Neal Shusterman

In a world where disease has been eliminated, the only way to die is to be randomly killed ('gleaned') by professional reapers ('scythes'). Two teens must compete with each other to become a scythe--a position neither of them wants. The one who becomes a scythe must kill the one who doesn't. . . 

Arc of a Scythe #1

Scythe

Two teens must learn the “art of killing” in this Printz Honor–winning book, the first in a chilling new series from Neal Shusterman, author of the New York Times bestselling Unwind dystology. 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. Scythe is the first novel of a thrilling new series by National Book Award–winning author Neal Shusterman in which Citra and Rowan learn that a perfect world comes only with a heavy price.

But the desire to want to do something remarkable with life didn’t start until it was known it would end 

Abigail F

Eight more months. He would see his seventeenth birthday. but not much more. Even though it would be his choice. the thought ofbeing just another statistic for the scythes' records infu-riated him. His life had been a whole lot of nothing. Lettuce-kid. He had thought the label was funnya badge of honor-but now it was an indictment. His was a life without substance, and now it would end. He should never have accepted Scythe Faraday's invitation to be a scythe's apprentice. He should have just gone on with his unremarkable life because then, maybe, just maybe, he might have had the chance to do something remarkable with it in time.

There was a lesson to be learned in every gleaning, and today's was one she would not soon forget. The sanctity of the law .. and the wisdom to know when it must be broken.

There was a coherence to the work, as if it had been painted by the same soul, if not the same hand. Some works had a religious theme, others were portraits, and others simply captured the elusive light of daily life with a vibrancy that was missing in post-mortal art. Longing and elation, anguish and joy- they were all there, sometimes commingling in the same canvas. It was in some ways unsettling, but compelling as well.

Faraday gestured toward the stage. “Tonight we witness the spectacle of human folly and tragedy" he said. "Tomorrow, We shall live it.'"

How sad, so many great stories lost to time in this story. How many stories have already been lost due to innovations in society?

It was, after all, a work from the Age of Mortality. War, vengeance, murder-all the themes on which the tale was strung- so removed from modern reality, few could relate. 

This is a reread for me and I didn’t pick up on this the first time, but this feels very off to me. Even in a world where people don’t die, the world is “perfect” and murder would not be a possibility. But sexual assault still is. A teenage girl by herself in an autonomous vehicle? Maybe I’m looking too deep in a novel but typically shusterman ties up loose ends so nearly. 

Her father insisted on dropping her off."Call when you're ready to be picked up."

‘Death makes the whole world kind of.’ Rowan wonders if a world without death would then make everyone strangers. 

"That a scythe is merely the instrument of death, but it is your hand that swings me. You and your parents, and everyone else in this world are the wielders of scythes." Then he gently put the knife in her hands."We are all accomplices. You must share the responsibility:"

"You see through the facades of the world, Citra Terranova. You'd make a good scythe." 

Citra recoiled."Id never want to be one. 

"That," he said,"is the first requirement."

Citra understood the point he was making. The growth of civilization was complete. Everyone knew it. When it came to the human race, there was no more left to learn. Nothing about our own existence to decipher. Which meant that no one person was more important than any other. In fact. in the grand scheme of things, everyone was equally useless.

Early introduction to dysfunction in this world where people choose who to kill. 

"I don't suppose you would have," he answered. “I am not the public figure that some other scythes choose to be. Some scythes prefer the spotlight, but to truly do the job right, it requires a level of anonymity.”

 "Right?" Citra bristled at the very idea."There's a right vay to glean?" 

"Well" he answered, "there are certainly wrong ways," and said nothing more about it. 

Interesting that they get to pick their names when they become scythes. 

Michael faraday, physicist, chemist. Known for his discoveries around electromagnetism. 

If scythe faraday finds this appropriate, is this because of symbolism connected to magnetism? Or being unknown yet highly impacting the modern worlds day to day life?

"I... uh ... did a report on Faraday tor school once" Ben said, his voice cracking only once. "You picked a pretty cool scientist to name yourself after." 

Scythe Faraday smiled. "I like to think I chose an appropriate Patron Historic. Like many scientists, Michael Faraday was under appreciated in his life, yet our world would not be what it is without him."

Hope in the shadow of fear is the world’s most powerful motivator.

scythes being chosen this way makes the intro make more sense. Though who truly cares for humanity are tasked with ending it. Poetically sad

A scythe, Citra knew could choose the color of his or her robe color except for black, for it was considered inappropriate eve Tor their job. Black was an absence of light, and scythes were the opposite. Luminous and enlightened, they were acknowledged as the very best of humanitywhich is why they were chosen for the job.

Death being compared to taxes is an interesting choice. 

Says death is boring, unnecessarily complicated, anxiety provoking, dreaded. 

 no foreshadowing of the arrival of death at their door. Perhaps the universe should have deigned to provide Such warnings, but scythes were no more supernatural than tax collectors in the grand scheme of things. They showed up, did their unpleasant business, and were gone.

