Book Reviews - All

Review of Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

April 1, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

I just finished Eliza and her Monsters and I loved it! What a clever, original book.

The blurb is as follows:

Eighteen-year-old Eliza Mirk is the anonymous creator of Monstrous Sea, a wildly popular webcomic, but when a new boy at school tempts her to live a life offline, everything she’s worked for begins to crumble.

Scott Westerfeld’s Afterworlds meets Nimona in this novel about art, fandom, and finding the courage to be yourself. Features illustrations by the author throughout. Perfect for readers of Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl, this is the second novel by the acclaimed author of Made You Up.

In the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, smart, and friendless. Online, Eliza is LadyConstellation, the anonymous creator of a popular webcomic called Monstrous Sea. With millions of followers and fans throughout the world, Eliza’s persona is popular. Eliza can’t imagine enjoying the real world as much as she loves her digital community. Then Wallace Warland transfers to her school, and Eliza begins to wonder if a life offline might be worthwhile. But when Eliza’s secret is accidentally shared with the world, everything she’s built—her story, her relationship with Wallace, and even her sanity—begins to fall apart.

With pages from Eliza’s webcomic, as well as screenshots from Eliza’s online forums, this uniquely formatted book will appeal to fans of Noelle Stevenson’s Nimona and Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl.

The Setting

So the story revolves around Eliza, a smart, geeky, socially awkward and shy high school senior who is the anonymous creator a wildly popular webcomic called Monstrous Sea. Her online alter ego is LadyConstellation and only Max and Emmy, a couple of online friends whom she’s never met, know her identity. So in this way, Eliza is basically living two separate lives. In her real life, she’s more or less invisible whereas online, she’s a star! Oh – and her parents are totally clueless as to how famous their daughter is – and how much money she earns from her little “hobby” as they refer to it.

There’s a New Guy In Town

So this new guy, named Wallace moves into town and low and behold, he is a huge — and I do mean HUGE – Monstrous Sea fan. He’s also is introverted and suffers from severe social anxiety.

Now as Eliza and Wallace’s relationship deepens (and there’s no “instalove” — just a nice, gradual slow burn), Eliza becomes more and more conflicted about whether to tell him that she is the web comic’s creator. He is, after all, a major fan. Hell, he even writes Monstrous See fan-fiction. But she decides to keep it a secret and to ride it out because hey, what could go wrong?

The Secret Gets Out

Well, as we learn from the blurb, Eliza get outed and the entire world — well, the Monstrous Sea fandom – now knows the identity of the infamous LadyConstellation and in a flash, her whole world gets turned upside down. Now at first glance, this might not seem like that big of a deal. Okay, you might think, so people on the Internet find out who’s the author of a webcomic. No big deal. But it actually is a really big deal — Eliza is basically the equivalent of a Hollywood celebrity in the fandom world with millions of followers. So the big reveal leads to some major, major fallouts in Eliza’s life such as relationship blow-up, excessive anxiety and the onset of panic attacks.

All About the Monsters

So as the story slowly unfolds, we figure out that the title of the book “Eliza and Her Monsters”, isn’t just only just about the monsters that Eliza creates for her comic but it’s also about her anxiety, doubt, fear, the expectations of others and the way she alienates herself from her family and the outside world. So in this way, the novel does touch on several serious issues as well, such as depression, anxiety, panic attacks, suicidal thoughts, betrayal and the courage to be oneself but it treats these difficult topics with grace. And in the end, it was encouraging to see the positive changes that Eliza goes through and how she comes out of her shell by end of the story.

I could really relate to many of the things that Eliza was going through as I was also extremely introverted and anxious through my high school years, and had my share of monsters as well. This is probably the case for many of us as those high school years can be difficult for most people in one way or another.

And though we may not personally identify with all the monsters that plagued Eliza, this story can help us to understand these disorders so that we can be more understanding towards our friends and family who experience these issues firsthand. It can also help us in realizing that we are not alone.

