BOOK REVIEW: SCYTHE

Title: Scythe 
Author: Neal Schusterman 
Publication: 2016
Genre: YA, Dystopian 
My Rating: ★★★★☆.5
 Favourite Quote: “Without the threat of suffering, we can’t experience true joy. The best we get is pleasantness.” 

"Thou shall kill" What if murder was legal?



Imagine a time when all the world's problems have been solved. No War, no crime, no politics, no famine, no disease and no death. In Scythe everyone is ruled by the all-knowing omnipotent "Thunderhead" (some sort of virtual Cloud) in which the world's population has resulted in a perfect existence- one that never ends. If no one dies then, how do you keep the growth of population under control? The answer is Scythes- an elite group of professional killers. Scythes are trained and ordained to glean the lives of individuals. Each Scythe, however, is given freedom to glean anyone they like and they're allowed to choose how they want to kill them.

 "The ending of human life used to be in the hands of nature. But we stole it. Now we have a monopoly on death. We are its sole distributor."

Honourable Scythe Faraday takes it upon himself to train Citra and Rowan to be junior Scythes, a job neither of them had ever dreamed of wanting. The story follows their viewpoint switching between them often, as they begin their Scythe apprenticeships. New Scythes haven't earned the right to glean people yet but it's their job to learn all about the art and craft of killing. The act of taking on two apprentices is seen as a major controversy particularly because of their affinity towards protecting each other. What starts out as a competition between Rowan and Citra soon becomes a competition to the death when they are told at the end of the year the chosen Scythe will have to glean the other.

During their training Citra and Rowan get separated (for reasons I will not reveal) and as their year of an apprentice progresses, they individually learn that some scythes have embraced a more corrupt form of "Scythedom" 

Let's talk characters

Citra's intelligent, sarcastic, driven and loves her family.The amount of sass on this stubborn girl is real. She's most likely to lose her temper though it's always to defend what she believes is right. I don't want to say I dislike Citra, because I don't. I just don't love her. At times I really enjoyed her observations and actions but her character arc wasn't that interesting, partly because of the situation she was in and partly because I don't think her "internal struggle" was much of a struggle.


Rowan is by far my favourite character in this book and so I definitely favoured reading his point-of-view. Rowan has a laid back, go with the flow kind of attitude at first which is a sharp contrast to Citra's. 
He deals with the most hardship in this book. Both before and during his apprenticeship he has to face numerous physical and mental challenges which were difficult to read at times, due to the moral confliction. His moral struggles are so real and raw, and despite becoming a total badass,  his ability to stay good at his core after all of the crap that happens to him is astonishing. 

 I love Citra and Rowan's relationship; that being a banterous friendship and the complications that later effect it (i.e. we can't actually be friends because one of us is going to have to kill each other soon.) While romantic interest between both of them is hinted at, it's not the main part of the story itself. Usually, this would be a turn off for me, because i'm a huge fan of romance, but it didn't really both me. I don't think it would've been right to include a story-line of romance seeing as Citra and Rowan's focus is on perfecting the art of death! Despite Citra and Rowan's different personalities though, they have a similar outlook on life that initially attracted Scythe Faraday to initiate both of them as apprentices. 

“My greatest wish for humanity is not for peace or comfort or joy. It is that we all still die a little inside every time we witness the death of another. For only the pain of empathy will keep us human."

Scythe Faraday is another wonderful character. He believes that a good Scythe is one that's not cruel and one that doesn't want to burden or vent anger by killing others, which is one of the reasons why he chooses Citra and Rowan. I absolutely love the relationship he has will both Citra and Rowan and the sheer amount of empathy he still bares over death, despite years of being a Scythe.


**

Shusterman's writing style is simple and easy to read, yet still powerful and evocative. The focus is definitely more on politics than on setting/world-building, so it makes sense that the writing isn't all flowery. The background information is great too. Shusterman truly answeres that "what if" question in every sense. It's scary to picture a world where our death is controlled and the fact that you could be visited by a cloaked Scythe at any time in your life, knowing it's your time to die. It's disturbing but you force yourself to realise, as Citra and Rowan do, that it's simply the way of life (and death) in this new world. 

“You have three hundred sixty-five days of immunity." And then, looking him in the eye, said, "And I'll be seeing you on day three hundred sixty-six.” 

Why not 5 stars?

I only have minor issues with this book because I really enjoyed it.
1. An area that Shusterman really focuses on is the journal entries of Scythes at the beginning of each chapter. At first, these excerpts are all written by Honourable Scythe Curie- a member of the 'old guard' who is highly jaded concerning the way that younger Scythes treat their power- yet as the novel progresses there are occasional excerpts from the diaries of other characters who hold opposing worldviews. I personally, found myself rushing through these entries, eager to actually start reading the chapters. I suppose I didn't find them very engaging. Saying all this, the journals are a unique story-telling concept which adds depth to the Scythedom world without cramming a load of background information in random places.
2. I thought Citra's character could've been developed a little bit more. It's as simple as that.  

