Scythe is about a world in the future, where humans have conquered all things, even death. Immortality is rapidly causing overpopulation. The Thunderhead, the artificial intelligence that now governs the world, decides to fix the problem by creating the Scythedom, an organization of trained killers, the Scythes. The Thunderhead made the Scythes the only ones with the right to kill, or as it is called, glean. Two teenagers, Rowan Damisch and Citra Terranova lived the monotonous life that is commonplace in the Age of Immortality. One day, they are snatched out of their previous life and pushed into the world of Scythes. The two children are taken into apprenticeship by the Honorable Scythe Michael Faraday. Scythe Faraday explains to them that only one of the will become a Scythe. Even so, the two become close friends. The two grow farther and farther apart as they realize that they would have to glean each other or die themselves as only one of them can become a Scythe. Who will be victorious in becoming a Scythe? Or would death be better than having to glean your friend? Scythe shows what will happen with immortal humans. Although the world is supposedly perfect with the rule of the ultimate artificial intelligence, the Scythedom is infested with madmen who believe that gleaning is something to be enjoyed–an art. When they kill dozens and dozens of innocent people at a time, it is deemed “normal”. The immortality also changes people’s view of life and death. As people will never die (unless they get killed by Scythes), it causes people to take irrational choices with their life, such as jumping off of skyscrapers. People are not afraid of dying because they can be revived again and again. In our world, life is cherished as something that will only happen once. This makes people live more fulfilling lives. Although people treat life like it’s just a game in this future world, they are more afraid of dying permanently because they are so used to being revived. This makes it nearly impossible for humans to undertake adventures such as space exploration for example, because in space they do not have the technology and machinery to be revived. Due to this, humans are too afraid to be on any space exploration expeditions. There is much more at stake for them to take risk in the space because of their immortality back at home. However without the spirit of risk taking, humans would never have advanced so much. Looking back human history, risk-taking is how we have evolved since the beginning of mankind, from Christopher Columbus sailing to the Americas to Neil Armstrong being the first human on the moon. The cowardice of the humans in the world of Scythe causes humans to be trapped on the Earth, and the only way to stop overpopulation, sadly, has to be decreasing the population. This is why there are Scythes. I find it rather ridiculous that the human-created Thunderhead chose this way to curb the rapid population growth. Scythe is definitely one of my favorite books this summer. There are fast-paced action, an intriguing story, and humor throughout the book. I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys science fictions / thriller novels. It is amazing how this book really makes you ponder. Scythe by Neal Shusterman. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2017. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this book? Or do you plan on reading it? Let us know in the comments below!
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Okay for Now, Reviewed by Lin, 13
To be honest, Okay for Now, written by Gary D. Schmidt, did not immediately suck me in. The lead was rather ordinary. It wasn’t until I read about Doug’s brother physically abusing/threatening him that I really started to get immersed in the plot. Doug’s life is quite undesirable, in my opinion as well as his. His father hits him, his mother, and his brother. Doug is pushed around by his brother as well. As I was reading this part, I felt endlessly grateful that I have such a loving, caring family. Doug’s daily life is comprised of being slapped and punched. To him, it’s normal. To me, it’s horrifying. What kind of dad smacks his own wife and sons? What kind of brother threatens to break his siblings’ back? Those two characters have disgusted me so far. Thankfully, Doug’s mom is a kind person. In a way, she reminds me of my mom; sweet, caring, doing things for others, and most importantly, having the smile of an angel. As his buddies were introduced, I was thinking that the story wasn’t too bad; at least the main character had friends. But then of course Doug has to move. His entire childhood is uprooted and plunked down in Marysville, New York. He lives in a miniature house in a stifling hot town. He has to be the new kid in a school where everyone already knows each other. Throughout the story Doug repeatedly states that he hates Marysville. I don’t blame him in the least. If I was in his place, I would be complaining left and right. There are some good things in Marysville however. Doug gets a job as a delivery boy. He meets a girl named Lil whom he develops a close bond. An old man named Mr. Powell teaches him to draw. There are little shining stars among the pitch-black of the sky. It was very interesting how there were pictures of birds before each chapter. I think each picture represents a different person or situation in the book. For example, Doug is probably thinking of himself as he describes the Arctic Tern. He sees the term crashing toward the sea, out of control, beak open to get that last breath of air, wings arrowed down, and most importantly that one terrified eye. In a way that is reflecting the situation he currently is in. The one terrified eye keeps coming up later in the story to add emphasis to the comparison. Later on Doug sees the picture of the Red-Throated Divers. The mother bird wants to fly away but can’t, and that the baby bird isn’t sure whether to follow the mother or the two other birds. I’m sure that just like the reality of Doug’s mother, who most likely yearns to leave but can’t because she must stay for that one baby bird. Last, Doug sees the puffin. At first he thinks they are chumps, ugly and fat and clumsy. But as the plot progresses, he see them in a new light as he starts to develop a liking for Lil. He draws them as if they like each other. It is a very interesting strategy. These pictures of birds represent good analogy to the characters and their situations. They make it easier to understand the person’s feelings and envision his or her difficult situation. Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt. Hmh Books for Young Readers, 2013. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this book? Or do you plan on reading it? Let us know in the comments below!
Getting Closer to Your Goals
One of my goals last year was to read a lot of books. I wanted to reach 50, but once I reached it, I knew I could aim higher. I bumped up my goal to 100, and ended up very close. How did I do it? Well, last year, I tried something new: using a reading journal to track all of my bookish data (to-reads, what I read this year, Goodreads challenges, etc.). Here’s my reading journal. I’ve entrusted Mickey with my records… Perhaps you’ve heard of bullet journals, meant as an aesthetic way to portray your life, with mood trackers, movies watched, grades, etc. There’s total freedom in choosing what you want to write about and how you want to write it. Well, a reading journals are bullet journals dedicated solely to books, and work in a similar fashion. You can choose different pages for your journal for different topics, and decorate and design them the way you’d like. Also, don’t forget: half of the fun is choosing the notebook itself! Here’s what I had in my reading journal: The Goodreads 100 Children’s Books to Read in a Lifetime List (edited slightly according to which books I think will interest me) Reading challenges and my progress Books I’d like to read (also known as to-reads) Favorite books of all time More pages of to-reads… I also had a few pages dedicated to writing, but it was mainly for reading. I tried to update my journal as often as possible to keep the most current numbers. So why stick with a journal? There are sites to help you keep track of your reading progress, but I love writing everything down. At the end of the day, it makes me feel more accomplished than a few clicks ever could (however, I do respect if you use websites to help you, because they are quick and simple). In addition, you can bring your record with you everywhere, without having to worry about any Wifi connection. You can even design your own layouts, titles, and fonts in your journal. Also, it’s pretty interesting to see how many books you’ve read at the end of the month and at the end of the year! Most importantly, though, I think it’s important to keep track of what you do, no matter where or how you do it. Keeping track of what I read kept me motivated to keep going. This can be applied to any goal, and I think that you’ll find yourself being more efficient, and happier, by writing/listing/typing out how much closer you are to your dreams. So do you want to start a reading journal? How do you keep track of books you’ve read or want to read? Do you journal? I’d love to hear about it below!