The Characters

The author really has a knack for bringing her characters to life: Eliza, Wallace, Max and Emmy, her brothers Church and Sully and her lovely parents, all of whom where nicely fleshed out, vivid, relatable and most of all likable, making this book accessible to so many people. The characters of Eliza and Wallace were especially complex, and I enjoyed learning more and more about them, leading to an understanding of their motivations as the tale unfolded. I also loved all of the secondary characters and appreciated how no one took on a minor, token kind of role in the book — every character was important to the story.

The Format

The story was told through a variety of different formats in the novel: internal dialog, conversation, conversation via writing, chat windows, text messages, screenshots of forum messages and even artwork which correlates to what Eliza is working on — all of this really added an element of realism — and fun — to the story. I’m so glad that I ended up purchasing the hard copy version of the book because the gorgeous art was a phenomenal touch.

Verdict

From an artistic point of view, Eliza and Her Monsters is an uplifting and encouraging story about fandom, art and going out into the world and creating something meaningful, which renders this emotional story incredibly relatable to anyone who creates or desires to create — or by anyone who enjoys interacting with fandoms, such as ComicCon or DragonCon for instance.

It’s a beautiful journey of a talented young woman who, once paralyzed by her monsters, succeeds in overcoming them and comes out shining at the end of the story.

The book was well-written, the characters meticulously developed with a unique and fresh story. It’s brilliantly plotted and an absolute joy to read. I didn’t want it to end. This is one of those captivating books that you could easily read over and over again, and discover something new with each reading. Recommended!

Trigger Warning: There are mentions of depression, anxiety disorders and talk of suicide.

You can check out Eliza and Her Monsters HERE

Review of Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu

March 31, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

I’ve heard quite a bit of praise for Marie Lu’s books, and while browsing at the library, Batman caught my eye, especially given that I love superheroes and the idea of a teen Batman peaked my interest. What I found was a delightful, fast-paced original story based on the Batman theme and I loved the modernization of an old favorite.

The Setting

This book shouldn’t really be called “Batman” as the story takes place before Bruce Wayne (who is eighteen in the book) has become Batman. The story begins on young Bruce Wayne’s high school graduation day, and Bruce has just come into his inheritance.

We already see Bruce’s desire to stop the crime and violence in his city early on as he intervenes in a police chase which lands him in hot water with Gotham City’s finest. But it’s only because of Bruce’s intervention that police were able to apprehend a suspected murderer who’s part of the gang called The Nightwalkers suspected of several murders and thefts in Gotham City.

Welcome to Arkham

As a result of his meddling, Bruce is sentenced to community service at one of the worst places possible: the Arkham Asylum, home for the criminally insane which houses the most dangerous criminals in Gotham. There, he encounters Madeleine, the Nightwalker suspect who was apprehended as a result of Bruce’s interference. The enigmatic Madeleine refuses to speak to the authorities, but she begins to strike up a conversation with Bruce during his daily chores.

Through this new friendship, Bruce learns more of her background and history, and she really seems to understand him. The more they talk, the more Bruce begins to feel a connection between the two of them. She then starts feeding him little nuggets of information about the Nightwalkers, which Bruce ends up personally verifying.

Helping the Police

Given that Bruce is the only person that Madeline will talk to, he begins working closely with the police in order to gain additional information from Madeleine about the Nightwalkers. But Madeleine is not only very intelligent and possibly deadly, she is also extremely cunning, and she ends up reading Bruce like a book. Madeleine is well aware of Bruce Wayne’s history, and she uses this to get him to trust her. She reinforces this trust even further by giving him those much-needed clues to the whereabouts of the Nightwalkers.

But is it a trap?

Though it appears as though she may be helping him, is she actually leading him into a trap? It’s difficult to tell as the story progresses. Madeleine is creepy at times but at other times incredibly charming and seemingly authentic.

In spite of Bruce’s better judgment, he finds himself falling for her, but as he becomes more deeply involved with the situation, he begins to suspect that she may not be as sincere as he thought when he learns that some of what she’s told him are lies.

