Scythe

Shusterman, N. (2016). Scythe. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Scythe is set in a future world where there is no sickness, death, and you can turn the clock backwards and be young again.  Everyone in society can live forever, they will never be hungry, and the society is perfect under the watch of the Thunderhead, which keeps society perfect.  But there is one group of people, the scythe, that can glean, or kill others to keep the world population in check. They are not controlled by the Thunderhead and are self-governing.  Scythes choose who they will glean and must meet their quota each year.  Scythes can also grant immunity from death to anyone for a year if the person kisses their ring. They also have a set of commandments they must follow and have high moral standards.  Two sixteen year olds, Citra and Rowan meet Scythe Faraday by chance and are soon invited to be his apprentices.  Both of them accept and are trained in the art of being a scythe, complete with weapons training and scythe history.  Scythe Faraday trains them to be as merciful as possible. When they go with Scythe Faraday to their first scythe meeting, the Vernal Concave, Scythe Faraday is questioned as the why he has two apprentices.  It is decided that he can only choose one to become a scythe, and the other must be gleaned by the winner.  Citra and Rowan are shocked that one of them must kill the other at the end of training.  Soon after this, Scythe Faraday is said to have gleaned himself, and Citra and Rowan are now with new trainers.  Citra is now with Scythe Curie, who is much like Faraday in which she takes her job seriously and is as kind as possible.  Rowan is sent to train with Scythe Goddard, who gleans with mass killings and treats the job like a blood sport.  Soon, Citra is charged with murdering Scythe Faraday, and escapes with the help of Curie.  She is on a quest to find the true killer and is on a mission that sends her to South America.  She soon finds out that Faraday is alive.  Rowan, who has been well trained by Goddard, must do anything to escape this killer.  At one mass gleaning, Rowan sets the entire building on fire, with Goddard inside.  Rowan escapes by pretending to already be a scythe.  Through twists and turns in the story, at the end, Citra is presented with the scythe ring.  But she doesn't kill Rowan.  Instead, she helps him escape instead of having to face imprisonment for his actions. 

This book brings up the moral debate of immortality.  Should humans live forever?   Who should decide who lives and who dies?  Is it morally wrong to kill another human to keep the population in control? Furthermore, is life as rich and meaningful if you can turn back the clock to be younger, are never sick, and are always given everything you would ever need?  These are questions young adults face as they read Scythe.  As teen are growing and developing, they are forming their own morals and values.  This is a normal part of emotional growth.  This book helps teens decide what is right or wrong when faced with mortality. 

Scythe is on the 2017 list of Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults and also a 2017 Printz Honor Book. 

Watch the book trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBeqd-hpVyY