The Toll

by Neal Shusterman
Hennepin County Library hardcover 625 pages
genre: YA dystopian
(Book 3 of the Scythe series)

I should have blogged this promptly after reading it . . . but life is strange right now.

Shusterman crafts incredible stories and this is no exception. I had to wait a while to get it and really wanted to know what happened after Endura sank. I found out!

One interesting aspect of this story was the inclusion of a gender fluid character. On page 28 the character explains:
"I feel like a woman beneath the sun and the stars. I feel like a man under the cover of clouds," Jericho had explained to the crew when assuming command. "A simple glance at the skies will let you know how to address me at any given time."
On page 286, Anastasia is talking with Jeri about her identity.
"I've often wondered what it would have been like to have been born in the Madagascan region . . . Not that I'm really interested in being a man - but I wonder what it would have been like to explore both sides when I was too young to know the difference."
There was quite a bit more exposition about this topic and it came up several more times in the book.

I wonder why this was so important to Shusterman to include and emphasize. It almost seems . . . like a cause.

I'm not sure why I put a post-it note in this spot, but perhaps because it also seems to be a sign of our times:
Page 301 - "Anastasia supposed it was because there was very little private about Tenkamenin. He lived his life like he were in a window display."
A lot of people do seem to live their lives very, very publicly nowadays.

This book also had a lot of religious overtones, mostly to do with the Toll.

On page 361, "As for Astrid, she had her work cut out for her keeping them all on the proper spiritual path. She stayed with the Toll because deep down, she believed that Greyson Tolliver was the real thing. That he was divinely moved by the Tone, and that his humility about it was understandable. A humble nature was, after all, the hallmark of a true holy man. It made perfect sense that he would refuse to believe he was part of the Holy Triad, but just because he didn't believe it himself, didn't make it any less true."

And at the end of a chapter on page 417 - "Because, as it would turn out, he'd need to lead them into darkness before he could lead them into light."

There was also a lot about forgiveness, awe, reverence, godlike qualities, etc.

There were definite twists and turns in the story! I was almost yelling when the harbormaster used the tracking beacon and contacted Goddard.

On page 587, I was surprised to find sympathy for Sykora who had been such a detestable character to me . . . "Allow me to be useful, Loriana. Please." His humility was surprising and timely. (But I was a tiny bit suspicious, too . . . I was honestly not sure how this would end.)

Overall, I enjoyed this entire series. It's pretty violent, though, and has some complex themes. I would have loved doing this with my eighth grade book club! (Back when I HAD a student book club.)

Thunderhead

by Neal Shusterman
Scott County Library hardcover 504 pages
genre: YA dystopian fiction

Oh my! This book was almost as good as Scythe, book one in this series (Arc of a Scythe). I already can't wait for the third one!

The story follows Scythe Anastasia, Rowan (aka Skythe Lucifer), Rowan's friend Tyger, and a new character named Greyson. Greyson loves the Thunderhead, who has acted more like a parent than his parents and more like a friend than any friend.

I don't want to write any spoilers here. If you haven't read Scythe, don't even think about opening this book! It won't make much sense without the incredible foundation laid in the first book. You may want to wait until the third book is out, though, so you're not in suspense for too long! (The Toll, at this writing, doesn't have an expected release date. See an interview with Shusterman here.)

Unwind

by Neal Shusterman
PRMS hardcover 335 pages
genre: YA SciFi Dystopia

You can read a plot summary elsewhere. I just want to record a few notes before I head to bed.
Connor - rebel, troublemaker, quick to fight
Risa - ward of the state, raised in a StaHo (State Home)
Lev - a tithe, from the time he was a baby

page 75 - "'People shouldn't do a lot of things,' says Connor. He knows they're both right, but it doesn't make a difference. In a perfect world mothers would all want their babies and strangers would open up their homes to the unloved. In a perfect world everything would be either black or white, right or wrong, and everyone would know the difference. But this isn't a perfect world. The problem is people who think it is."

page 111 - I love the scene in the antique shop with Sonia! "One thing you learn when you've lived as long as I have - people aren't all good, and people aren't all bad. We move in and out of darkness and light all of our lives. Right now, I'm pleased to be in the light."

page 231 - "The Admiral has three of his most accessible and well-appointed jets set aside as study spaces, complete with libraries, computers, and the resources to learn anything you want to learn. 'This is not a school,' the Admiral told them shortly after they arrived. 'There are no teachers, there are no exams.' Oddly, it's precisely that lack of expectation that keeps the study jets full most of the time."

page 304 - "The first step is the hardest, but from that moment on he decides that he will neither run nor dawdle. He will neither quiver nor fight. He will take this last walk of his life in steady strides - and in a few weeks from now, someone, somewhere, will hold in their mind the memory that this young man, whoever he was, faced his unwinding with dignity and pride."

page 329 - The conversation between Pastor Dan and Lev - my fave scene! "I still very much believe in God - just not a god who condones human tithing." I should just put a picture of the page here . . . so very, very good.