It’s also worth mentioning at this point that the Nightwalkers’ modus operandi is to steal every bit of money from millionaires and billionaires and then murder them afterward. As a reader, we can’t help but wonder: is Bruce Wayne next on their list?

The Characterization

The characters in this story were excellent. It’s fun that the story takes place from the Bruce Wayne’s point of view so we get a peek inside the head of the extremely intelligent kid with complex emotions who is destined to be the infamous Batman. I really liked his personality — compassionate, honorable, and caring on hand and a bit of a dangerous, daring bad-boy on the other.

Madeleine is an awesome antagonist — a clever master manipulator who ends up playing everybody around her. She’s also quite a complicated character, which doesn’t make it easy for the reader (or the other characters in the book) to figure her out. She definitely has many layers to her, and she keeps everyone guessing.

Verdict

The story is fast-paced, gripping and action-packed, and a true treat for the superhero fan (the Wayne Tech drones were a nice extra touch). I was drawn in almost immediately, and the riveting plot kept me turning the page. This story has it all: an intriguing tech-savvy villain, a noble hero, murder, justice, bloodthirsty thieves, a brilliant mastermind and even a touch of romance. I felt that the pacing was perfect and the dialog snappy, with an excellent build-up to the climax.

Though I felt the title of the story (Batman) was a tad misleading, it did do an excellent job of planting the seed for Bruce Wayne’s future evolution into Batman. Batman:Nightwalker was a fun mystery that kept me guessing throughout the entire novel. It was a fast read with plenty of surprises as the story unfolded.

For me, this was an excellent introduction to Marie Lu’s work (I love her writing style), and I look forward to reading more by her. And even though I’m more of a Marvel guy than a DC guy, I’ve been wanting to dive into the DC Icons series and coming across this book provided me an excellent opportunity to do so. Recommended!

You can check out Batman HERE

Review of Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

March 19, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

“Eleanor was right. She never looked nice.She looked like art, and art wasn’t supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something.” ~ Park

I saw this book at my local library while I was browsing and it caught my attention, as I’ve liked other books by Rainbow Rowell that I’ve read. This one was no exception.

The blurb is as follows:

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits-smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love-and just how hard it pulled you under.

New Girl at School

The year is 1986. Eleanor is the new girl at school with flaming red hair and clothes that, shall we say, are out of the norm. She’s the school outcast and is bullied at school because she’s a big girl who wears very odd, patchwork outfits. The first part of the novel takes place on the bus, where she sits next to Park, a somewhat geeky boy who ’s half-Caucasian and half Korean.

Days pass and they never talk to each other nor look at each other until one day Park notices that Eleanor is discretely reading his comics over his shoulder. He begins slipping her comics without saying a word, with her always returning them the next day.

A Relationship Develops

From this point, their relationship begins to develop slowly, with Park creating mixed tapes for Eleanor (remember mixed tapes?) and them slowing starting to talk to each other about comics and music. Eleanor is convinced that a boy like Park couldn’t possibly be interested in her but is surprised when they move to the hand-holding stage.

They both begin to look forward to the bus ride to and from school – the only time they get to spend together. I really loved watching the slow and tender relationship develop between them as they learned more and more about each other. Eleanor wavers between joy at having Park in her life and disbelief that he could actually be interested in her. It’s no surprise that, because of her home life, her self-confidence is lacking.

Eleanor’s Home Life

Sitting and talking with Park is the one bright spot in Eleanor’s life because she’s having kind of a tough time of it. Not only is she bullied at school (someone continues to write obscene messages on her school notebooks) but she lives at home with an abusive, controlling stepfather who barely provides for the kids’ needs, hence the patchwork and men’s clothes she has to wear to school. She and her siblings pretty much live in fear and poverty.

While at home, all her time is spent in her room, trying desperately to stay out of her stepfather’s way, who for some reason, seems to have it out for her. Park is unaware of her situation as it’s something that Eleanor never speaks of.

