Scythe

Bringing a new twist on the future, Scythe by Neal Shusterman imagines a world where humans have reached the state of immortality. The balance of life and death leads to the creation of the Scythedom, where Scythes are tasked with gleaning random people to keep the population under control. Scythe Faraday chooses to take on two scythe apprentices, Rowan and Citra, who will train together for a year, with only one earning the right to become a true scythe.

Their training takes a turn that none of them expected, and it becomes a fight for survival. I have always wanted to read this book and heard a lot of good things about this series. I was thoroughly impressed. The characters were well-developed, and I could feel the internal conflicts within both Rowan and Citra. I am excited to read the next book in the Arc of the Scythe trilogy, Thunderhead.

Thesis Note: This book kept me intrigued throughout its entirety. There was a good balance of character development, action, and slow scenes. The balance between the perspectives of Citra and Rowan was well written and gave them both equal weight throughout the book.