“I think all young women are cursed with a streak of unrelenting foolishness, and all young men are cursed with a streak of absolute stupidity.” 

Scythe has been branded by critics as "a true successor to The Hunger Games" and while yes, it does live up to that tagline, it retains an intriguing freshness and uniqueness despite the common theme wihtin young adult fiction (an apprentice learning their trade.)

This novel definitely emits the message of making good decisions, choosing between right and wrong, following the rules or taking advantage of the privileges that have been given to you. It's nature vs nurture. It's about how two different people make decisions based on the way they've been raised, or in this case based on the way they've been trained.

Scythe is exhilarating and a fascinating exploration of the moral implications of what is expected of Citra and Rowan as their training unfolds. It's full of interesting and unexpected twists to keep you engaged throughout. Every character is perfectly written with complex true-to-life backgrounds and they all weave together in the story in ways that you don't expect! Scythe will leave you thinking about the politics of our own world and pondering your existence and your future.

I recently picked up the second book in the series called Thunderhead.   Scythe ended with so many unanswered questions and a big cliffhanger so i'm looking forward to reading this next book! Also, based on Scythe alone, I'm definitely going to take a look at other novels Shusterman has written!

Read Scythe and let me know what you think! 

*collage photos not my own.

BOOK REVIEW: THE CRUEL PRINCE

 

Title: The Cruel Prince (The Folk of Air #1)

Author: Holly Black

Publication: 2018

Genre: YA Fantasy 

My Rating: ★★★☆☆.5

Favourite Quote: “That’s what comes of hungering for something: you forget to check if it’s rotten before you gobble it down.”

Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

Let me just start my review by saying i'm not a massive fan of the fantasy fiction (though saying that The Chronicles of Narnia is one of my favourite book series so perhaps I'm lying to myself). Anyway, i'd seen a lot of recommended posts of The Cruel Prince on Instagram and Youtube. It seemed intriguing so I thought I'd buy it and give it a read, and it's safe to say, i'm impressed by it. 

If I cannot be better than them, I will be so much worse.”

The Cruel Prince is a rich, dark and wicked story. It's about power. The power to overcome fear. The power to find your place. The power to stand up to people who are more powerful than you.

Some books take so long pulling you in, don't they? Not this one. The book opens with a shocking and tragic event: the murder of non-faerie twins' parents at the hand of their mother's faerie ex-husband, Madoc. He takes the young twins and his daughter (the twins faerie half-sister) to live with him in the world of Faerie, raising them as though they were his own daughters. The rest of the book takes place in the Faerie world, 10 years after the opening scene. 

“No matter how careful I am, eventually I’ll make another misstep. I am weak. I am fragile. I am mortal. I hate that most of all.”

What I love the most about the author, Black,  is that this faerie tale isn't all roses, sunshine and daisies. It's dark, and the faeries are cruel and cunning immortals. At first glance, the High Court of Faerie is a beautiful place with balls where the guests dance until morning. However, delving beneath the surface you see that darkness hides this beauty. For example, mortals are drugged on faerie fruit and made into mindless servants. 

The story is told from the point-of-view of 17-year-old Jude Duarte and 10 years since the murder of her parents, she has adjusted to the fae world and believes it's where she truly belongs. Though she never lets go of her hate towards Madoc she lets him train her to fight and she attempts to learn as much as she can to join the royal fae court as a knight. Jude, however, doesn't get the chance to prove her skills and pledge herself and so she finds another path to the acceptance of the faerie world she so desperately craves. This path reveals to her the cruelty of the High Court and the bitter hatred of the High Prince, Cardan. Jude soon finds that not only her own life is at risk, but the lives of her family as well. 

Characters worth mentioning

Jude 

“I have lied and I have betrayed and I have triumphed. If only there was someone to congratulate me.” 

I love a book or film with a strong female lead, and this is one of them. 
Jude's an interesting character: she's humanly flawed which sometimes makes her unlikeable. She's impulsive, greedy, ambitious and even brutal at times. But she's also very strong-willed and loving. The girl knows what she wants and will do her best to get it. Jude has the heart and talents of a warrior but the more you get to know her, you understand that she's always afraid because she's an outcast in a place where mortals are frowned upon and she never knows what could happen to her. 

What I didn't like about Jude is her attitude to death and violence. There's a fair amount of bloodshed in this book and I found it unbelievable that it didn't seem to have much of an impact on her at all. I think Black has written Jude's character so well because it's hard to write a character who's ruthlessly cold and calculating whilst also being so humanly and compassionate. 