Park’s Home Life

Park’s world couldn’t be more different than Eleanor’s. His family is loving and supportive, though his father is somewhat challenged by Park’s individuality, especially the day he shows up at the breakfast table wearing eyeliner (his father didn’t speak to him for days afterward).

But it was apparent that both of his parents loved him. They also ended up welcoming Eleanor into their home, though his mother (a beautician) didn’t much care for her initially. It was nice to see how Park’s family warmed to Eleanor especially when they began to understand that she had a difficult home life.

The Characters

I really fell in love with these two characters who were both shy, awkward outcasts and it was fun to observe their initial hostility to each other turned first into friendship then into something deeper as they became more and more comfortable with each other.

I felt the author did an excellent job of capturing that specialness and newness that we go through when experiencing love for the first time. I enjoyed the format of the book in which the author switches back and forth, via extremely short chapters, between Park’s and Eleanor’s point of view, so we really go to know each of the characters and observe what it is that makes them tick.

I can’t believe how much I adored both Eleanor and Park, how much I’ve cheered for them to get together, and how much I just… couldn’t put the book down, really.

My Verdict

Though this was a touching coming of age story of a sweet first love, it was also heartbreaking in places as we experience first-hand the horrendous home life that Eleanor had to endure. In this way, it’s the kind of story that’ll make you laugh and cry, and I did find myself tearing up on a few occasions while reading. This is a story that flows well with believable and likable characters.

I thought this book was beautifully written with authentic situations and dialog. For instance, the description of the first time they held hands was amazing — the intensity that both of them experienced from just this simple act. This scene brought me back to my teen years, as I recalled these exact same feelings the first time I held hands with someone I truly cared about.

I think that many people will be able to relate to the experiences that these two teens go through (I also remember making mix tapes for my first crush!). I felt that the relationship between Eleanor and Park built slowly, realistically and naturally. This is a story that flowed well with believable characters.

Eleanor & Park is a love story but with many other real-life issues thrown in. While the romance between them was sweet and I loved watching them fall more and more in love with each other, the story also dealt with several not-so-sweet themes such as bullying, child abuse, child neglect, social pressures and negative self-image. So while it’s a tender story of two teens falling in love, there’s also plenty of conflict from the outside world which made the book heart-wrenching in parts.

But I ended up loving every part of the story and am so glad I came across it. This book was fantastic… I loved how the point of view changed between the two main characters, I loved the drama, the slowly blossoming romance, the secrets they had, and the exciting indescribable feelings they experienced as their love blossomed. This story had just enough soft and hard to make it perfect — it was neither too mushy nor too gritty.

The writing was entertaining and sweet, with both humor and heartbreak. There’s something to be said about how an author manages to get me to read a 322-page novel in nearly one sitting. Recommended!

You can check out Eleanor & Park here at Amazon or at The Book Depository.

Review of the Olympian Challenger by Astrid Arditi

March 17, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

Olylmpian challenger I’ve always been a fan of Greek mythology and fiction about it (loved the Percy Jackson series) so I was quite excited to dive into this book, the first novel in a trilogy by Astrid Arditi.

The blurb is as follows:

A hero’s tournament. A defiant contender. Does one girl have the courage to take on Mount Olympus?

Hope’s world doesn’t have room for heroes. She barely has time for schoolwork, swim team, and taking care of her ailing mother. But when she’s invited to a mysterious tournament, the all-powerful hosts won’t take no for an answer.

Transported to Mount Olympus, Hope comes face to face with her new trainers—the pantheon of Greek gods. While other contenders train hard to gain a fighting edge, Hope searches for a way out. Instead, she finds a gorgeous shadow god who may just convince her to stay…

As each round unfolds, the ultimate prize draws closer—the granting of her heart’s deepest desire. If she survives the final challenge, her mother’s cure would be within reach…but only if Hope can ignore the tournament’s dark purpose.

Olympian Challenger is the first book in a bold YA urban fantasy trilogy. If you like Greek mythology, forbidden romance, and feats of courage, then you’ll love Astrid Arditi’s heroic coming-of-age tale.

