Book Review: Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Thou shalt kill.

OVERALL RATING: 9.2/10

            STORY: 8.7/10

            CHARACTERS: 8.1/10

            THE FEELS: 9.4/10

            ENTERTAINMENT: 9.5/ 10

PLOT: 9.3/10

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.

Reading Progress:

January 12, 2018 – Finished Reading

January 12, 2018 –

page 358

 82.3% "This book surprised me! I did not expect this will be as good as this. I am near the ending now. I hope Neal Shusterman will end this book with a bang."

January 12, 2018 –

page 301

 69.2%

January 11, 2018 –

page 192

 44.14% "I was hooked easily. I am a big fan of Neal Shusterman since his Everlost book back in high school. I am still amaze how cool his writing style is."

January 11, 2018 –

page 189

 43.45%

January 11, 2018 – Started Reading

October 21, 2017 – Shelved as: to-read

October 21, 2017 – Shelved

Review:

This book surprised me! I have been a fan of Neal Shusterman since his book Everlost. I knew Neal Shusterman as an author who writes novels that are dark, moving, politically oriented and thought provoking. In this new novel, the author delivers a world were people are almost immortal. Humanity defeated death. Days where death rate drops to 0%. Now, in order for the world to control the population, Scythes were made. Scythes, is an occupation (I don't know if this it the correct term) where they are the one's who only have the power to kill or take away a human life.

The characters were well thought of. I know Neal is not known mainly for the character building. Some characters lacks flavor and some were overpowered. I am not suggesting that there should be a balance, but I think that the characters (especially those that lack flavors) will be improve. I am scared that some or most characters will be forgotten by the readers eventually. I like the fact though that the characters were diverse--coming from different walks of life and culture. I just think that they could have been made better, but still, acceptable characters-- not just memorable. 

The writing style is one of the reasons why I love this book. It was the writing of Neal that really kept me going, page after page. This book is a page-turner. There is definitely no boring or dragging parts in the book. The writing style was so well thought of that you can't avoid appreciating the author's skills. The book gave me an experience that I will always remember-- the writing style made the plot of the book memorable and outstanding. The world building was accurate and fast but it was not as strong and detailed like the Harry Potter books, still you will end up embracing easily the atmosphere of the story. 

The plot--- is fresh and new. It is not a predictable plot. No overused formula spotted. This book will surely surprise you. I read this book not really knowing anything aside from the details given by the synopsis , because of that-- I think it made my reading experience way better than I expected. The plot of the book is promising and you will surely think about it for days or weeks after reading it. It is well structured that it will put you at the edge of your sit. The plot also was politically inclined that such element really elevated the quality of the story. I really appreciated how creative the author in smoothly blending current social issues to the stories. This book will surely surpass your expectations--every page has a potential to amaze you.

The emotions delivered by this book were so real and unforced. You will just catch yourself reading the pages with your mouth open. I connected effortlessly to the characters and the world.  This book deserves to be recommended. It is not perfect but the potential is outstanding. I can't wait to read the second book. I hope this time the characters  will improve. 

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