By Neal Shusterman - ★ ★ ★ ★
This is the first book of a trilogy, but it can work as a stand-alone if you're not that curious about what happens next since it wrapped up nicely.
Scythe revolves around two protagonists who just don't fit quite right in their utopia world where pain and death cease to exist. A young lad named Rowan Damisch who acts out with kindness that was never shown to him as a child and a young lass named Citra Terranova who basically looked death in the eye and flipped him off. They encounter a Scythe—beings above all law who (reaps) glean others to keep the population under control—and show off their greatest strength to him in just a few words. It's here where it's decided they become Scythe Apprentices, but only one will inherit the ability to glean. So Rowan and Citra enter a competition with each other that neither of them is sure if they even want to win.
Oh well.
"Gotta remind them the lettuce is there."
Start / End: 12.06.19 / 12.09.19
Page Count: 435.
Reading Format: Physical.
Owned Copy(s): Hardback. BN Paperback.
Song: Hope of Morning by Icon on Fire
How I Met This Book?
Seeing the cover, I wasn't really interested—because I'm that picky, yes—but after reading Unwind, I wanted to give all Neal Shusterman's works a try. It just so happens that December of 2019 was a Book Club at every Barnes & Noble for the first book of the newly completed trilogy; Scythe. So Arc of A Scythe, I started with.
The summary meant to grab you and buy the book? Terrible. It did a piss-poor job in capturing what kind of ride you're in for. If you think this is a book about two edgy teenagers going through teenage angst in a twisted utopia (you aren't wrong) don't. There is way more at play, and you will absolutely (hopefully) not regret reading it.
Though if the first chapter fails to grab your interest, set it down and read unwind instead. Because that eerie cartoonish vibe you're getting like you're on a minefield that's going to explode glitter is the same tone kept throughout the whole book. More on that later.
Immortality has turned us all into cartoons.
The Bookish Checklist
The Concept
Have you stopped to think about what the world would be like if it was perfect? No depression, no pain, no death, no consequences to your actions because your actions no longer harm anyone. You exist, forever. Until a Scythe shows up on your doorstep and says the phrase "You have been selected for gleaning." which is the polite way of saying "You are going to die today."
As I was reading, I took what I first learned as true for everyone else in the book. So being exposed to the little hitches and details that show how truly deranged the world setting is despite it sounding like the perfect utopia, was such a lovely experience. There are obstacles I hadn't even thought of. I was given answers to questions I hadn't asked. That I should've asked.
The Storytelling
This gets a little tricky because I loved it. But I learned that a handful hadn't, and chalked it up as "bad writing" even when it really wasn't. The narrative takes a very black and white perspective. The villain and heroes didn't get any rhymes or reason as to why they chose the path of chaos or compassion. They simply did. A good scythe showed mercy, a bad scythe made it hurt. Why? Just because. Is this a bad thing? Maybe?
Many readers, like myself, got sucked into the vortex that is Arc Of A Scythe, so I hadn't realized what a joke the whole setting was until it was pointed out by one of the characters. How the utopia of no pain or death created a cartoon. That was the kind of book this was, it was a tense eerie birthday party in a backyard where you're told minefields have been buried everywhere and if you step on one, glitter will explode. It's a silly and oddly specific feeling, and a handful doesn't seem to get that it's still an explosion nonetheless.
With that being said, the pacing sort of went slow in the beginning, but you had the characters to keep you entertained and the plot to questioned. I do admit some chapters (like 7) felt really out of place, but I found myself grateful that it was over within the beginning because once the ball got rolling there was no stopping it.
Characters
The characters were great I love every single one of them. The two protagonists reminded me too much of the ones in Unwind, and I slowly noticed a pattern with Shusterman's extras and the extras in Unwind. It seemed like Shusterman would make a character based off a trope, and add a bit more depth to them. There are times where the side characters felt a bit stale, but there was always that detail that still made them crunchy.
Citra Terranova is everything you would hope in a female lead. She's perfectly balanced in every way but with enough flaws to her tp allow growth. She wasn't a flower, but a tree. In her (hopefully) long future, nothing but blossoming branches and leaves. For every great trait she carried, there was a side effect of it in her character. It was refreshing to see such a double-sided coin always being flipped.
Rowan Damisch on the other hand. This kid, this kid had layers. There was just enough implications and details scattered throughout the book about his life for you to understand what kind of kid he would've turned out in our world, and it would've made him a complex character. Rowan gets hit hard with a case of The Plot, and I am amazed at the sheer strength this boy carried in his heart despite growing up in the world he did.
The main antagonist was... amazing.
Don't get me wrong, I hate him. (And so will you) but he was just so good at being the piece of waste that he is, that it was infuriating. I worried every time that man opened his goddamn mouth. I feel that, if you can get the reader to fear the antagonist as much as the protagonist does; you did a great job. The antagonist of Scythe is not someone you'll become bored with and he's definitely not someone who will go down easy.
The Romance/Fantasy
The book isn't centered around any specific romance, but it does sort of force chemistry between the two protagonists because of course, it does. You can either jump on board or despise it. I am someone who actually can't see any romance between the two protags but I don't find it forced. The platonic friendship/rivalry is clear and smooth. Anything above that felt as awkward as two teenagers forced into a lifestyle they don't want but don't want to walk away from and can only talk to each other because no one else will understand.
Oh, wait.
That's exactly what's happening.
Many actions of the two can be seen as platonic. Honestly, they seem like good friends the way they interact, as good as two friends can get when you're competing against each other. BUT! If you wanna dfbsjhbfs every time he touches her cheek, or when she fondly calls him an idiot, go for it, the book is more fun that way. And it's not that hard to believe in it, because it wasn't instalove. The relationship between Rowan and Citra is a complicated one that was forced to mature before it's time. (Bonus, it's not very often these scenes occur, anyways.)
Other than that, there was a bomb drop of a certain relationship existing in the distant past and if we can get a copy of that script, Neal Shusterman, I'd greatly appreciate it because yes. OTP.
As for the fantasy, there isn't really anything magical or spiritual happening. It's all very electronic and tech stuff, really. Really advanced technology, impossible electronics. In that sense, I found it eerily creative.
Would I Recommend?
Yes! One thousand percent. Arc of A Scythe has something to give for all ages. The worst you can gain from it is entertainment. Even if you were one of the few that didn't like the Unwind Dystolgy, Arc of a Scythe is different enough from that to not draw similarities unless you squint really hard. (Also, Scythe is hella PG-13 because of the utopia and all, no blood but can still send a shiver down your spine. Amazing.)
8 out of 10, would totally recommend.
"This is for breaking my neck."
This concludes my rambling disguised as a review on Scythe (Arc of An Scythe #1) by Neal Shusterman.
Thank you for supporting me and listening to me go on and on!
-Amethyst Majestorye
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