What Starts It All Off

Hope Diaz receives a strange invitation with only the words: You are cordially invited . . . but nothing else. Later on that day, all of a sudden, she is able to read the entire invitation, which reads:

You’re cordially invited. . .

To embark on a singular journey.

If your heart is true,

And your soul heroic,

Dare to face your fears,

And your most precious wish will be granted.

If these words you can read,

Don’t breath them to a soul,

The punishment would be severe

That confidant may disappear.

You have until midnight.

As it turns out, the invitation was delivered to high school seniors everywhere around New York City but only a few were able to read the entire wording. Later that night, Hope sees a young boy on top of a bridge. A moment later, she hears a splash and realizes that the boy has jumped in. She immediately plunges into the water in an attempt to rescue the boy. Unable to find him and now out of air, she resurfaces only to be swept up by an enormous wave.

When she wakes up, she at Mount Olympus where she, along with the other kids who ended up there with are, area whisked off where they end up meeting The 12 Olympian Gods: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes, and Dionysus along with several demi-gods, heroes and mythical creatures.

Descended from the Gods

The kids then all learn that they are descendants of the Gods, though they are not told which one (or ones) — that will be revealed in time. But they are then told that they were brought to Mount Olympus in order to compete against each other – that each of the contenders must face several trials and quests with the winner becoming the new Olympian Champion of the Gods.

Hope Is Not Amused

It was never Hope’s intention to enter into any otherworldly competition — she only jumped into the water to save the boy. Now all she wants to do is to return home and take care of her mother, who has dementia. Hope is determined to escape her plight.

Her first several days are filled with training along with the other 24 contenders. Still, Hope manages to sneak away and makes several attempts at escaping Mount Olympus. Unfortunately, she learns that all of the exits are sealed and that the only way she can return back home is to win the challenge. In other words, she’s stuck.

An Alliance With A Shadow God

So she ends up forming an alliance with a handsome shadow God who manages to convince her to stay. She slowly learns that there’s more at stake in winning this competition than simply a heroic title. She also discovers that not all is as it seems and that the Gods have an ulterior motive for the trials.

She also begins to suspect that these old gods may have neither the challengers nor humanity’s best interests at heart and that there may indeed be a more sinister reason behind the challenge.

Regardless, she finds renewed motivation to take the trials seriously, and she gets swept up in the quests, striving with everything she has to win all the while keeping in mind the huge reward at the end: the winner’s most precious wish will be granted.

With this wish, Hope will be able to cure her mother.

Verdict

This was a fast-paced story with plenty of action, suspense, and emotion. I loved the nail-biting quests that the contenders had to undertake. The main heroine is strong, selfless, brave and kind and though she made friends as well as enemies, she always focused on what was the right thing to do, regardless of her personal desires. I really grew to love this character as the story progressed.

The rest of the characters were also vivid, diverse and well-rounded, adding a realness to them and to the story. As such, the story was filled with interesting character interactions adding to the excitement and suspense of the novel.

This story made me think of Percy Jackson getting sucked into The Hunger Games especially once the quests became more and more dangerous. The story was fun and thrilling, with just a touch of romance thrown in (which I’m guessing will be more fleshed out in the upcoming sequels).

The plot itself was interesting and I enjoyed the storyline. Being a fan of Greek Mythology, I loved reading about this pantheon of Gods, hearing their stories and seeing their strengths and weaknesses and felt that this novel took a unique and interesting approach to this mythology. The world building was amazing and made the reader feel as though we were right there on Mount Olympus along with all of the gods, heroes and challengers.

Astrid Arditi’s writing is easy to read and flows well so it makes for fast reading, which worked well for this fast-paced type of story.

My only niggle with this book is that the story ends on somewhat of a cliffhanger (don’t worry — we do find out who wins the championship) which I’m never a fan of. If it wasn’t for the cliffhanger, this would have been a 5-star book for me. Regardless, this book held my interest enough so that I would definitely recommend it and will be picking up the sequel as soon as it’s released. Recommended!

