Book Review by Aarene Storms: Scythe

Neal Shusterman will read from his new book and sign copies on Friday, February 16 at 6pm at Third Place Books.

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

In this futuristic dystopia, death has been eliminated. Diseases are gone, injuries can be fixed, and humans will live forever unless they are purposely, permanently killed by a licensed "Scythe." The scythes are responsible to keep the world's resources sustainable by deliberately selecting individuals to glean from the population.

Citra and Rowan are unwilling apprentices to Scythe Faraday, who teaches them the art of killing with poisons, knives, swords, guns, and their bare hands. They are not unwilling to learn what Faraday has to teach ... until a rival Scythe imposes a new rule: only one of the apprentices will be chosen as Scythe, and that one must kill the other.

Of course, things go terribly wrong. The author's talent lies in creating a thought-provoking narrative so compelling that even reluctant readers will be anxious to find out what goes wrong next.

This is first in a new series but does not end on a suspenseful note, so it's okay to stop reading at the end of this volume. Book #2 Thunderhead is scheduled for publication in November 2017.

Blood and death, but not generally gory. Minimal cussing. A few kisses and no sex, although a forbidden romance will probably develop in later volumes.

The events may not have happened; still, the story is true.  --R. Silvern

Aarene Storms, youth services librarian
Richmond Beach and Lake Forest Park Libraries, KCLS