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A review by sewerhill
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
3.0
Okay, so I finished this book a few weeks ago, and now I've sat on it for a while I think I know what I want to say. I haven't read any YA fiction in quite a few years just because I got sick of the "Hunger Games" formula, and to be honest it still follows it to an extent, but it felt different enough from the Hunger Games that I wasn't particularly annoyed by this.
The Good Parts: Scythe is unique a in few way. Instead of a dystopia, it's a utopia (if the author intended this to be a dystopia then the goal wasn't really realized imo). The world building is interesting despite the nonsensicality of it at time. The Scythe journals are honestly more interesting than the book itself if I'm being honest but that might just be my own classic lit nerd tastes coming through. I read it because I was very immersed in the world building and the Scythedom itself; I didn't read it because I was invested in the characters (at least the main two).
The Bad Parts: The world building is, as stated before, at times nonsensical. Why do Scythes get to kill whoever they want, however they want? That doesn't seem right, especially in the utopia they live in. It can be defended with the idea that "it's a human thing because death is human blahblahblah" but honestly that just doesn't cut it. Mass gleanings by fire is ridiculous. On to the next segment: the characters. Scythes Currie and Faraday were very interesting characters and mentors. I enjoyed segments relating to them greatly. The main two fell flat. The romance was half baked, which is honestly probably part of why I enjoyed this book (I get sick of YA romance quickly so it being underdeveloped meant there was more focus on other things, which I enjoyed, not the halfbakedness of it). Then the villains. Honestly the most disappointing part of this book. It's extremely black and white. Goddard and his gang kill people in the most cruel ways possible and lack empathy. Boohoo. Allowed by nonsense world building and a disappointing copout in terms of what a convincing and relatable antagonist could have been. Especially considering what happened with Rowan.
All in all: I enjoyed this book a lot. It had me hooked and I'll probably read the other books in the series because I still found it interesting. Objectively? 3/5 but I almost gave it 4/5 just because of my personal enjoyment.
The Good Parts: Scythe is unique a in few way. Instead of a dystopia, it's a utopia (if the author intended this to be a dystopia then the goal wasn't really realized imo). The world building is interesting despite the nonsensicality of it at time. The Scythe journals are honestly more interesting than the book itself if I'm being honest but that might just be my own classic lit nerd tastes coming through. I read it because I was very immersed in the world building and the Scythedom itself; I didn't read it because I was invested in the characters (at least the main two).
The Bad Parts: The world building is, as stated before, at times nonsensical. Why do Scythes get to kill whoever they want, however they want? That doesn't seem right, especially in the utopia they live in. It can be defended with the idea that "it's a human thing because death is human blahblahblah" but honestly that just doesn't cut it. Mass gleanings by fire is ridiculous. On to the next segment: the characters. Scythes Currie and Faraday were very interesting characters and mentors. I enjoyed segments relating to them greatly. The main two fell flat. The romance was half baked, which is honestly probably part of why I enjoyed this book (I get sick of YA romance quickly so it being underdeveloped meant there was more focus on other things, which I enjoyed, not the halfbakedness of it). Then the villains. Honestly the most disappointing part of this book. It's extremely black and white. Goddard and his gang kill people in the most cruel ways possible and lack empathy. Boohoo. Allowed by nonsense world building and a disappointing copout in terms of what a convincing and relatable antagonist could have been. Especially considering what happened with Rowan.
All in all: I enjoyed this book a lot. It had me hooked and I'll probably read the other books in the series because I still found it interesting. Objectively? 3/5 but I almost gave it 4/5 just because of my personal enjoyment.