others.
Why did I enjoy this book so much? Well, it is very violent, though that is not what I appreciate about it--I am not so fond of violence. I suppose it is the almost whimsical world where many things have lost their traditional value, and simplicity is one of the ways to regain meaning. Perhaps it is because the idea of a person’s job being to murder is so terrible and horrible. Or perhaps it is just the right balance of macabre and magical. In any case, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Would I teach this book? Yes. However, it is not the best choice for every student, because it is so dark. For students who find themselves affected by violence, this would not be the book to steer them towards. Perhaps Hunger Games or Maze Runner, which are actually less violent, would be better choices for students who are not drawn to such things. Or even The Giver--though it, too, is dark, as the other novels are. Apparently dystopian novels tend to be dark. Go figure.
It happens that Scythe Faraday has decided that he needs to take on an apprentice and he meets two young people who seem as though they may be capable of the job. Though he can only choose one, he believes that healthy competition between them will allow him to choose the best person for the job. Of course, Rowan and Citra, two teenagers with unremarkable backgrounds, while not thrilled about being chosen to apprentice, have enough healthy competition in them to fight it out.
As the two learn more about what it means to be a scythe and all the knowledge that is required that they learn, they seem uncomfortably drawn to the life. That is, until another scythe decides that he does not like the idea of two apprentices and is determined to change the playing field altogether.
Scythe, an option for the dystopian book club I am now teaching, is my favorite of the picks. The world is beautiful and terrible. The people lost a good deal of understanding of what life is when they lost death. And now, the scythes bring back some of the value.
There are elements to the world that are particularly interesting--for example, “turning a corner” which means that after you get so old, you turn back the clock to a younger year, such as twenty or thirty. People can live for virtually ever and therefore can have many families and start over and over again. There is no poverty unless a person chooses it. Everyone is comfortable, though some are more comfortable than others.
Why did I enjoy this book so much? Well, it is very violent, though that is not what I appreciate about it--I am not so fond of violence. I suppose it is the almost whimsical world where many things have lost their traditional value, and simplicity is one of the ways to regain meaning. Perhaps it is because the idea of a person’s job being to murder is so terrible and horrible. Or perhaps it is just the right balance of macabre and magical. In any case, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Would I teach this book? Yes. However, it is not the best choice for every student, because it is so dark. For students who find themselves affected by violence, this would not be the book to steer them towards. Perhaps Hunger Games or Maze Runner, which are actually less violent, would be better choices for students who are not drawn to such things. Or even The Giver--though it, too, is dark, as the other novels are. Apparently dystopian novels tend to be dark. Go figure.