August 2024 GN's/Novellas/Manga/Poetry/Nonfiction BOTM - Gleanings, by Neal Shusterman

[Alaina]

The New York Times bestselling Arc of the Scythe series continues with “captivating…thrilling” ( School Library Journal ) stories that span the timeline. Storylines continue. Origin stories are revealed. And new Scythes emerge!

There are still countless tales of the Scythedom to tell. Centuries passed between the Thunderhead cradling humanity and Scythe Goddard trying to turn it upside down. For years, humans lived in a world without hunger, disease, or death with Scythes as the living instruments of population control.

Neal Shusterman—along with collaborators David Yoon, Jarrod Shusterman, Sofía Lapuente, Michael H. Payne, Michelle Knowlden, and Joelle Shusterman—returns to the world throughout the timeline of the Arc of a Scythe series. Discover secrets and histories of characters you’ve followed for three volumes and meet new heroes, new foes, and some figures in between.

Gleanings shows just how expansive, terrifying, and thrilling the world that began with the Printz Honor–winning Scythe truly is.

**This BOTM thread will be open until September 5th @ Midnight (in your time zone)**

[Celia]

19%

Formidable - (view spoiler)[I guess I had always just accepted that Scythe Curie had gleaned the president. This was the backstory I didn't know I needed, about resistance to change and reckless youth. (hide spoiler)]

Never Work with Animals - (view spoiler)[This one just grew more and more unhinged, and I had no idea what was coming next. Of course Rowan was involved... (hide spoiler)]

[Aneta]

Formidable
(view spoiler)[I liked this backstory. We get to see how Curie was before and after she gleaned the president and how other Scythes reacted to her. (hide spoiler)]

[Aneta]

Never Work with Animals
(view spoiler)[This story was unfortunately not for me and I didn't really like it. I was bored for most of it and Rowan didn't save it this time. (hide spoiler)]

[Celia]

47%

A Death of Many Colors
(view spoiler)[This was such a poignant commentary on people who bury their head in the sand and refuse to see the world around them. In a way, it shows both the enormity and futility of some actions. There will always be people who refuse to see what's in front of them, and yet it will always be there. (hide spoiler)]

A Martian Minute
(view spoiler)[This is the backstory I desperately needed. I don't know if it was unclear to others exactly what Xenocrates's involvement in Goddard's backstory was, but that's definitely something that baffled me. They're in such opposition with each other for most of the series that it's hard to see that playing out the way it did. I don't know if we even see in the series that Goddard apprenticed under Xenocrates, although I guess it's hinted at. I hope their relationship is explored more in another one of these stories. (hide spoiler)]

[Celia]

71%

The Mortal Canvas
(view spoiler)[This is a fascinating look at the beginning of the Scythedom and all the questions I've had about the permanence in this universe. It's beautiful to see this addressed. (hide spoiler)]

Cirri
(view spoiler)[I'm so glad we get a little glimpse of what life was like on the spaceships (and that Loriana and Joel were together - that last scene in The Toll made my heart really happy, they both deserved to find each other). We know that Rowan and Citra made it, but this was beautiful to see how all this worked. (hide spoiler)]

Anastasia's Shadow
(view spoiler)[Wow. I hate to say that I never really gave Ben or the Terranovas as much thought as I should have. Of course they would have had to go into hiding. This seems very plausible for what happened with Citra. I liked that Ben was a confirmed gay character, because while that had been hinted at, we hadn't gotten much of that representation in the series until this point. (hide spoiler)]

I think Neal Shusterman might truly be my favorite author. There's so much in this world that pulls me in and refuses to let go.

[Aneta]

A Death of Many Colors
I get the point of this story but I just didn't care for it.

Unsavory Row
(view spoiler)[I actually liked this one. It was nice to see what happened to other people at the beginning of this trilogy like Kohl Whitlock's sister in this case. (hide spoiler)]

[Celia]

FINISHED
(view spoiler)[This was the add-on background book every sci-fi/fantasy book needs. (hide spoiler)]

[Aneta]

A Martian Minute
(view spoiler)[This is my favorite story so far. I really like the way this was done. Way too controlling parents, not enough opportunities for his own decisions and only one change to get out. And I was always curious how exactly Goddard and Xenocrates met. (hide spoiler)]

[Alaina]

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