92 pages • 3 hours read
Neal ShustermanScythe
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2016A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Before You Read
Super Short Summary
In Neal Shusterman’s Scythe, two teenagers, Citra Terranova and Rowan Damisch, are selected to be apprentice scythes in a future society where an advanced AI called the Thunderhead has eradicated death but mandates population control through selected killings performed by Scythes. The story follows their intense training, ethical dilemmas, and complex challenges as they navigate the implications of wielding the power to end lives. This book involves themes of death and violence.
Reviews & Readership
Review Roundup
Neal Shusterman's Scythe is praised for its imaginative world-building and thought-provoking themes. Reviewers appreciate its engaging plot and complex characters, though some find the pacing uneven and certain philosophical explorations heavy-handed. Overall, it offers a compelling story that challenges readers to think deeply about life and death.
Who Should Read Scythe?
Fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent will relish Scythe by Neal Shusterman for its gripping blend of dystopian themes and moral quandaries. Ideal readers are young adults and teens who enjoy fast-paced, thought-provoking narratives set in meticulously crafted worlds.
RecommendedReading Age
13-18yearsLexile Level
830L