Module 5: Fantastical Fiction
Shusterman, N. (2017). Scythe. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 9781442472433:Summary: In a future where death by natural causes has been eliminated and advanced technology, things seem to go well in the world. There is an artificial intelligence form named Thunderhead that controls the society, it does not have regrets or makes mistakes. There is an organization opposite of Thunderhead called the Scythedom, where Scythes are the decision makers of who dies due to an overpopulation problem. Follow Citra Terranova and Rowan Damisch as they undergo training into the mysterious Scythedom.
Analysis: The first chapter appears to be a journal written by someone who lives in a certain type of society. “Perhaps that is why we must, by law, keep a record. A public journal, testifying to those who will never die and those who are yet to be born, as to why we human beings do the things we do. We are instructed to write down not just our deeds but our feelings, because it must be known that we do have feelings. Remorse. Regret. Sorrow too great to bear. Because if we didn’t feel those things, what monsters would we be?” There seems to be a question of mortality and life along with choices that deal with human compassion. The futuristic society where humanity is pretty much immortal loses the sense of finding the will to live.
There is lack of passion or purpose if there is no way to truly die. Therefore, the Scythedom is created to ensure the more permanent solution. Although they refer to it as “gleaning” since it is not considered socially or morally correct to call it killing, the Scythes provide the method to control population growth and kill off people through more ensured methods. The readers met Rowan, one of the characters of the story, where he sees a scythe coming for one of his classmates. Even though he couldn’t interfere with the actual gleaning he stayed with his classmate and held his hand, despite the boy dying in the end. Even though Rowan showed kindness to the boy who just died, he got ridiculed for allowing him to die.
“2042. It’s a year that every schoolchild knows. It was the year where computational power became infinite—or so close to infinite that it could no longer be measured. It was the year we knew. . . everything.” The journal entry continues on to explain how the world works and how humanity obtains knowledge as well as immortality. In a society where they know everything, learning seems obsolete and the world already appears so perfect. Education among other things is a way to pass time to the point that counting years no longer mattered much. Soon, Scythe Faraday comes up with the idea that he wants both Citra and Rowan to become his apprentices, but Citra doesn’t seem all that enthusiastic to become a Scythe.
“With nothing to really aspire to, life had become about maintenance. Eternal maintenance.” Citra considers how her life feels meaningless and without purpose or passion. Life, in the society she’s in, seems like work or maintenance. There is no struggle or need for anything else, it continues on like an empty existence. Which all connects to the theme of mortality and life within this novel.
Overall, the novel contains a futuristic world where death doesn’t really happen. It seems like this perfect utopia where there is no inequality or poverty, things are amazing. Society is controlled by the Thundercloud (which replaced the government) and the only way death is an absolute thing is to be “gleaned” by a Scythe. Novels set in the future tend to be left to the imagination since it can purely be made-up and this book sets what might be of the many possibilities that can come true. The question of mortality and a lifestyle where life in a sense becomes meaningless is also stunning. The philosophy of life is brought up wonderfully and the storytelling is elegant. A well-written book.
Reviews and Awards:
Kirkus Reviews: "Elegant and elegiac, brooding but imbued with gallows humor, Shusterman's dark tale thrusts realistic, likeable teens into a surreal situation and raises deep philosophic questions. A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning."
Booklist: "Shusterman is no stranger to pushing boundaries. Scythe owes an obvious debt to Unwind (2007) and its sequels, and this succeeds as a sort of shadow companion to Patrick Ness’ Chaos Walking trilogy: instead of exploring the ways in which men are monsters, this deals in what happens to men when there are no monsters. When our reach does not exceed our grasp, when comfort is more easily obtained than struggle, when our essential humanity doesn’t burn out but becomes slowly irrelevant, what becomes of us? Readers will find many things in these pages. Answers to such unsettling questions will not be among them."
#9 in Teen & Young Adult Science Fiction Action & Adventure
#9 in Teen & Young Adult Science Fiction Action & Adventure
#9 in Teen & Young Adult Science Fiction Action & Adventure
#9 in Teen & Young Adult Science Fiction Action & Adventure
#9 in Teen & Young Adult Fiction about Death & Dying
#15 in Teen & Young Adult Dystopian
Connections:
*It contains the theme of mortality and life
*It also contains the theme of coming of age and morals
*This book has the symbol of Thunderhead, a god-like sentient being that overlooks humanity
Related Books:
Mafi, T. (2018). Shatter Me. HarperCollins. ISBN: 9780062085504
Oliver, L. (2016). Delirium. HarperCollins. ISBN: 9780061726835
Johnston, E.K. (2022). Queen’s Hope. Disney Lucasfilm Press. ISBN: 9781368075930
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Summary: In Ketterdam, six individuals come from a criminal district called Barrel. They ban together to form a crew. Together, they begin to hatch a plan to pull off the ultimate prison break.
Analysis: The reader is introduced to Ketterdam (based off of Amsterdam), known to be an international place where anything can be done at the right price. Soon, it begins with the introduction of Kaz Brekker, a young thief who belongs to the Dregs, a gang. He is known for lockpicking and picking up heists.
In one scene, Kaz was with another man and a woman named Inej is watching the conversation from afar. “Kaz stood with both gloved hands resting on the carved crow’s head of his cane. He looked totally at ease, his narrow face obscured by the brim of his hat…Kaz was the exception—the picture of restraint, his dark vests and trousers simply cut and tailored along severe lines. At first, she’d thought it was a matter of taste, but she’d come to understand that it was a joke he played on the upstanding merchers. He enjoyed looking like one of them.” This gives off a great image for the reader of what Kaz could probably look like. He seems to appear similar to a gentleman thief of sorts since he’s depicted as rather classy and almost passing himself off as a rich man.