Perhaps that is why we must, by law, keep a record. A public journal, testifying to those who will never die and those who are yet to be born, as to why we human beings do the things we do. We are instructed to write down not just our deeds but our feelings, because it must be known that we do have feelings. Remorse. Regret. Sorrow too great to bear. Because if we didn't feel those things, what monsters would we be?

And as l see it, they’re all innocents. Even the guilty. Everyone is guilty of something, and everyone still harbors a memory of childhood innocence, no matter how many layers of life wrap around it. Humanity is innocent: humanity is guilty, and both states are undeniably true.

Essence

“ My greatest wish for humanity is not for peace or comfort or joy. It is that we all still die a little inside every time we witness the death of another. For only the pain of empathy will keep us human. There's no version of God that can help us if we ever lose that.”

Jordan

My greatest wish for humanity is not for peace or comfort or joy. It is that we all still die a little inside every time we witness the death of another. For only the pain of empathy will keep us human. There's no version of God that can help us if we ever lose that. -Scythe Faraday

There was a lesson to be learned in every gleaning, and today’s was one she would not soon forget. The sanctity of the law…and the wisdom to know when it must be broken.

Marz

“The ending of human life used to be in the hands of nature. But we stole it.”

Sara Vasilescu

I have become the monster of monsters, he thought as he watched it all burn. The butcher of lions. The executioner of eagles.

My greatest wish for humanity is not for peace or comfort or joy. It is that we all still die a little inside every time we witness the death of another. For only the pain of empathy will keep up human. There's no version of God that can help us if we lose that.

KENDO

A reread, still a page turning book that brings up questions of the purpose of life, death, their undeniable connection, what it is to be human and the consequences of conscience. All packed into a YA dystopian story that I’ve never truly stopped thinking about between reads. 

this book was so much fun to read like I couldn’t put it down! The world building was so immersive, felt like i was there. Loved the plot twists along the way and all the character growth that came with it. Great read!

this come close to being my second best series i’ve read this year (i have not yet read the rest of the series). my only complaint was with the romance plot, ada beberapa part yg berasa awkward dibaca…???? it got slightly better towards the end tho. tbh sampe akhir i don’t feel any chemistry between the leads, mungkin karena bukan fokusnya aja jd i don’t mind jg kalo they don’t get together at the end of the series (gak tau kalo nanti). trs jg i don’t find myself care enough about citra’s character kayak bland aja gt. bagusss tp i don’t see myself binging the series. kapan kapan mungkin ye

hana

i really loved the moral premise of this book. some parts got really interesting during the end— i wished we stayed with those crazier plots instead of returning back to the original. but overall, i really enjoyed!

Janet Akisanmi

The Arc of a Scythe #1

Falce. Trilogia della Falce

Amazing concept, I am curious about what will happen next

Aris 

I really enjoyed this utopian/dystopian fantasy story. Set in a world where no one dies because tech has made us almost immortal, the Scythes kill for population control. I enjoyed following Citra & Rowan through the webs of intrigue. Excited for the rest of the trilogy!

Amelia Hruby

Linara K.S

the phylosophical aspect of the book is uncomfortable. And the romance is not to my taste.

(3.5) Very cool concept and characters. There was a lot of emphasis on Citra but I wanted to see more of Rowan as well. Also, I wanted to see more of their relationship grow as well. Like how can you not see someone for 4 months then say "I love you."? What? I mean I get that she saved his life but maybe a thank you would suffice. I don't know. Anyway, I look forward to the rest of the series.

tori 👻

oh my god i fucking LOVED this book, i have no words for now but i'll surely write a review on it soon
now on to book 2

kelsey

have not a hand in the blade with abandon.

arwen

Irina Nicula

** spoiler alert **
           This has been a great read, 3.5 stars. However! The reason for my rating is that I would have liked to see some more world building, to learn more about this supposed utopia. I would have liked to read some more justification for scythes and their ‘organisation’... why not birth control, why not limit the number of children per family or let people who want to die die? Why revive absolutely everyone? It would have been awesome if the author dug more into the reasons why scythes were considered the absolute decision makers into who dies and who lives and why there were no other measures to control population numbers.

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.

abby .˚｡⋆ ༊ .˚｡⋆

where to begin.. I LOVE me a good dystopian novel, and this book definitely was one of the best i’ve read. Scythe is such a wonderful (not so) hidden gem. This deserves way more hype.  I thought it was fantastic!! I loved the world building, the politics, & the characters. The evolution of the main characters were complex and as they go through all of these harrowing situations, it’s interesting to see how these events affect them in different ways. I also enjoyed the journal entries we see in every chapter & getting an insight into what the scythes are thinking. can’t wait to pick up book two!! (:

Luke Harkness

Full of wonderful ideas and twists and turns

About 10 chapters in, after introducing the whole idea of the lore, I wondered where and how the author would make this an interesting story, but he most certainly did that. 

