The Toll (Arc of a Scythe #3) by Neal Shusterman

I think it will be impossible to talk bout this book without including ***SPOILERS*** for Scythe & Thunderhead. If you haven't read them you might want to stop here after I say that I loved this book, this trilogy, so much. I cried a little at the end and read the last two lines about 10 times before I closed the book and went to bed. I stayed up until 12:30am to finish.


Now, you have been warned that if you go on from here you may got ***SPOILED*** by details from  Scythe & Thunderhead. I won't be spoiling anything in The Toll.


The cloud has become Thunderhead. As a perfect entity providing for the needs of humanity and keeping some sense of equilibrium in the life of the living things on Earth it was proven that humans are still, even when they live in a world without want, without poverty, without racial and sexist and religious discrimination, with a balanced, equitable, system, people are still people. They are still greedy, power hungry, corruptible, and capable of terrible acts.

With Rowan and Citra we got to see inside the two different ways of being a Scythe. First during their time with Faraday and then Citra's with Curie and Rowan's with Goddard. It has become clear that Goddard will not stop until he is the supreme ruler of a world he has shaped to please himself.

Thunderhead plays a bigger role in this book, which is an incredible conclusion to the trilogy. There are moments of beautiful humanity, horrible acts by people who seem more monster than human, tension that kept me squirming, a few chuckles, and some coming into their own by some characters. We meet some new people, one of whom I totally, TOTALLY loved!!!

The plan that is the backbone of this story is surprising and fascinating. The insight we have come to expect from Thunderhead is still here.

There is a gender fluid character who comes from a place where a person isn't assigned a gender at birth and doesn't settle on a gender identity, isn't even allowed to do so, until adulthood and it is written beautifully and interestingly by Shusterman.

I have a major book-hangover!!!

(Finished November 9, 2019)