Shusterman is an amazing author. This one is older than Scythe, but he raises such intense topics within a very engaging story with characters who draw the reader in. Amazing!

Scythe

by Neal Shusterman
Hennepin County Library hardcover 435 pages
genre: YA SciFi

Oh my word. I don't remember where I heard about this book, but I think it is Shusterman's best ever. I'm not sure I can give a fair summary, so look for that on Amazon. This book was both horrible (I had to put it down, because it is very dark in places) and wonderful (offering insights on morals, philosophy, history, culture) in the guise of a new book for teens. Amazing!!!

Page 53 describes the Thunderhead. "The greatest achievement of the human race was not conquering death. It was ending government." That made me laugh. I would quote more of that passage here, but I'll just tell you to read the book. (The Thunderhead is what today's "cloud" becomes with AI.)

Page 82 ". . . he could tell it was in fine penmanship. It figures she would take penmanship in school. It was one of those classes people took just to be superior. Like Latin." Interesting observation. Taking classes to be superior to others who lack that knowledge or ability.

Page 85 I need to include this entire page. No commentary, except that I'm glad I have faith in God and His plan for eternity.

Page 118 Another journal entry from Honorable Scythe Curie. A passage on religion and the tone cults. I really would love to discuss this book with another reader! Also, I appreciate the scythes taking a name of a Patron Historic. The names were a really interesting part of the story.

Page 235 (Citra) "She resolved not to feel guilty about that. She'd had more than her share of guilt. 'Guilt is the idiot cousin of remorse,' Scythe Faraday had been fond of saying." Yes! Guilt is an idiot cousin and a waste of time.

page 262 From the gleaning journal of H.S. Prometheus - "Human nature is both predictable and mysterious; prone to great and sudden advances, yet still mired in despicable self-interest." Truly, this book has some amazing gems.

page 339 "The idea of truly wishing to end one's own life is a concept completely foreign to most post-mortals, because we can't experience the level of pain and despair that so seasoned the Age of Mortality. Our emo-nanites prevent us from plunging so deep." The nanites in the bloodstream that dull pain, heal, and do other health maintenance are an intriguing concept. Immortality is not something that I think human beings will ever attain on this planet, but as a future innovation in biomedical technology, some of this stuff might be prophetic (like some of the predictions in 1984).

Page 388 Another page contemplating religion and prayer, this time from Faraday's journal.

Page 433 I don't want to include a spoiler, so I'll just say I smiled like crazy when I read this page. If this book doesn't sound that fascinating, I'll just say that Citra and Rowan are two young people who could overpower Katniss Everdeen in a heartbeat. (And I *love* the Hunger Games series.) I MUST buy this book for PRMS and my avid readers. The violence is intense, but the story is amazing.

One irritating thing that I find more and more when I read new books . . . typos! Seriously?! What ever happened to proofreaders? I didn't mark the pages, but it really irked me. How do these get through the publishing process? Here's a new one for me:


(How do you spell "you" with a comma???)

Note added 2019.01.13: I re-read this blog entry when I saw that it had over 100 views. I laughed at myself when I saw an error (now fixed) in the place where I wrote about page 339. (I had "out" instead of "our.")  Then I got to this last note on proofreading and laughed at my own arrogance and carelessness! Sigh. I am only mortal, after all.

Bruiser

by Neal Shusterman
PRMS paperback 328 pages
genre: YA supernatural (but mostly realistic)

This one surprised me! It wasn't at all what I expected and it kept drawing me in more and more. (I should've expected that from a Shusterman story.)

The story is told from multiple points of view, but the change in narration is clearly marked.

Tennyson and Bronte - male and female twins / he plays lacrosse and can be a bit of a bully / she is smart, sensitive, and looks for "projects" / their parents are literature professors whose marriage is crumbling
Katrina - Tennyson's girlfriend

Brewster - a brooding loner who loves angry poetry
Cody - Brew's little brother, seemingly fearless
Uncle Hoyt - took Brew and Cody in when their mother died. He's a nasty drunk

I tagged a page at the end of the book, but I don't want to blog about it. This story unfolded more and more as it went on. There's so much happening here! I think I need to get a group of readers to read and discuss this. Amazing book.