8.5/10

Right off the bat the concept of this book had me hooked. Earth at a time which could almost be considered a utopia except for the fact that it isn't. People still need to die and this is performed by Scythes - qualified gleaners. We follow the two main characters Rowan and Citra (what a cool name btw) on their journey to become Scythes as they uncover the inner workings of the Sycthedom. This plot had me sucked in, hook, line, and sinker.

I really enjoyed the small references to historical figures and the questioning of morals. I also found the characterisation wonderful as we learnt how individual scythes dealt with their burdensome responsibilities. I also approve of the budding romance in this novel as it was over a time span that I believe is realistic under the characters circumstances.

I had a slight issue with the pace of the plot. I found the first half was a bit slow and I was wondering when more would occur. There is a slight mystery to this novel and I am wondering if that was developed sooner we would have a more intriguing first half to the novel. This is my biggest gripe because it took me until approx page 330 before I really felt like stuff was happening. All the previous plot had been building up to these actions and although I didn't dislike the beginning I wish there was more happening. However, once I hit page 330 there were two major plot twists and a brilliant ending which left me pretty shell shocked.

Overall I really like Shusterman's world building and writing style and so I plan to read the next instalment of this series.