Review: Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

If you haven’t read Scythe yet, read our review! 10 months after Rowan escaped gleaning, the world around him has changed. The divisions within the scythedom have grown more apparent. To rid the world of the new order, Rowan wears a black robe and goes by Scythe Lucifer. His goal: to glean any unworthy Scythes that followed in that path of Robert Goddard.

Simultaneously, Citra, who took the name Scythe Anastasia, finds herself gaining more prominence with the scythes who follow the old ways. Her fellow junior scythes look to Citra as a role model. 
As the story progresses Citra and Scythe Marie Curie realize that they are being followed and someone is trying to kill the. An average citizen, Greyson Tolliver, saves them from getting killed the first time. This heroic act costs Greyson everything. 

While all this is happening in Mid-Merica, Scythe Faraday goes on his own journey based off a nursery rhyme. He believes the key to solving the problems in the world can be found in a place that the Thunderhead can’t find. 

We don’t want to give too much away and fill this review spoilers. Just know that the entire book keeps you on the edge of your seat. The shocking turn of events, especially at end, will surprise the most seasoned reader. This sequel did not fall into the dreaded second book trap. All we can say is expect the unexpected. 

The addition of new characters made this story even more important. All of the characters are well-developed and played an important part in the story. Also, the setting takes place in more parts of the world. We loved seeing how the borders changed in this post-mortal world, especially the chapters that take place in Egypt. 

We enjoyed having more insight on the creation of the Thunderhead. Imagine an incredibly intelligent version of Alexa controlling everything in the world. The Thunderhead knows everything and provides you with anything you need in life. It’s perfect…in theory. But, the Thunderhead can’t do much to solve the difficult problems that emerge for these characters. 

We can’t wait to see what Shusterman has in store from us in The Toll, the last book of the trilogy. We’re especially ready for more scenes with Rowan and Citra together. It seems the two will have an uphill battle with all the changes in the world since the ending of this book. We can’t wait to learn more about how the first Scythes planned the world and if they anticipated power-hungry people in the future ruining everything they built. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