#6 - Scythe by Neal Shusterman

 Just The Basics

    Published: November 22, 2016

    Genre: Speculative Fiction, Dystopian Fiction 

    Pages: 435

    Acknowledgements: ALA Michael L. Printz Honor Book 

        "Death makes the whole world kin."

    "Scythe" is the first book in the New York Times Bestseller "Arch of Scythe" trilogy and is a speculative fiction novel set in a post-mortal dystopia. In a future where aging, disease, and hardship have all been cured, and mankind is immortal, the order of the Scythes stands as harbingers of death, career grim reapers tasked with controlling the human population through the "gleaning" of lives. Seventeen-year-old Citra and Rowan are brought on as Scythe apprentices, ironically for their bravery in the face of death and their compassion for others. Through the novel, Citra and Rowan are shaped to be tools of death in their apprenticeships, while they face the moral toll of taking lives and inflicting pain, while still examining the deeper philosophical meaning behind their murderous duties. The novel looks at humanity in a future not ruled by the entropy of death. As they become Sythes, Citra and Rowan grow into polar opposite creations of their times, full of compassion for those they kill, while simultaneously exposing the corruption of the Sythehood around them. 

    Why "Shythe"?

    "Scythe" is one of the two novels on my YA lit list that I am teaching as a part of the book clubs. For this last unit of the year, my sophomore class will all read books in a unit on civil disobedience. When speaking to other teachers in my grade, Scythe seems to be a favorite choice among the books offered. Now finishing the novel, I understand why. When I think of YA literature, I think of books like Scythe-- dystopian novels (akin to The Hunger Games), where young, gifted, protégés of great and powerful mentors (akin to Harry Potter), face off against both their own moral dilemmas with newfound power, and wage war against the corrupted system around them. This novel is as fun to read as the previous YA titans I have just mentioned, and will no doubt be made into a film or series one day. More than some other books I have read, I sped through Scythe excited to see where the plot was going, and eager to see how Citra and Rowan mature through their blood-drenched lives. While this book contains violence, murder, and tons of knife and gunplay, the story is still crafted in a way that would be engaging to young readers, while still asking students big questions about the role death plays in human society. 

     Teaching Considerations

     I love this book for book clubs, and am very excited to see what my students think of it. While I don't think this novel would work well for whole-class discussion (as it does lack higher-level figurative language and thematic subtext), I think Scythe would get students excited to read for school. Much like I felt when reading it, the plot is exciting, the characters are interesting, and the story feels believably futuristic. Shusterman's novel would be great to teach in small groups, especially if those groups are comprised of typical non-readers. The accessibility of this book makes it a great fit for students in the ninth or tenth grade, again especially if these students struggle with the loftiness of classic literature and want a fun-to-read story that will keep them reading, just to see what happens. This novel is no more gory than a PG-13 movie, and the death within the story is only shocking and gratuitous when commenting on mass violence. These moments of mass violence might be triggering to some students, but the moments of senseless violence still contain purpose within the narrative and do come with retribution eventually. The hardest part for students might be the elements of suicide within the novel; however, overall, all the death within Scythe is toned down for young adult readers to be analyzed on a deeper level. A unit containing this novel could look to answer these hard questions brought up by shocking moments of violence. How does one live with the guilt of taking another life? Does death play a necessary role in human existence? How would society look if murder and crime were replaced with a system that still requires capital punishment or human sacrifice? The theme of "civil disobedience" suits this book well. This novel subversly asks hard questions about the role of conformity in society (especially when the government requires violence to maintain order), the role of AI in government,  and what death might look like in a speculative future-- all while still being a thrilling read. 

`      Sections to Read Aloud  & Reasoning

1. Pages 390-391

• "We could have been called reapers, but our founders saw fit to call us scythes - because we are the weapons in mankind's immortal hand. You are a fine weapon, Rowan, sharp, and precise. And when you strike, you are glorious to behold.”

    This selection comes at a climactic moment for Rowan's character, and is a moment where a lot of the mass-murder proliferated by his mentor is "solved". Without context, this selection explains what the Scythes are, making this a great moment for a book talk. The power of Scythe Goddard's words also carries thematic meaning. When students get to this moment and understand the full context, the payoff is awesome. 

        2. Chapter 6: An Elegy of Scythes, Pages 69-75

• ''The moment the blade was drawn, he thrust himself forward onto it-a final willful act, making death his own choice, rather than the scythe's. Denying the scythe, if not his method, then his madness."

    Chapter 7 is the first moment of mass murder in the novel. While this moment is intense, it is also a mysterious introduction of the novel's antagonist. The massacre on the airplane stands in stark contrast to how death and murder are seen in other parts of the novel, but the random businessman, around whom the chapter centers, shows bravery and decisiveness in the face of death, choosing to be the first killed to allow others to escape. Moments of heroism like this abound in Scythe, making the above selection a great place to hook readers into this violent and somehow compassionate world. 

    Overall Thoughts

        Scythe might not be the deepest book students have read for school, and yes, often the plot is cliché or overly sophomoric (pun intended for me), but this story has a lot to offer students who might not love to read for school. I had fun when reading this story, I had fun imagining the dystopian society in which it takes place, and I had fun with the action-packed moments of battle. Other teachers who read Scythe in book club units remark that students will often finish the trilogy after this book is assigned, and I get it. Even now, I want to know how the story continues and what will happen to Citra and Rowan once they officially join the ranks of the Scythes. What this novel lacks in literary complexity, it makes up for in its exciting plot and fast-paced character development. Scythe might not treat death as seriously as it exists in reality, with grief and loss pushed to the background sometimes for plot simplicity, but these elements don't make it any less fun to read. My disbelief was suspended to continue on and see where the story went. I think this book would be a lot of fun for students, and evokes the same sense of fun I found in reading other young adult titles. For my students who spent this year reading The Great Gatsby and Bless Me, Ultima, Scythe will be a nice way to end their semester. This novel is something my students would read for fun without me assigning it, and that alone is reason enough to keep it in my classroom. 

    Future Explorations

     During my summers off or during a week-long break, I can seriously consider reading the next two books in this series. I was able to shut off my literary-analysis-English-teacher-brain as I read, and simply enjoyed myself. I have said it once, and it's worth saying again, but I want to know this story in its entirety for when Scythe gets its movie adaptation. While this book felt like junk food for me, I hope my students may find it entertaining and substantive. I am not a huge fan of other dystopian YA novels (I never liked Maze Runner or Divergent), but Scythe shows me that this staple part of the YA genre is still a fruitful area of exploration. I think I might be able to stomach some more YA dystopian literature to finish this series, and see what happens with Citra, Rowan, and the rest of the Scythedom.