Scythe (Arc of a Scythe #1) by Neal Shusterman

Now this has been on my shelf for too long! One of my book clubs, we call ourselves the Pink Balloons, I have been seriously slacking. I decided I needed to start getting through some Pink Balloons books so I brought a pile to the boyfriend and asked him to pick. He chose this as there were references to The Hunger Games and he knows that is one of my favourites!

In a world where humanity has control over death, population still needs to be controlled. War, disease and crime have been eradicated and people are able to 'turn a corner' by resetting their age to a more youthful time to continue on living. The only way to die now is to be 'gleaned' by a Scythe. Two teenagers, Citra and Rowan, have been chosen to undertake a Scythe apprenticeship to learn the art of killing and to understand why Scythes and the job they do is so important. However they learn very quickly that politics and corruption are still very much alive in the Scythedom.

Ok so I have to admit the cover put me off reading this for a while. I am not sure what it was but it just wasn't pulling me in. However, once I bit the bullet and posted this online I found a whole world of people who have read this series (yes there are more books) and have loved it!

I thought it was a clever concept, death is no more. You can be shot or fall from a great height and after a few days recovery you are fighting fit again. There are no viruses, even the common cold is no more. Even things such as weight can be controlled. The only way you become no more is by the hands of a Scythe.

This doesn't mean literally, its not magic or anything. A Scythe can choose any method he or she chooses. This can be through mortal combat, drowning, swordplay or pill. The options are endless.

They all meet quarterly to discuss the amount of gleanings they should/should not have been doing and also accepting or declining any new methods of gleaning that companies can try to sell to the Scythe's. It is a really clever world and I really appreciated the level of detail behind the rules that have been created. By this I mean, scientists are needed less. They need not to travel to another planet as this one is capable of looking after itself. We need no one to discover cures for cancer and many other jobs become obsolete.

Now this is a YA book so nothing gets too graphic, but there are some pretty horrible mass gleanings that take place. I always love a YA as I feel they always provide something to learn. I feel like I am taken on a journey, as apposed to watching people fall in love for example. And this book was no exception. There were parts of the book that left me gutted that something had happened and at times confused as I clearly didn't have all the pieces of the puzzle yet. Not confused in a bad way but in a way that kept me reading.

There wasn't much to dislike about this book and I didn't feel it had any triggers which makes a change for a few things I have read recently, meaning I feel anyone could read this. A slightly longer book than average but I think readers will fly through it. I will hopefully get the chance to read the next one as soon as I get my hands on it!

Scythe (Arc of a Scythe #1) by Neal Shusterman

Pages - 447

Goodreads Rating - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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