Scythe - Neal Shusterman - Mel's Bookshelf

Scythe (Arc of a Scythe #1) – Neal Shusterman

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.

My Review of Scythe

YA has been disappointing me lately. I have read a lot of teenage angst and some pretty crappy story lines, so when I pick up a YA I do so with a lower expectation than I should really. I had seen the amazing reviews for Scythe and still put it off, until I saw it pop on my audible recommended list and thought, why not!?

Set in the distant future, disease and death have been wiped out. Humans have transitioned from mortal to immortal with the help of a magnificent artificial intelligence called the thunderhead. But with overpopulation looming the only way to control the population, is to cull it. Scythes are bringers of true death. When Citra and Rowan are chosen to become Scythes apprentices they undercover the corrupt and immoral side of the scythes.

This story BLEW ME AWAY! I was so taken with the originality and cleverness of the plot! I was captivated listening to the audio version, I found it hard to turn it off!

There was no love triangle (YAY) and the romance was not a central plot aspect, but it still worked!

I LOVED all of the characters and the intricate and complex relationships that come with immortality

I can’t even really describe how unique and riveting this story is. You will just have to give it a go for yourself!