Note that the version I read was an Advance Reader Copy kindly provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The novel is not yet out — it will be released on July 31, 2018, so if this sounds like something you’ll enjoy, make sure to add it to your calendar!

Review of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

March 16, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

I picked up this book without really knowing too much about it and ending up totally falling in love with the lyrical writing, the vivid characters — everything about this story.

The blurb is as follows:

Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.

The Setting

The story takes place in the 1980’s and introduces us to Aristotle (who goes by “Ari”) a somewhat sad, angry and confused 15-year-old boy whose older brother is in prison and whose father, a Vietnam veteran, is suffering from PTSD. Ari feels disconnected from the members of his family: his father won’t let anyone in and nobody ever mentions his brother as act as though he’s dead.

One day at the local pool, Ari meets another Mexican boy the same age himself, Dante, who offers to teach Ari how to swim. Thus begins a deep and intense friendship between the two boys.

Ari and Dante

The two boys couldn’t be more different: Dante seems to have it all together where Ari is confused and angry at being shut out by his family, but their relationship intensifies as they begin to discuss art, their Mexican heritage, their families and their relationship with their parents.

Their Families

Each boy’s relationship with their parents is also quite different: Dante’s relationship with his parents is more open and emotional whereas Ari’s is more distant and withdrawn — although he does have a fairly good relationship with his mother and I enjoyed the banter between the two of them. His father was by no means a bad dad — he was just trying to deal emotionally with the demons from a horrible period in his life — a period that he simply did not want to talk about with anyone.

I have to say that I liked the way in which the author depicted the parents of the two boys. They are by no means perfect, but their depiction is positive and believable. I found this especially true in the case of Ari’s parents who were still trying to process their own pain and figure things out for themselves.

Ari’s Point of View

The story is told from Ari’s point of view, and we learn about his and Dante’s relationship though Ari’s eyes. Through Ari’s eyes, we see how his view of the world is more pessimistic than Dante’s, and though Ari does feel deeply, his emotions are much more guarded and secretive because of his pent-up anger and pain.

Through Ari’s eyes, we get to know Dante, who is much more optimistic and perhaps even leaning toward the naïve. Though Ari often feels as though he doesn’t quite understand Dante, he feels a special connection to the boy and is fascinated (and perhaps a bit haunted) by him. There’s definitely something about Dante that makes Ari see the world quite a bit differently than he had prior to their meeting.

Deeper Feelings Revealed. . .but it’s OK

At some point, Dante reveals that his feelings for Ari run deeper than those of mere platonic friendship and though initially taken aback, Ari decides he doesn’t want to lose Dante’s friendship.

The author did an excellent job of portraying what it’s like to be a teen and in the closet, and the courage it takes to make the initial step in coming out.

One example I loved was when Dante tells Ari how he’s considering coming out to his father:

”I guess I’m going to tell my dad. I have this little speech. It starts something like this. Dad, I have something to say. I like boys. Don’t hate me. Please don’t hate me, don’t hate me, don’t hate me.”

I felt that the author really nailed it.

The Slow Pace

This is not an action-pack thrill ride of a novel — far from it. Rather, it’s a slow-paced story that revolves around the feelings and thoughts of our two main characters. The plot was peppered with small but consequential events through which we’d learn a little bit more about the boys and their relationship to each other and their families.

Now I will say that there is one major event that occurs that changes the dynamic between the two of them and it’s interesting to see the interactions between them and their families after this event.

The Verdict

This is a beautifully written coming-of-age story of two boys, their discovery of each other and the world around them. It’s also about love, acceptance, courage and being true to your heart. It’s a powerful character-driven story with a lot of heart and found myself utterly falling in love with these two characters.

Their thoughts and actions also brought me back to my own teenage years, which may be the case for many readers. These two talked like teenagers and acted like teenagers, which made the book not only fun but that much more realistic.

