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A review by tinysierra
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
4.25
Scythe drew me in and kept me on my feet. Just when you think the story will start to mellow out, there will be an interesting plot twist to keep you turning the page.
I liked that we got to see journal entries from different Scythes. It was also morbidly interesting to see how different people chose to go about their kill craft.
“No one has been deaf in 2000 years.”
Ouch. I somehow have doubts that erasing the Deaf community was part of the author’s efforts to show that this society is corrupt, disconnected from each other, and stagnant. Maybe it was. Idk. This society seems to run on the medical model of disability, implying that ALL disabilities should be cured for the betterment of society. I’m sure some disabled people in real life would love and benefit from a cure, but not all.
We only see self inflicted disabilities in the community of Tonists which are considered to be the weird religious fanatics of the society. If the Deaf community is erased, what else? What about autistic people? One of the points of the book is that now that people don’t have to worry about death, their art isn’t as profound. They’re uninspired.
What I’m worried about is: will non disabled people pick up on the fact that a world without disabilities and neurodivergent people is missing out?
Are queer people accepted in this universe?
Citra mentioned early on how shewanted to be invited to a dance by Hunter Morrison, but Hunter invited Zachary Swain. These appear to be male names, but I have no idea. The only romances I remember seeing are presumably cishet.
I liked that we got to see journal entries from different Scythes. It was also morbidly interesting to see how different people chose to go about their kill craft.
“No one has been deaf in 2000 years.”
Ouch. I somehow have doubts that erasing the Deaf community was part of the author’s efforts to show that this society is corrupt, disconnected from each other, and stagnant. Maybe it was. Idk. This society seems to run on the medical model of disability, implying that ALL disabilities should be cured for the betterment of society. I’m sure some disabled people in real life would love and benefit from a cure, but not all.
We only see self inflicted disabilities in the community of Tonists which are considered to be the weird religious fanatics of the society. If the Deaf community is erased, what else? What about autistic people? One of the points of the book is that now that people don’t have to worry about death, their art isn’t as profound. They’re uninspired.
What I’m worried about is: will non disabled people pick up on the fact that a world without disabilities and neurodivergent people is missing out?
Are queer people accepted in this universe?
Citra mentioned early on how she
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Self harm, Suicide, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail