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
The Institute by Stephen King
Today Kim brings you a video review of The Institute by Stephen King. This was her first ever King book she read and she has so much to catch up on! She does go on a little bit of a rant about how King must think about people from South Carolina and how he must not know anyone from that state.
The Institute
Author: Stephen King
Published: September 10, 2019
561 Pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street in suburban Minneapolis, intruders silently murder Luke Ellis’s parents and load him into a black SUV. The operation takes less than two minutes. Luke will wake up at The Institute, in a room that looks just like his own, except there’s no window. And outside his door are other doors, behind which are other kids with special talents—telekinesis and telepathy—who got to this place the same way Luke did: Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris, and ten-year-old Avery Dixon. They are all in Front Half. Others, Luke learns, graduated to Back Half, “like the roach motel,” Kalisha says. “You check in, but you don’t check out.”
In this most sinister of institutions, the director, Mrs. Sigsby, and her staff are ruthlessly dedicated to extracting from these children the force of their extranormal gifts. There are no scruples here. If you go along, you get tokens for the vending machines. If you don’t, punishment is brutal. As each new victim disappears to Back Half, Luke becomes more and more desperate to get out and get help. But no one has ever escaped from the Institute.
Kim’s Video Review:
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
**Goodreads is currently running a giveaway where 25 copies are being given away. This giveaway runs through November 14th. Check out Goodreads if you are interested!
Release Day Review: The Hive
Authors: Barry Lyga & Morgan Baden
Published: Today, September 3, 2019
416 Pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: August 26-31, 2019
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
Cassie McKinney has always believed in the Hive.
Social media used to be out of control, after all. People were torn apart by trolls and doxxers. Even hackers – like Cassie’s dad – were powerless against it.
But then the Hive came. A better way to sanction people for what they do online. Cause trouble, get too many “condemns,” and a crowd can come after you, teach you a lesson in real life. It’s safer, fairer and perfectly legal.
Entering her senior year of high school, filled with grief over an unexpected loss, Cassie is primed to lash out. Egged on by new friends, she makes an edgy joke online. Cassie doubts anyone will notice. But the Hive notices everything. And as her viral comment whips an entire country into a frenzy, the Hive demands retribution. One moment Cassie is anonymous; the next, she’s infamous. And running for her life.
With nowhere to turn, she must learn to rely on herself – and a group of Hive outcasts who may not be reliable – as she slowly uncovers the truth about the machine behind the Hive.
New York Times bestselling authors Barry Lyga and Morgan Baden have teamed up for the first time to create a novel that’s gripping, terrifying and more relevant every day, based on a story proposal by Jennifer Beals and Tom Jacobson.
Jessica’s Review:
Social media is everywhere and just about everyone is a part of it. Imagine we are in a United States where you are required to be on social media once you reach 13 years old and anything you say can have consequences (Likes, Dislikes, Condemns). The more Condemns you receive the greater your chances are to have Hive Justice carried out against you by anyone and everyone in a serious way. And the police cannot stop the mob mentality because it is all legal.
Although The Hive started a bit slow for me (the introduction to Hive, BLINQ, and Cassie being in high school) it was all necessary to the buildup of the joke that Cassie made that cause her to go viral. BLINQ is a government owned social media that connects all forms of social media together. My opinion is that BLINQ is a bit like ‘Twitter on crack’. Cassie is an angry girl experiencing some grief and she transfers to a new school her senior year. The beginning is a bit like Mean Girls and some typical high school drama of Cassie trying to figure out where to fit in.
Once Cassie’s joke goes viral the novel really starts moving and doesn’t stop until the end. I could not put the novel down and read it in just a few days. It’s hard to fathom that people want to go out and find Cassie and hurt her (or worse) because of a tasteless joke. It is definitely a mob mentality/vigilante justice. Forget the fact that she is just a kid, people just want to do what they can do without legal repercussions, not even knowing the whole situation. They just want to kill because they can.
There are some political overtones to the novel. Normally, I cannot stand that in novels, but with this particular subject matter, the politics are necessary. The Hive is also be a coming of age type novel as Cassie grew on me showing her growth and maturity she reaches as the novel progresses. The Hive is definitely relevant to our society today. So much is done online now that it seems more important than ‘real life’. Maybe real life is actually our online life…. The Hive definitely shows how anything we say or do has consequences (both positive and negative). We really should think about what we are about to say or do.
I was personally hoping for a different ending, something that shows how truly evil and damaging the Hive and BLINQ are to this society. Being this is a young adult novel, maybe that was the case for the ending we received.
The Hive is a novel everyone 14+ should read ( I say 14+ as there is foul language used throughout the novel, mainly the ‘f-word’). The Hive will leave you thinking about social media and where we are heading with it. How much do YOU share online, and could something you say or do cause you to receive a ‘Hive Alert’?
Many thanks to the publisher KCP Loft for sending me an arc copy. It was a pleasure to read and review.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK