Tag: Neal Shusterman

The Dark Side of Nowhere by Neal Shusterman

The Dark Side of Nowhere
Author: Neal Shusterman
Published: August 14, 2012
240 Pages

Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 4 stars

Book Description:

Jason is having a bad day. The kind of day when you just don’t feel like yourself. Only for Jason, it’s not just a feeling. He really isn’t himself. Not anymore. Who is he? That’s the problem. Jason isn’t sure. And it’s not just him. Everyone in town is acting weird. His friends. His parents. Everyone. Billington is usually such a normal town. As Jason is about to discover, nothing will ever be normal again…

Kim’s Review:

We love Shusterman here at Jessica’s Reading Room. He hooked us with Scythe and the more I’ve read, the more I love him! While most of his books come in series, he does have some standalones. This is one, and a short one at that. He seems to know exactly the right length for his books. The Toll was nice and big and I didn’t even care, this one is short and concise and I enjoyed it!

I’ll admit that the plot twist was a little obvious. However, I still liked it and the characters fit the story well. I was engaged and I couldn’t wait to see how the story concluded. I didn’t see any loose ends dangling and I was a little surprised that I liked the ending as much as I did.

Overall, I think this is a great book for teens who don’t normally like reading, but want to try it. I thought it was fun and interesting and Shusterman stays upon his high pedestal of excellence!!

Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK

Sunday Series VIDEO Review: Arc of a Scythe

Today Kim is bringing you a Sunday Series VIDEO review of the Arc of a Scythe series by Neal Shusterman. Both Jessica and Kim have loved this series, which the final book just came out and Kim has already read it! Once Jessica can get her hands on it (and time to read it) we will bring her her thoughts on it!

Books in the Series:
Scythe
Thunderhead
The Toll


Scythe
Published: November 22, 2016
449 Pages

Two teens must learn the “art of killing” in this Printz Honor–winning book, the first in a chilling new series from Neal Shusterman, author of the New York Times bestselling Unwind dystology.

A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery: humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now Scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.

Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

Scythe is the first novel of a thrilling new series by National Book Award–winning author Neal Shusterman in which Citra and Rowan learn that a perfect world comes only with a heavy price.

Kim’s 5 star review is here.
Jessica’s 5 star review is here.

Thunderhead
Published:
November 21, 2017
504 pages

Rowan and Citra take opposite stances on the morality of the Scythedom, putting them at odds, in the chilling sequel to the Printz Honor Book Scythe from New York Times bestseller Neal Shusterman, author of the Unwind dystology. The Thunderhead cannot interfere in the affairs of the Scythedom. All it can do is observe—it does not like what it sees.

A year has passed since Rowan had gone off grid. Since then, he has become an urban legend, a vigilante snuffing out corrupt scythes in a trial by fire. His story is told in whispers across the continent. As Scythe Anastasia, Citra gleans with compassion and openly challenges the ideals of the “new order.” But when her life is threatened and her methods questioned, it becomes clear that not everyone is open to the change. Will the Thunderhead intervene? Or will it simply watch as this perfect world begins to unravel?

Kim’s 5 star review is here.
Jessica’s 5 star review is here.

The Toll
Published: November 5, 2019
627 Pages

In the highly anticipated finale to the New York Times bestselling trilogy, dictators, prophets, and tensions rise. In a world that’s conquered death, will humanity finally be torn asunder by the immortal beings it created?

Citra and Rowan have disappeared. Endura is gone. It seems like nothing stands between Scythe Goddard and absolute dominion over the world scythedom. With the silence of the Thunderhead and the reverberations of the Great Resonance still shaking the earth to its core, the question remains: Is there anyone left who can stop him?

The answer lies in the Tone, the Toll, and the Thunder.

Kim’s Ratings of the Series:
Scythe: 5 Stars
Thunderhead: 5 Stars
The Toll: 4 Stars

Kim’s Thoughts on the Arc of a Scythe Series:

Purchase Links:
These are links to the boxset of all three books:

Amazon US
Amazon UK

 

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Dry by Neal and Jarrod Shusterman

Authors:
Neal Shusterman

Jarrod Shusterman
Published: October 2, 2018
Audiobook

Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: April 10-17, 2019
Jessica’s Rating: 5 stars

Book Description:

When the California drought escalates to catastrophic proportions, one teen is forced to make life and death decisions for her family in this harrowing story of survival from New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman.

The drought—or the Tap-Out, as everyone calls it—has been going on for a while now. Everyone’s lives have become an endless list of don’ts: don’t water the lawn, don’t fill up your pool, don’t take long showers.

Until the taps run dry.

Suddenly, Alyssa’s quiet suburban street spirals into a warzone of desperation; neighbors and families turned against each other on the hunt for water. And when her parents don’t return and her life—and the life of her brother—is threatened, Alyssa has to make impossible choices if she’s going to survive.

Jessica’s Review:

Between reading Hanna Jameson’s The Last and now Dry and watching ‘Walking Dead’ type shows/movies I now want to stock up on everything and be ready for the end of civilization! Especially water: You cannot live without water after a few days.  Dry has totally freaked me out and I want to be prepared!  Everything about Dry felt real to me. It takes place in southern California (OMG, this happened in the USA!) and the water has run completely out.  The desperation of everyone is captured brilliantly and we see how people become in impossible situations. 

Our protagonists are young adults, so they will come with immaturity, but I was completely drawn into the story! You don’t know what is going to happen and who will die or live.  For a while I thought we were going to have a ‘Mist movie type ending’ and OMG, that would be jaw dropping as it is so realistic and not a happy ending. 

Shusterman does such a wonderful job making you think about things long after you have finished his books.  He continues this with Dry.  Dry has you thinking about what you will do and who will you become when the Tap-Out eventually happens.

Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK

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