uzzus

I came in with high expectations for Scythe and it did not disappoint at all. Scythe paints a distorted utopian landscape of a human society that has plateaued after reaching its “final” stage of technological advancement - immortality and societal equity - which now requires Scythes, or death bringers, to control population growth. Natural death is obsolete, while unnatural deaths at the hands of Scythes is the new normal.

We follow Rowan and Citra through their apprenticeship journeys, where we learn about the different philosophies of their mentors and what they think is the purpose and morality of having/being sanctioned professional killers. Compassion and sadism lie on opposite ends of the philosophical spectrum, and we witness how a “highly moral” organization falls back into the same cycle of human nature and the supposedly eradicated vices of an evolved society. Holding onto one's individual morality and integrity becomes a challenge when faced by a persuasive cult of personality and its hedonistic narcissism.

While Scythe focuses a lot on the politics of the Scythedom, it has made me question my outlook on life and the future ahead of us. It made me think, what is the true meaning and purpose of life if you could live forever in a perfect utopia? What would happen to us once we become stagnant and stationary in our ventures?

I realized that the fragility of life actually brings sustenance and meaning to it. We do not want pain and suffering in our lives, yet the hope on the other side provides us something to look forward to and work towards. No, I am not trying to romanticize life's difficulties or societal inequities, and yes, I recognize my immense privilege that allows me to live comfortably and securely. But I now understand that the hope for better days, with the drive to progress and improve and change, motivates us in our lives and makes us cherish our lives a little more.

If you're looking for a silly and mindless rom-com that plays into the fake-dating trope, then yes, this book is for you. If you're looking for a compelling female character, an appealing love interest, and a plot that has substance, then no, this is sadly not for you.

I wish I liked this book, but I do not. Even though it was a fairly easy read and the premise was up my alley, it was just so frustrating to read through because of how incessantly annoying Olive is. Her logic makes no sense at all, like non-consensually kissing and sexually assaulting the random person in a hallway so your friend could back off your dating life? I don't know, how about talking to your so-called best friend about that?

As an adult woman, she has zero backbone, integrity, and respect for herself. I understand how insecurities and imposter syndrome can feed our internal cycle of hate towards ourselves, lowering our self-esteem and devaluing our self-worth. Olive is supposed to come off as relatable to readers simply because she has insecurities that makes her an imperfect and flawed person. Yet, it so hard to find her likeable because she has no character development at all. She spends the entire book berating and doubting herself on whether she is worthy of a spot in academia and whether she is a likeable romantic interest (for Adam). It's just so frustrating to sit through 350 pages of a woman who refuses to grow up and take matters into her own hands, who refuses to stand up for herself even when confronted by a terrible, disgusting person. And worse yet, all of her problems are constantly resolved by a man whom she even calls her “knight in black armor”. It was such a cringeworthy and eye-rolling line.

The long-harboring crush that Adam has towards Olive was plain creepy and not cute at all. You're telling me a 31 year-old (established professor) crushed on a 23 year-old (post-undergrad, incoming grad) after one chance encounter, and kept crushing on her for 3 years? There's an underlying power dynamic here in both age and career/professionalism that can't be ignored, no matter how respectful and patient Adam is or how they're both consenting adults. Additionally, they're both emotionally inadequate to be in an intimate relationship with each other - one is emotionally stunted (Adam) and the other is emotionally immature (Olive). I also could not stand the way they spoke to each other; their banter lacked substance, continuously making the same jokes/jabs at each other as if they don't actually know each other that well. I honestly could not feel any romantic chemistry between these two.

That smut scene... I get that this was originally a fanfic and I can see this exact scene in a fanfic I'd typically read, but I am just so tired of the inexperienced young woman x experienced older man trope. It just feeds even more into their power imbalance. Also, it was so weird when Adam said “You can take it” like sir... you are not the one taking it, please wait for her to say yes or no.

The premise and message Alyssa Cole talks about is great, but I am not convinced by the execution. Half of the book is slow exposition, ballooned by numerous background neighborhood characters that I had a hard time keeping track of (I wonder if that is more a commentary of me though, an outsider peeking into a neighborhood that isn't mine, not getting to truly know about these other people beyond the main protagonists? Hmm).

When Sydney and Theo finally connect the dots with the bad guys, I became so confused because I felt like it was almost... obvious that everything is connected to the Big Bad. Like didn't Sydney already uncover this before? Then it became even more confusing about what Sydney and Theo already knew vs. what they were discovering in their research. Also, the ending where the neighbor reveals he's kinda known all along there were other incidents like this in other cities... why didn't he mention this before? I don't know, everything to me started to fall apart after the community garden and felt like they turned into convenient plot points to reach the ending, which was just a bizarre, unrealistic, and out of place action movie. The villains felt so cartoonishly evil, the “resolution” was so abrupt and left me wondering about the consequences. Also kind of ridiculous is how did the neighbors know where and how to find them? It was just too convenient that the entire neighborhood seemingly had a “backup plan” to find and save them in the hospital.

I was fine with the dual perspectives at first, but wanted to throw the book at the wall because of Sydney's doubts towards Theo during the last 1/3. It would have been a bigger satisfying thriller if the book was told entirely in Sydney's perspective as we build on her suspicions and distrust. As readers, we sorta trust Theo because we know his thoughts; he hasn't been lying or disingenuous so far, and it wouldn't fit if it was suddenly revealed that he's a lying first POV narrator (but this is a thriller, any twist could happen). But then seeing the whiplash of emotions in Sydney's perspective, it was like come on... he's on your side.

As for the writing... I guess it's just not my taste, like I don't need all these extraneous details that feel like overstimulation... do I need to know about the ugly sandals this guy is wearing? Not really.

The setup is great, the message is great, but the book feels a little ridiculous.

First read this in high school for summer reading. I enjoyed it the first time but I don't think it fully sunk in as to WHY we were reading it in the first place. Now though, I can see why they chose this, simply because of Cashore's ability to build a fantasy world centered around a strong female protagonist. Someone who is physically strong and mentally strong, and cares deeply for justice and those she cares about. Katsa could've been molded and manipulated into becoming someone so evil and vile and twisted, just like Leck, who used his powers to abuse those around him. But the fact that Katsa's very own moral core is so strong, that she breaks free from Randa's control, takes charge of her own life, starts her own special inter-kingdom Council to help others... She's such an amazing and thoughtful character that you can't help but enjoy reading.

Though, I think the driving force of Graceling has to be Katsa's relationship with Po. It is built so gradually, where they learn to rely on, understand, and trust each other. They respect each other and pine for each other. They have such a deep connection and balance one another so well. Katsa never had interest in love, until she found someone who understood and connected with her, not even realizing she's fallen in love either. Their devotion and their tension was just chef's kiss. It's so nice to read a healthy relationship dynamic that depicts both of them as equals, where they TREAT each other as equals.