As such, I really enjoyed the simple, sparse dialog between Ari and Dante and it was obvious that there was a lot left unsaid between the them. In this way, I found it fun to “read between the lines,” and the short chapter format almost made it seem as though we were peeking into Ari’s personal journal.

I love Benjamin Alire Saenz’s writing: it’s clear and evocative, with just the right amount of description.

And that Ending!

And OMG that ending — it was perfect! There were definitely tears of joy (and surprise!) as I read the last few pages of this incredibly moving story. This novel is as thought-provoking and hopeful as it is emotional and sobering, and I enjoyed every single moment of it.

Aristotle and Dante Discover The Secrets of the Universe was a subtle blow-me-away kind of book and I’m still mulling it over. It’s the kind of story that will make you tear up in some places and smile like an idiot in others.

I heard a rumor that there’s going to be a sequel to this novel and if that’s the case, I’d be the first to run to the bookstore and snatch me a copy. All that being said, I loved this phenomenal story and gave it 5 stars. Recommended!

You can check out Aristotle and Dante Discover The Secrets of the Universe the below at:

Amazon

The Book Depository

Review of Scythe by Neal Shusterman

March 12, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

Thou Shalt Kill ~ Commandment 1 of the Scythe Ten Commandments

I am completely new to Neil Shusterman; this was the first novel of his that I’ve read and I am hooked! I loved this book and the world that Mr. Shusterman has created.

The blurb is as follows:

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.

The Setting

This novel takes place in a utopian society in future at a time where hunger, disease, crime and even death no longer exist. Once people begin to age, they can opt to go through a procedure called “turning the corner” in which they can once again inhabit the body of a 21-year-old (or older, if they so choose).

People who do end up getting killed from accidents are only considered “dead-ish” and immediately after their demise, helicopters show up to whisk the dead-ish individual to a revival center where they are restored to their former selves, usually within three days or so. Thus, people in this new, improved society are more or less immortal (the only exception of fire – if you die by fire, you’re dead for good).

Additionally, each person has “nanites” in their system which control pain and speed up the healing process.

Enter the Scythes

But humans still reproduce, meaning that there needs to be some sort of population control — and that control falls under the jurisdiction of a legal authority called the “Scythdom”, which is made up of individual Scythes.

Scythes are the only individuals in society that are allowed to take a human life. Each Scythe is charged with going out and killing a certain number of people every year (about 240 or so, if I remember correctly). When a Scythe kills someone, it’s referred to as “gleaning”, and that person can no longer be revived. They are dead for good.

Now the thing about Scythes is that they must be of the highest moral discipline and possess qualities of empathy, humaneness, and compassion. As such, a Scythe must choose their individual victims with careful consideration allowing no bias, bigotry or malice to enter into their choice of victims (this is one of the Scythe’s “10 Commandments”). The author provided plenty of detail of the day to day activities in a Scythe’s life, which I found fascinating, as well as the training regiment of the apprentice Scythes.

Speaking of apprentices, it is only through deep study and training by the apprentice and intense scrutiny by the Scythdom that a person is ordained as a Scythe. Oh — and one of the first rules of becoming a scythe is that the person must not want to become a Scythe. I think this would be a good rule for politicians as well. But I digress.

The “Not So Good” Scythe’s

Of course, the ideal is not always the reality and somehow, a few “bad apples” manage to squeeze through the Scythdom cracks — and this is where things get really interesting (we’re introduced to some of these not-so-moral Scythes pretty early on in the book). These bad apples are Scythes who take pleasure in killing and even toy with their victims before gleaning them.

They may not have started out so heartless and cruel, but as scythes are given the ultimate power of life and death, it’s not surprising that there would be those who would be corrupted by that much power. Power does have a tendency to corrupt, as we have all seen over and over in our history books.

Scythes are, after all, placed above civilization and are even referred to as “Your Honor” by anyone who crosses their path. It’s not surprising that some would abuse this power much like many organizations or governments become corrupt with too much power.

