Scythe by Neal Shusterman -> Restarting May 21st, 2024

[C.P.]

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.

[C.P.]

Just read the first four chapters. This is fascinating so far. The Scythe journal entries are super intriguing.

[C.P.]

Just finished chapter 11. (view spoiler)[These jeweled Scythes are so creepy! And I really like Faraday. (hide spoiler)]

[Kaylin]

Just read the first two chapters. Incredibly interesting and disturbing world

[C.P.]

Yes, it is!

[Kaylin]

C.P. wrote: "Just finished chapter 11. [spoilers removed]"

They really really are! I'm super curious to see what the deal with them is, though! I'm digging Fardaway as well, but not terribly attached to anyone else.

[Kaylin]

I'm really enjoying this! Having trouble putting it down! Chapter Nineteen (view spoiler)[ Whoa! I wasn't expecting that with Faraday at all. Really loving Scythe Curie, and it's interesting seeing the different approaches to the job. I'm not a huge fan of Goddard, but he is creepy. I'm wondering if they are still going to pit Citra and Rowan against each other now. (hide spoiler)]

[C.P.]

I'm glad you're liking it! I had to finish another book for review or I would have read more today. Hoping to get some more read tonight.

Have you read other Shusterman books?

[Kaylin]

I look forward to seeing what you think of the next few chapters!

I haven't! I've heard great things about the Unwind series though! Have you read any of this other books?

[Kaylin]

Chapter Twenty-Nine: (view spoiler)[ whoa. I wasn't expecting the Thunderhead to have achieved a form of consciousness, this world keeps building and building and I'm super intrigued. I'm wishing Scythe Goddard wasn't such a cut and dry villain, as I would have preferred if his motives were a little more complex. Also not a fan of the sort of romance, as it feels completely unnecessary and irrelevant to the plot. I hope it doesn't become a bigger deal. (hide spoiler)]

[C.P.]

The Unwind books are amazing! And The Skinjacker series is pretty great. Challenger Deep was one of my favorite reads last year. Now I'm just working on getting to some more of his books!

[Kaylin]

Well this really sucked me in, and I finished it wayyy quicker than I anticipated! I hope you enjoy the rest. I'm definitely going to be checking out more of his books.

[C.P.]

So glad you liked it!

[C.P.]

Through chapter 15. (view spoiler)[Of course that would happen. This Goddard guy and his followers are messed up. They really want killing to be a sport. (hide spoiler)]

[C.P.]

Through chapter 17. (view spoiler)[He can't be dead. He had that friend who works in a morgue or something, so surely he revived.

And Rowan has to go to Goddard! No! (hide spoiler)]

[C.P.]

Through chapter 24. (view spoiler)[What is he doing with Esme? It really doesn't seem good. And I'm not happy about what they are doing to Rowan. (hide spoiler)]

[C.P.]

Just finished chapter 28. (view spoiler)[That makes so much sense that Esme is the High Blade's daughter! No wonder Goddard wants to keep her around. He can do whatever hr wants with that kind of leverage.

I'm liking Volta fairly well. He just needs to stop following Goddard!

And I'm feeling really bad for Rowan. He's such a good person and Goddard is trying to ruin him. (hide spoiler)]

[Kaylin]

I completely agree! Rowan's arc was really interesting, but I felt so bad for him!

[C.P.]

It makes me so sad! Aside from Faraday (who I really loved), Rowan is my favorite.

[C.P.]

Through chapter 30. (view spoiler)[I can't believe she jumped off a 119 floor building! Or that Goddard (because who else could it be, really?) is trying to have her imprisoned and killed for "murdering" Faraday.

And that was his real name, right? That the Thunderhead told her? So he did set it all up! Well, I'm assuming... (hide spoiler)]

[C.P.]

Through chapter 36. (view spoiler)[Faraday is alive! I was right! He was so out of the loop though.

And oh goodness, all of that with Rowan! The Volta death was hard. And what Rowan did to Goddard, Rand, and Chomsky...I can't say I wasn't glad. They deserved it. I just feel so bad for him, all the torture he's had to endure. (hide spoiler)]

[Kaylin]

C.P. wrote: "Through chapter 36. Faraday is alive! I was right! He was so out of the loop though.

And oh goodness, all of that with Rowan! The Volta death was hard. And what Rowan did to Goddard, Rand, and Ch..."

(view spoiler)[ Volta made me so sad! I was really surprised by Rowan's decision there, but really appreciated how it fit the overall story. (hide spoiler)]

[C.P.]

It was really sad. :(

[Felicia]

**********Restarting March 1st 2018**********

[Felicia]

Book! Totally forgot that we should be commenting here too! Hahaha. I’ll copy and paste tomorrow. 😂😁

[Anna 'Bookbuyer']

Felicia wrote: "Book! Totally forgot that we should be commenting here too! Hahaha. I’ll copy and paste tomorrow. 😂😁"

O.o I did too! I'll also copy and paste tomorrow. lol. :)

[Felicia]

Just finished chapter 6.(view spoiler)[Holy shit. That plane gleaning was INTENSE! Yeesh. These guys don't seem like good scythes. (hide spoiler)]

Just finished chapter 15(view spoiler)[Holy shit. That was an interesting congregation. And now they have to kill each other at the end of their apprenticeships?! That’s intense. And the poor dears like one another. 😱 (hide spoiler)]

Page 171.(view spoiler)[Faraday gleaned himself!? Whaaaaaat! No effing way. (hide spoiler)]

Finished part two. (view spoiler)[And I’m just gonna say holy fucking shit.