Tayrn 

"Unlike me, Taryn is adaptable. She will fall in love, just as she said. She will metamorphose into wife or consort and raise faerie children who will adore and outlive her."

I don't know what it was about Taryn, Jude's twin sister, but she just annoyed me. She plays her cards much differently to Jude. Taryn tries to fit into fairy society by attempting to find a faerie husband to secure her place.  Whilst Jude is fiery and kind of in your face, Taryn is quiet, passive and more submissive. We never discover enough of Taryn for us to really feel anything for her, so she's merely a background character in Jude's story. Taryn is loyal to her sister but there are secrets she keeps that soon get in the way of their loyalty.

One thing that really irritated me is that the twins, along with their older sister, Vivienne, weren't scarred from seeing their parents brutally murdered right in front of them! I mean, they were young children when it happened so surely something so savage as that will leave an impression on them and probably leave lasting psychological effects. Black simply dismisses this and the memory of it is only drawn upon by Jude's a couple of times whenever she's in the presence of Madoc.


Prince Cardan

His eyes are bright as coals, his hatred a living thing, shimmering in the air between us like the air above black rocks on a blazing summer day.”

Is it possible to loathe a character and love them at the same time? Yes it is because I present to you the only and only Prince Cardan. It takes real skill to take the villain of a story and make him not only sympathetic but precious too. I wanna stick him in a box, tie a ribbon around it and then stick it on the top shelf to keep him safe. He's the youngest prince- known to be useless and a bully amongst the fae people. Cardan is cruel, lazy, arrogant and most of the time, drunk. He treats Jude and Taryn quiet poorly, bullying them (Jude mostly) to the extreme. Why though? Because the silly boy secretly likes Jude of course. He loathes the fact that he desires a mortal and so he tries everything possible to make her hate him so there's no chance of reciprocation. If anyone tries to harm Jude though, Cardan immediately stops them which confuses Jude even more. Believe me, if you hate Cardan at the start, which you will, you'll love him by the end. 

**

Aside from that first chapter, the story is quite slow to begin with, though as the plot thickens I was always kept guessing about what happens next and anxiously did so. In some ways, the slow start seemed worth it because the characters were well established by the time the power plays were being made and I enjoyed it the darker it got. There's constant tension surrounding every choice Jude makes and I was surprised to find myself rooting for her most of the way through.

The Title

In the beginning, it's easy to assume that the title refers to Cardan but as the story progresses and the fae court politics are introduced, you soon start to question who the eponymous cruel prince is. With everyone's motives unknown to Jude, you have to guess and make assumptions as to who it is. 

“Nice things don’t happen in storybooks. Or when they do happen, something bad happens next. Because otherwise the story would be boring, and no one would read it.”


So, why not 5 stars? 

Chiefly because the first part of the story is underwhelming, I was wondering when something super significant would happen, however, when it does, my god does it escalate quickly! 
I read that many people thought that far too many pages were spent with Jude and Cardan constantly antagonising each other, but I enjoyed that. Not the bullying, but the witnessing of the character dynamic between them and watching how their relationship evolved. 

Furthermore, I think Cardan should've featured more in the story than what was seen of him. You start to like him so of course, you want to see more of him. At certain points of the story I thought, "well where is Cardan in all this?/Cardan should be here for this part." I'm assuming that Black has a lot more Cardan related content in book two!

It was only until I finished the book that I realised there was going to be a second book. I suppose The Cruel Prince is more of a foundation for the next book(s) to come. That's not to say that this book isn't intense, because it is. In all, The Cruel Prince is engaging with some jaw-dropping scenes and an intriguing, cliff-hanger ending. With murders, secrets, lies and betrayal in a faerie land, I can see The Folk of Air series being very successful. I mean, there's a lot of hype over this book already. I can't wait to find out how Black will develop the story and the characters, especially Jude playing the fae-politics with Prince Cardan. There are much bigger things to come, I'm sure!

*collage photos not my own.

BOOK REVIEW: The Tattooist of Auschwitz

Title: The Tattooist of Auschwitz 
Author: Heather Morris 
Publication: 2018
Genre: Biographical Fiction, Romance 
My Rating: ★★★★★

Favourite Quote: "To him all women were beautiful and he believed there was no harm in telling them so."

I finished this book crying on the top deck of a bus and then got off and cried some more whilst I walked down the street. I knew I would be in for a highly emotional read with this book because of course, a book on the Holocaust is never going to be an easy read. However, despite the difficult and heartbreaking subject, this book is also a love story and a poignant reminder of a past that should not be forgotten. 

“Politics will help you understand the world until you don’t understand it anymore, and then it will get you thrown into a prison camp. Politics and religion, both."

