Published by Simon & Shuster on 22 Nov 2016
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Thou shalt kill.
A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.
Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.
I chose this book because…
This book got a lot of hype when it was first published, which got me curious, but it was always checked out of the library, which I suppose is a testament to the book. I finally got my hands on it though! I wonder what a world that has conquered death looks like. This book seems to be on the border of sci-fi and fantasy; you know I love a good sci-fi, and as for fantasy, I read a lot of that in my childhood, so I’m interested in dipping my toes back into it as an adult (omg I’m an adult).
Upon reading it…
I usually only write full reviews for new books because, well, I receive them in return for reviews, but also, since they’re new, there aren’t very many reviews out yet, so I can really contribute in that way. The other main reason I write book reviews is to have a place to save all my favourite quotes. Scythe is not newly published and nor have I saved very many quotes from it, but as I was writing my brief review for it in my June in review blog post (of which recently read books is a subcategory), I realised that I had too much to say and too much love to give.
Let me tell you a little more about the book, more specifically than the blurb does. The world in which this story is set is a utopia, which I find really interesting because there are several dystopian novels out there, but not so many utopian novels. Of course, there’s conflict and that’s where the story is, but it’s ultimately set in this utopian world where the human race has conquered death, and so there’s this order of people called “scythes” who are responsible for “gleaning” people to keep the population under control. But this isn’t a bad thing. They’re seen as the purest, fairest, most just people, who are qualified and responsible for deciding whose lives to take. Every scythe has their own method, but to give you an idea of how fair these decisions are made, one method is to take lives based off statistics from the “Age of Mortality.”
Now onto the part in which I rave about the book. First, because this story is set after the Age of Mortality, people are very cavalier about death — they can only ever be “dead-ish” unless gleaned by a scythe — and this brings an element of humour. Second, I loved how Citra and Rowan were both so strong in character, and even during moments they wavered in the face of challenges, I was able to understand and empathise with them. Third, this story kept me guessing. I was so impatient to know whether everything would be resolved in the end and how it would be pulled off, but at the same time, I was there immersed in every detail. There were definitely some “omg did that just happen” moments.
If I had one complaint at all, it would be… Why does there always have to be a romantic element?? Platonic love is underrated. But, it’s not a full-blown YA love story — in fact, it’s a rather small element I think — so I can get over it.
If you’re into this genre, I would highly recommend giving this book a shot! It’s probably around middle school/high school level, but suitable for older readers as well. I’ve already recommended this book to my younger brothers, though I don’t know whether they’ll take me up on it haha.
★★★★★
Hope in the shadow of fear is the world’s most powerful motivator.
Death makes the whole world kin.
The Scythe Commandments
1) Thou shalt kill…
He was afraid, but fear meant he was still alive.
The future comes whether we want it to or not.