Scythe ~ Neal Shusterman
There’s a catch to becoming a Scythe. Only those who have no desire to do the job are chosen for it. And that is exactly how Citra and Rowan found themselves as Scythe apprentices under the honorable Scythe Faraday. In a world of immortality--where technologies were developed to make humans live forever--Scythes became a necessary form of population control. And as horrifying as the job is, everyone in society recognizes its importance. That is why most Scythes take their job very seriously and do it with great care and sorrow. Scythe Goddard, though, is trying to change things. He is breeding a group of Scythes who enjoy killing. Will Scythe Goddard, with his boisterous and grandiose ways, win over the Scythedom? Or will tradition prevail? The answer might just lie in the training of Citra and Rowan…
This novel is certainly not for the faint of heart. It is as gruesome as it sounds, but also so much more than a book about killing people. Really, it’s a book more about life than death, and what I loved so much about it was that it really made you consider what makes life, and living by certain standards, so gratifying. I highly recommend this novel to serious readers. They will not be able to put it down, and they will be hooked by the entire series!
Buy the title here!
Maturity: 2/4
I would recommend this novel to students 13+. This is a challenging and very dark read with definite violence that is graphic at times. This novel is for a mature middle school reader or high school reader.
Pages: 464
Lexile: 830L
Lexile is a score that helps educators and parents match students with an appropriate text. A Lexile score is a measure of both a child’s reading ability and a text difficulty. However, Lexile does not take into account the content of a novel. So, pairing readers with a text is a complex process, and knowledge of a novel’s themes and plot is necessary to make a high-quality recommendation.
If you are curious about the grade-level equivalent to Lexile scores, check out the conversion chart here!