A story of love, loyalty, sacrifice and despair, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is based on the true story of Lale Sokolov, prisoner 34902. He was a Slovakian Jew who was held in the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp working as the tattooist who was forced to mark each prisoner with one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust- the blue numbers tattooed on prisoners' arms. He soon met and marked the love of his life, a young woman called Gita, and so began their unusual love affair. 

I have to say, I feel slightly naive about what I thought I knew about the concentration camps. If Lale wanted to stay alive and keep Gita alive, he quickly realised he will have to do things have may never forgive himself for. During his imprisonment, Lale traded, smuggled and stored different goods. He also collaborated with outsiders- the workers sent in to build and maintain various parts of the camp. Due to his position as the 'Tetovierer (Tattooer), he was allowed a little more freedom and extra food rations which he shared with others inside the camp.

"Tattooing the arms of men is one thing. Defiling the bodies of young girls is horrifying."

Lale knew that marking the arms of innocent people was a violation. He knew  it was brutal, cruel and degrading, but what choice did he have if he wanted to survive? Lale actually chose to withhold his story for many years as he was afraid of being labelled a collaborator for his role in the concentration camp and the guilt of it all. Eventually, he came to trust the author, Heather Morris, to tell his tale over a culmination of years of interviews. 

"I saw a half-starved young man risk his life to save you. I figure you must be someone worst saving."

Lale is a character who easily wins the empathy and sympathy of the reader. From the outset of the novel, he is kind, thoughtful and always trying to do the right thing, putting others before himself. He takes risks that could cost him his life. Somehow, he manages to stay postive and upbeat despite the absolute brutality, cruelty, violence and inhumanity he's exposed to daily. Lale's instincts, cleverness and quick thinking saves his life and sometimes the lives of the friends around him. Both Lale and Gita show the other people in their blocks kindness, compassion and generosity, even when there's little to share. 

"Their lovemaking is passionate, desperate. Two people desperate for the love and intimacy they fear they will otherwise never experience. Lale knows at this moment he can love no other."


As much as this is Lale's tale of survival, this is also a book about two souls who meet in the darkest of places and somehow make their love thrive. Love gives both Lale and Gita something to live for, to fight for and to stay safe for. Their weekly opportunities to secretly meet-up help shape their months and offer some solace and warmth in desperate conditions. Morris mainly follows Lale's story but we do spend a little time with Gita and see some of what the women in the camp were exposed to. 

“when you spend years not knowing if in five minutes time you will be dead, there is not much that you can’t deal with.”

The interaction between Lale and Gita were sometimes heartbreaking to read due to the effect the barbarism had on them emotionally and psychologically. Saying this, it also offered hope, tenderness and a much-needed glimpse of the strength and courage of the men and women held in the camp. Lale can be humorous and playful and tries to remind Gita that they do have a chance of being happy and return to their lives outside of the camp, despite Gita's reluctance to believe this is is possible. 

The protection and effort Lale goes to in order to secure Gita's survival is heart-warming. This inspiring and enduring love story reminds us of the depth of humanity, to love in the face of utter despair. My concern for the final fate of these lovers was why I continued to turn the pages over at such a feverish pace.

"Bodies, hundreds of naked bodies, fill the room. They are piled up on each other, their limbs distorted. Dead eyes stare. Men, young and old; children at the bottom. Blood, vomit, urine, and faeces."


Even though this is a love story, Morris doesn't shy away from describing the horrific living conditions and the treatment of prisoners. I don't really think you can "sugar coat" what happened at Auschwitz anyway. In doing so, it would be a disservice to all the millions who lost their lives, and to the survivors.  Morris very much tells the story in life with the raw facts. It's overwhelming, particularly the sheer amount of people who inhabit the pages and then never hear of again due to their sudden murder. The fact that Lale survives seems like an absolute miracle, and perhaps it was. It would truly surpise me if this novel does not induce both laughter and tears from anyone who reads it.

"If you wake up in the morning, it is a good day."

Friendships, romance, loyalty and allegiances operate under exceptional circumstances but they exist and they exist fiercely. Despite the ugliness and horrid setting of this book, the resilence that Lale finds deep within himself, his courage and above all, his strength of character shines through, as does his passionate love for Gita. Morris did such an incredible job of retelling Lale and Gita's story at times it felt like i was there beside him. I felt his despair, his pain and those moments when it would have been easier to have given up than to live another day in pure torture. It's a heartbreaking tale yet the budding romance is something to cling to when all seems lost.

The depiction of the camp, the characterisation and the fluency and readability of the book reflect Morris' skill as an author. The Tattooist of Auschwitz is unforgettable, as is Lale and Gita themselves. I think this book will haunt me for a long time to come, but I can't recommend this book enough.




                                                         ****   

                                                   Lale and Gita 

Lale and Gita with their son, Gary.

                               Lale and Gita in their old age.


*(photos extracted from springfielddailyrecord.com)*