He made two main characters who are truly likeable and a villain who is truly unlikeable and that's exactly what you need to route for the good-guys.

There's nothing mindblowing about the story but there's definitely intrigue and reasons to keep reading as you go along. Look forward to seeing where the sequel takes it!

Christine

Annalissa Powner 

I listen to this on audio and I couldn’t stop listening to it, what I thought would a meh read to listen to while doing dishes or taking a walk turned into a story I couldn’t stop thinking about whenever I wasn’t listening.
The idea of a world with no government, immortality and no worries seemed boring, till you enter in this brilliant twist. 
This book made me more than once stop and question if a life without illness and death would really be a life worth living in.
Slow at times but for such great build up! Though im left with my questions I’m only a tiny bit upset by the ending and mostly fascinated to see what magic the next book holds.

"A humanidade venceu todas as barreiras: fome, doenças, guerras, miséria... Até mesmo a morte. Agora os ceifadores são os únicos que podem pôr fim a uma vida, impedindo que o crescimento populacional vá além do limite e a Terra deixe de comportar a população por toda a eternidade. Citra e Rowan são adolescentes escolhidos como aprendizes de ceifador - um papel que nenhum dos dois quer desempenhar. Para receberem o anel e o manto da Ceifa, os adolescentes precisam dominar a "arte" da coleta, ou seja, precisam aprender a matar. Porém, se falharem em sua missão - ou se a cumplicidade no treinamento se tornar algo mais -, podem colocar a própria vida em risco."--

O Ceifador

Ana Luiza

** spoiler alert **
           3,5⭐️ 

Achei esse livro muito interessante e recomendaria a leitura a qualquer um. Acho que minha nota só não foi maior porque esperava algo diferente da história. Não sei exatamente o que esperava, mas os primeiros capítulos me levaram a pensar que seria uma distopia/sci-fi, mas o livro me pareceu uma espécie de policial (que não é meu genero preferido...). Por causa disso, não fiquei totalmente presa a historia e não li o livro rapidamente, mas aproveitei a leitura e gostei bastante do rumo que a história tomou mais pro final. 
Não fiquei muito ligada aos personagens, o romance não faz a menor diferença, os ceifadores não foram bem desenvolvidos na minha opinião. Os personagens principais também não foram muito desenvolvidos na minha opinião, até a última página não conseguia me importar que ia virar ceifador no final ou se eles iam conseguir contornar essa regra.
O que mais gostei no livro foi o universo, sem dúvidas. Foi como ver uma utopia que se torna distópico e muito aterrorizante. Espero que nunca cheguemos nem perto de um futuro assim. 

Foi um livro bom mas não acho que bom o suficiente para dar continuidade a série.

gabby

4.5/5 
MY JAW WAS ON THE FLOOR. so many plot twists, i cant even count it on my hands!!

kayla 

A very poorly structured brain blurt review!

<spoiler> I have so many feelings towards this book. At times I found the plot too simplistic and almost cartoon like, but that links to a journal entry where life without death was compared to a cartoon.. which is amazing. I didn’t feel much for either Citra or Rowan throughout the entire book, I felt no emotional connection to them but I did enjoy watching their stories unfold.  The ending hit me quite hard, I adored the final line, “And if ever Scythe Lucifer comes my way, I hope he’ll see me as one of the good ones. As he once did.” it was incredibly powerful and left me thinking a lot. 

Scythe Farady, Curie and Volta were by far my favourite characters - they were all deeply misunderstood in different ways and I loved exploring their pasts and presents. 

The plot/twists were pretty predictable and they didn’t really shock me at all, but I was okay with that because I still enjoyed the story anyway. The world building is fascinating and I can’t wait to learn more. :3

I’m someone who actively avoids romance and I did roll my eyes at the beginning of Rowan and Citras ‘relationship’ but it developed in a way I found both enjoyable and surprising. If you’re a romance hater, read this book regardless. 🫵 I’m hoping it stays this way in the coming books, as I’ll definitely be reading them. :) </spoiler>

chloe rae

2020 reread:

I’ve been having the HARDEST TIME figuring out what to read so...when in doubt, pick up an old favorite! This book is still just as amazing as it was the first time! Couldn’t put it down!

2018 original review:
THIS BOOK WAS INCREDIBLE. 
Oh man. I’m so shook. That ending?! WHOA. Now I have to run out and buy the second one tomorrow (which I’m so stoked about)! Can’t wait to see where this series goes!

Mel 

Raquel 

this one just made its way into my favorites very easily! 

 

The world and characters that Neal created for Scythe was just something that fascinated me and kept me hooked to the pages from the very start. This book kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time! 

There is no doubt I'm going to read the rest of the series AND other books by Neal Shusterman, I honestly love his writing so so much. 

Please please please read it, you won't regret it! ❤️

Scythe Arc of a Scythe #1

Reviews

Highlights