I loved the villain in this story — he was definitely someone that you “loved to hate”. The author did an excellent job of provoking feelings of anger, disgust, and heartache in the reader through the villain’s actions – a testament to the author’s ability to portray vivid and realistic characters.

The Scythe’s Apprentices

In this novel, the story revolves around two main characters, Citra and Rowan who are chosen by a particularly well-respected Scythe, the Honorable Scythe Faraday, to be his apprentices. What follows is the adventures these two go through, as they train to be effective killers, compete with each other and struggle with romantic feelings that emerged as they got to know each other (romantic involvement with anyone is strictly forbidden for Scythes). Now I will say that is is NOT a romance novel. Though romance may perhaps place a small part in some of the decisions of the characters, this is not what drove the plot of the story.

I really liked Citra and Rowan and enjoyed getting to know them as the story progressed. As the plot moved forward, we learn that these two are quite complex and multi-layer characters, especially when faced with impossible choices. What I really liked about them is that they were strong both as individuals and as a team.

Citra and Rowan, along with their Scythe teachers, attend these Scythe quarterly conclaves, where we enter deeply into the realm of Scythe politics, which I found incredibly interesting and eye-opening, especially once we learned about rampant corruption in the Scythdom.

The Thunderhead – Good or Evil?

It’s worth mentioning that there are no longer any governments in this society – all jurisdiction falls under what is called The Thunderhead (evolved from the Internet’s “Cloud”). The Thunderhead is the ultimate jurisdiction and knows everything about everyone, and intervenes when necessary. It’s like the Internet at some point evolved into a sentient being (which is kind of how I understood it). As a society, nobody fears the Thunderhead; on the contrary, it is revered, almost like a god. The Thunderhead protects and provides for everyone.

The only exception to the Thunderhead intervening in the lives of others is when it comes to Scythe business. It was agreed upon long ago that the Thunderhead would have no jurisdiction when it came to Scythes —- and it completely and always stays out of Scythe business — which may not always be a good thing as we’ve seen with the power-corrupted Scythes.

Thus, the “Scythedom” is a self-governing entity whose success and efficacy relies upon the moral compass of the individuals who belong to it. When certain individuals gain too much power, then the entire entity is in danger, which is what we get in this book.

The Scythe’s Journals

One of the requirements of being of a Scythe is keeping a journal, and each chapter in the book opens with a short excerpt from the journals of one of the Scythes in the story, such as Scythe Faraday and Scythe Curie (the Grande Damme of Death). These snippets provide not only additional insight into Scythe politics but also gave essential information about the current society in which the story takes place.

I especially enjoyed the comparisons of the current society to the “Mortal Age” before technological advances enabled people to potentially live forever.

Twists and Turns

Just when I had pretty much figured out the premise of the book and had a general idea where the story was going to take me, the author threw a major wrench in the works, that I did not see coming at all.

At this point, the entire plot of the story changes as it veers off into directions I couldn’t have anticipated. I loved the twists, turns and surprises that the author threw in, adding even more layers to this already fascinating story. And just when you think you got a handle on what was going on, the author throws in another twist.

The Verdict

This was a compelling story with excellent world-building that kept me guessing until the book’s end. The character development in this book was also amazing as each character, even the secondary ones, were quite multifaceted and complicated.

This is the kind of novel that will get you thinking, especially as it pertains to moral ambiguity — those “gray areas” of right and wrong, and what the decisions we make say about the kind of person we are. It also demonstrated nicely how our environment can affect the kind of person we become. This was illustrated in the differences of the morality of the Scythes, depending on who trained them.

As it turns out, this book is part of a duology but you’d never know it. I felt that the story is nicely wrapped up at the conclusion of the book, and it felt finished and complete to me. In my humble opinion, this is the perfect example of how books in a series should be (I loathe cliffhangers, but that’s another discussion for another time).

All in all, I loved this story and can’t wait to read the next book (Thunderhead) in this series. I also look forward to reading more of Mr. Shusterman’s work. Recommended!!

You can check out Scythe here at Amazon or at The Book Depository