Happy Presidents Day! In the spirit of historical figures and Shusterman’s many nods to obscure ones from across world history, who is one of your favorite lesser-known historical figures?
The OpenlyBooked Book Club read Thunderhead earlier this month to continue the ARC OF A SCYTHE series. I think Scythe should have been left as a standalone – it had a Printz nod and wrapped up so nicely. Thunderhead felt way too long and the new points of view weren’t very interesting to me, detracting from the overall reading experience.
Bookish Quick Facts:
- Title: Thunderhead
- Author: Neal Shusterman
- Series: Arc of a Scythe #2
- Publisher & Release: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers – Jan, 2018
- Length: 512
- Rate & Recommend: ⭐⭐⭐⚡ it will be hit or miss with the sequel, but a good series for YA readers
Synopsis (from Amazon):
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?
Overall: this was a much longer book. I liked the Scythe and Thunderhead history and world building. Faraday and Curie brought a lot to this second installment. Tyger and … Uh … Grayson? Not so much. It was fun to get a better look at the Tonists too. Thunderhead was the true star!
Although I do not require devotion, am I not deserving of it?
The last 25% picked up in pace again and finished on a truly dramatic and apocalyptic note. I appreciate Shusterman’s willingness to be brutal. Some parts were truly brutal too with more political scheming, injustice, and murder overall.
If we were judged by the things we most regret, no human being would be worthy to sweep the floor
❤❤My favorite part was the Thunderhead’s little chapter segues, when it was meditating on divinity and responsibility. It reminded me of Aidan having to make some tough choices in Illuminae. It was also interesting to see all the random scythe names that Schusterman was plucking from world history, it would be a fun classroom activity to have kids pick a name and research the person❤❤
How ironic, then, and how poetic, that humankind may have created the Creator out of want for one. Man creates God, who then creates man. Is that not the perfect circle of life? But then, if that turns out to be the case, who is created in whose image
I liked the character arcs of Citra/Anastasia and Rowan, i just don’t think they have one bit of chemistry. Not. One. Ounce. I lost a chunk of respect for the way he ended the book with the two characters. Overall he could have done much worse and it was a closed door scene – but still – like just why. Authors need to stop throwing in what they think people ‘expect’ in books.
That’s exactly what the scythedom is: high school with murder.
I’m not too keen on reading The Toll, after this one, but I probably will finish the trilogy. I would 100% still tell teens to read Thunderhead. There’s a lot of good food for thought there and compared to a lot of modern YA, these are excellent books. I am probably just bitter that the author caved to what he thinks people want to read but I respect Thunderhead‘s many great qualities
OneReadingNurse.com 