Maybe now the MCs can be together! 😱 (hide spoiler)]

[Felicia]

Finished the book. (view spoiler)[I definitely ended up loving this book much more than I thought. It was kind of hard in the beginning and I'm not sure why. Because I really was enjoying it. Maybe it was because it was just so damn long? Lol. I don't know.

But this book was SO good! I was not expecting Faraday to really be alive just having secretly retired. That blew me away.

And poor Rowan having to apprentice with Goddard. That was terrible. Goddard was a terrible human being.

But I didn't really know what was going to happen with them having to glean the loser. I am so happy that they got away!

I am really excited to get to Thunderhead. (hide spoiler)]

[Marissa]

Chapters 1-4
(view spoiler)[Chapter 1-4
I'm finding the concept of this book to be very intriguing. Now that people has found ways to be defy old age and disease, they require the use of Scythes, human reapers, to cull the population. I have not read another book like this yet, so I am curious as to what direction the plot is going to go.

I have come across stories that have seem interesting, but have poorly written, or boring MCs. Luckily, this is not the case in Scythe. I am still in the beginning chapters of this book, but I like Citra and Rowan so far. (hide spoiler)]

[Marissa]

Chapters 5-14
(view spoiler)[I feel that the idea of gleaning would be a tough topic because it is unnatural for humans to live forever, and if people kept reproducing then overpopulation would devastate the planet and humanity. However, I wonder, if the government requires the gleaning of people then why even use all that technology to allow people to live indefinitely anyway? Wouldn't it just be easier to have life and death go on as it used to?

Scythe Goddard seems like he is going to be having a role in this story. His delight in mass gleaning is unnerving.

And wow, what a twist at the end of Chapter 14. I am assuming they are going to find a way out of this, but I'm sad that this won't bring Citra and Rowan closer as friends. (hide spoiler)]

[Marissa]

Chapters 15-21
(view spoiler)[I didn't think Scythe Goddard could get any worse, and yet he does. I feel like there would be a rebellion against the scythes because of him. People are afraid of the scythes now, and they understand that maintaining a stable population is necessary, but if scythes started abusing their power then society would turn against them. This includes even the scythes who don't overly enjoy gleaning. The other scythes have to know this is happening, right?

I can't believe Scythe Farrday gleaned himself! Out of the two I am glad Rowan went to Scythe Goddard instead of Citra. I feel like he would remain a good person despite having a terrible mentor. Citra seems to have a harder time controller her emotions, often seeming bitter or aloof.

I know that Rowan and Citra obviously have feeling between them, but there really hasn't been much interaction between the two. What I mean is how do you develop feelings for someone without having conversations, or doing things together. I feel like it was just implied instead of actually writing specific moments. (hide spoiler)]

[Marissa]

Chapter 22-29
(view spoiler)[I'm glad that Rowan is able to somewhat keep it morals while being with Scythe Goddard. However, it was tough having to read about him slowly starting to enjoy his training and toying with the idea of enjoying killing people, even if just to make this whole process easier. He is trying to keep his intentions good, such as warning those people at the Magnetic Propulsion Lab. I wonder how much longer he can keep that up.

Rowan is not the only one changing. I can see a transition with Citra's personality too as she is mentored by Scythe Curie. Rowan and Citra's evolutions are clearly caused by Curie and Goddard's two very different gleaning styles.

This world boasts that in the Age of Immortality, the Thunderhead has helped to eliminate political corruption and has helped improve society. They claim to have eradicated murder, and yet a Scythe was potentially murdered. Sadly, I don't think anyone could ever create a large civilization where no one was murdered.

Also, wow. What an end to Part 3. I did not expect Citra to get framed with Scythe Faraday's murder! (hide spoiler)]

[Marissa]

Finished
(view spoiler)[Overall, I really liked the idea behind Scythe. I thought it was creative and I haven't yet read a similar story. This is the first book I have read by Neal Shusterman, and I think he does a really good job creating characters. I really liked the main characters, Rowan and Citra. The ending was satisfying, but he also set it up so that it would connect right into the next book in the series. My only complaint would be that sometimes side plots seemed a bit rushed. For example, Citra being accused of killing Scythe Faraday, but then quickly finds him. Although I enjoyed it, Scythe didn't totally wow me (3.5 stars). However, it was an entertaining book, and I will definitely read the next one. (hide spoiler)]

[Alaina]

***********************************************************
***********************************************************

Restarting May 5th

************************************************************
************************************************************

[Dr. Andy]

I've started finally

[Alaina]

I have not - but I will :D

[Dr. Andy]

