Scythe

Arc of a Scythe

Content Ratings

Mild Romance

Citra and Rowan develop a mutual romantic awareness that creates emotional tension throughout the novel; their connection involves feelings and a kiss but is handled with restraint appropriate to YA.

Moderate Themes

The ethics of population control through selective killing, the corrupting potential of absolute power over life and death, and the psychological impact of being trained to kill are sustained throughout.

High Violence

The gleaning of peopleâ€”selected individuals are killed on-page in various waysâ€”is depicted throughout; a massacre of hundreds by a corrupt Scythe is graphically described; the novel does not flinch from the reality of its central premise.

Synopsis

In a future where humanity has conquered death and disease, the only form of permanent death is gleaningâ€”performed by robed Scythes who cull the population to prevent overgrowthâ€”and two teenagers are chosen as apprentices to a Scythe with very different philosophies about how life and death should be managed. A richly imagined, philosophically serious YA dystopian novel exploring the ethics of choosing who lives and who dies. The first book in the Arc of a Scythe trilogy.