Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Trigger Warnings: This series is built on the premise that death has been defeated but, to keep the population growth under control, beings known as Scythes can end a life. Anyone else who "dies" will be sent to what is known as a revival center to be brought back to life. Because of this, there are characters who play around with killing themselves over and over again. There's one character named Tyger that does this or makes references to it in pretty much every scene he's in. The idea that there's no negative repercussions for trying to end your own life doesn't sit well with me. It's often treated as a joke. I feel like that needs to be brought up in case others read this and are equally bothered.

Synopsis: 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. 
Review: I can see I'm going to have an interesting time with Neal Shusterman's books. For the record, the other book I've read of his is Unwind and I also have complicated feelings about that one. I haven't decided if I'm going to do a review of it. Anyways, onto Scythe.

I enjoyed Rowan and Citra as characters. Scythe Faraday takes them on as apprentices because of their hate towards Scythe. Seeing their repulsion to this concept, but then understanding it on a deeper level was interesting. We also get to see how some Scythes operate within this system. There are commandments all Scythes are supposed to follow but, as we later see, there are some who follow the commandments in unique ways. Again, the only other book I've read by Shusterman is Unwind, but I'm starting to think I don't care about his characters. I felt like I should care about what fate could befall Citra, Rowan, and the various Scythes we get to know, but I really don't. That's a pretty big disappointment. I will say that I appreciate how Scythes have names of famous people from history (Nelson Mandela, Marie Curie, etc).

While I don't care for the characters, I love the world Shusterman made in Scythe. There are so many important discussions this book could bring up about police brutality, gun control, massacres (specifically in places of worship but really anywhere), etc. He beautifully puts these modern issues into his futuristic world. There were aspects of the plot that I saw coming, but it was also the only way we got to see new aspects of the world so the predictability didn't really bother me. As a whole, I'm curious to see where the story goes, but I don't care if any of the characters live or die. I know this is a highly loved series, and I understand why. As of right now, I'm really only reading Shusterman's books to see what other conversations he adds. I think that's really where he shines as a writer.

I feel like I can't give this book a numerical rating. It's an interesting world and concept. I would just be careful picking this up if suicidal thoughts are something you struggle with. I wish there was more consequences around that. Maybe it'll get explored later on? Just something to keep in mind for anyone who is interested in this series.