Ch. 6 (view spoiler)[ So far this is pretty fascinating. It's a very controversial and unique topic. I like Scythe Faraday, he's not an evil man. It will be interesting to see Citra and Rowan compete to be scythes. I was pretty annoyed with Rowan's classmates for being dicks to him after he stayed with Kohl during his gleaning. But omfg what was up with those crazy scythes on the plane?? There's something wrong with them! (hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

Up to Ch. 15, (view spoiler)[ Rowan and Citra's Scythe training is quite fascinating though morbid. I don't like this Elegy of Scythes that are on a rampage. They need to be stopped. Can Scythes glean other scythes tho??? Wow I really really hate Scythe Rand for proposing that stipulation to Faraday's apprentices. I'm so mad!!! I want Goddard to be gleaned so badly and all the scythes that follow him. Then there's no way for them to cause problems and there will be enough spots for the apprentices. (hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

Ch. 25 (view spoiler)[ GOD I HATE GODDARD SO MUCH! He's evil, I want him to die. I don't want Rowan to fall under Goddard's pressure too. I don't want him to go dark. Citra is really interesting. I like how she kind of has a dark side but also doesn't let it consume her. Scythe Curie is wayyyy better than Goddard. I have a feeling Citra might be right about Faraday not necessarily killing himself too. (hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

Ch. 29 (view spoiler)[ Holy crap!! So much has happened!! Fucking Goddard is an evil piece of shit, of course. Tiger is a permanent party person and kind of a POS. ESME IS FRICKIN XENOCRATES DAUGHTER WELL SHIT. I'm starting to like VOlta tho, he's not completely horrible, maybe he can find a way to get away from Goddard but probably not. AND WTF THEYRE SETTING UP CITRA FOR FARADAYS MURDER ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?! (hide spoiler)]

This is actually me right now

[Dr. Andy]

Ch. 35 (view spoiler)[ FARADAY ISNT DEAD HOLY CRAP!!!! SOOOOO HAPPY. I totally ship Curie and Faraday omg. I want this to happen in the future again hahaha. I like how Faraday is like "I retired" 😂😂 Also, Citra's name has finally been cleared so fucking take that Goddard. Man I'm so nervous for the Winter festival thing. I don't want either Rowan or Citra to die. And poor Shawn, it's sad he died. (hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

Finished (view spoiler)[ Well shit, so much crazy crap happened in this book!! I loved Citra's solution to her having to glean Rowan, it was literally perfect. I'm so excited to see what happens in Thunderhead, especially with the Thunderhead. I need to know what it wants Citra to do with the scythes. I also have a feeling that Rowan might be Lucifer-out in the world killing corrupt scythes. I love Citra's scythe name as Anastasia too. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashy Khaira]

Chapter 1-8 (view spoiler)[ i love how sassy citra is even when faced with a scythe.it made me laugh.rowan is so compassionate to be there for someone who dont even know him during his final moments.sad that his family is a douche.the group of scythes who do mass killings-true scythes or psychopaths?citra and rowan become apprentice sythes?wowza! (hide spoiler)]

[Ashy Khaira]

Chapter9-16 (view spoiler)[ never expected faraday to forgive the man's family.and he was being an ass to citra and rowan too making them bring in his milk just to see how long it takes them to pick up the ring for a close look. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashy Khaira]

Chapter 17-24 (view spoiler)[ how on earth did goddard become a scythe if he loves to kill?why isnt anyone taking action against goddard&gang?why did faraday glean himself?noooo.it sure sucks to be rowan.different scythes methods confuses me.does this mean both of them will now end up as scythes in future or does it still stand?the gleaning of the loser.esme is not old enough to be apprentice why does goddard want her?he seems to have some mental issues.for the love of god rowan dont turn into goddard.it already seems to be the case. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashy Khaira]

Chapter 25-32 (view spoiler)[ yup goddard's posse sure has some mental issues.lets hope rowan dont give in to goddard.goddard was the high blades apprentice?then why is he not doing something?ack blackmail is a good motivator to not do anything to goddard.well the scythe kingdom needs all the luck it can get.who the fuck is gerald van der gans?good thing curie saved citra in time once she awoke.is it bad to laugh at how the chilargentine scythe wagged his finger at curie?sassy citra to the win....laughing all through chapter 32.wait what?Faraday alive?gerald van der gans is faraday?confused human here. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashy Khaira]

Finished (view spoiler)[ at least citra managed to complete her training without the gleaning with faraday.seems to me faraday and curie are still in love....or rather gerald and susan.sad to see shawn kill himself and it served as a wake up call to rowan i hope.omgeeee yay rowan killed goddard....but what are the consequences?and yay he killed rand and chomsky.i cant imagine citra having to kill her brother to be a scythe.so does that mean only one of them turn into a scythe since the other 2 apprentices flatly refused to kill the person they loved?yay citra got the ring and still helped rowan.i hope the same as her (hide spoiler)]

[Felicia]

********** RESTARTING DECEMBER 1ST 2018 HAPPY READING! **********

[Jammin Jenny]

Yay! Can't wait. Have my library book...

[Vicki]

I'm really excited to read this one!!! I had begun it a year or so ago and got a couple chapters in and it was really good, but then life happened. I have to wait for it to get to my library.