A moment of intrigue is the fact that he uses a cane with a crow’s head carved on it and wears gloves. Soon after, he is brought in by a man named Van Eck who wants to hire him to kidnap a scientist in a dangerous heist. At first, Kaz wasn’t going to do it and when Van Eck offered a lot of money, he accepted.Kaz decided that he needed a crew to get through the plan.
On his way of building a crew, him and the others went to go find a man named Matthias who knows Kaz’s reputation. “He’d heard Brekker’s name in prison, and the words associated with him—criminal prodigy, ruthless, amoral. They called him Dirtyhands because there was no sin he would not commit for the right price.” This quote connects to the world of Ketterdam where things can be done at the right price and it also brings about the continuous mystery of Kaz as the sort of Robin Hood figure of their world.
“Inej saw Kaz begin to move the pieces of his scheme into position. She’d been privy to his consultations with every member of the crew, but she knew she was seeing only fragments of his plan. That was the game Kaz always played.” This particular imagery gives that game play picture to come into mind when seeing Kaz through Inej’s eyes. In this particular scene, certain pieces of information or people as ‘pieces’ and to Kaz, it’s almost like a game. Every move and person is placed where he wants it to be.
All in all, the book separates the individual characters really well and each one has their own story to tell. This particular title was more focused on the buildup towards the heist such as putting together the crew and hatching the plan before actually taking on the job. The world the characters exist in had realistic elements with some fantastic ones to make it believable and still wondrous for the reader to enjoy.
Reviews and Awards:
VOYA: "Set in a world that will be familiar to fans of the author, this book can be fully enjoyed without having read any previous title. . . . This is an easy choice for teens who enjoyed The Grisha Trilogy, Diviners, or any of the Shadowhunter books."
Kirkus Review: "Cracking page-turner with a multiethnic, band of misfits with differing sexual orientations who satisfyingly, believably jell into a family."
Publishers Weekly: "This has all the right elements to keep readers enthralled: a cunning leader with a plan for every occasion, nigh-impossible odds, an entertainingly combative team of skilled misfits, a twisty plot, and a nerve-wracking cliffhanger."
#44 in Teen & Young Adult Sword & Sorcery Fantasy
#55 in Teen & Young Adult Fantasy Action & Adventure
Connections:
*This story is told in multiple points of view
*Third-person point of view from the characters
*The book was turned into a Netflix series which can be used as a visual for students and can be used as a compare and contrast activity
Related Books:
Forbes, L. (2022). The Obsidian Butterfly. Blackstone Publishing. ISBN: 9781982546113
Braswell, L. (2021). What Once Was Mine (A Twisted Tale). Disney-Hyperion. ISBN: 9781368063821
Maas. S.J. (2012). Throne of Glass. Bloomsbury YA. ISBN: 9781599906959
McKinley, R. (2010). Pegasus. G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 9780399246777
Summary: Princess Sylviianel had a special day approaching. Her twelfth birthday. On this very special occasion, she is going to form a bond with a pegasus. Sylvi questions how a pegasi could communicate with her and become her “Excellent Friend”. Turns out, they can actually talk to each other which breaks the status quo. Can they prevent a possible fallout between their two nations and form an unbreakable bond?
Analysis: The reader is introduced to the world where a kingdom has a unique alliance with a race called pegasi where they form a unique bonding ritual on the human’s twelfth birthday. “Because she was a princess she had a pegasus.
This had been a part of the treaty between the pegasi and the human invaders nearly a thousand years ago, shortly after humans had first struggled through the mountain passes beyond the wild lands and discovered a beautiful green country they knew immediately they wanted to live in.”
It wasn’t really clear at first as to if everyone bonded with pegasi or members of the royal family since a lot of the storyline is seen through the eyes of Princess Sylviianel or Sylvi. Then, it becomes more clarified that only royal children get this esteem later in the timeline of the story. “Sylvi was the fourth child of the king and the first girl, and while her parents had been glad to see her, with three older brothers, she was not considered important to the country’s welfare.” This particular line introduces the reader to how Sylvi doesn’t think of herself or rather, paints herself in a lesser light due to being the youngest child and the only girl within the royal family. One can take note that this might be seen as immediate foreshadowing for her future binding with her pegasus.
During the ceremony, Sylvi finally sees her pegasus for the first time. Despite seeing pegasi most of her life, Sylvi is still amazed by them. “Her heart was beating faster; the pegasi were strange, amazing, almost impossible, entirely unlike anything else in your human life, just by being themselves.” This paints the picture of her youthful wonder for the reader to enjoy and also be caught in that moment where Sylvi meets her pegasus for the first time. The wonder, the anxiousness, the awe and even breathless pause before the big reveal is beautifully put together that will leave readers excited for the moment to finally happen.
“He was broad-chested and wide-backed, and his blackness gave him an extra solidity….The flowers woven through his wings were pale blue and white; through the plaits in his mane…She wasn’t going to tell him he was beautiful—even more beautiful than usual for a pegasus.” McKinley’s use of imagery can give the reader the feeling of seeing Sylvi’s pegasus right in front of them. He is described as majestic, mighty and incredible that leaves our protagonist and the reader completely in awe of his beauty. Soon, the reader learns that the pegasus’ name is Ebon and that he can communicate with Sylvi telepathically which breaks the society’s status quo. It shocks a lot of people to see that she could communicate with Ebon without a problem and one of the characters even thinks it’s an abnormality. But, it won’t stop the bond between Sylvi and Ebon to develop.
Readers will enjoy the mischievous, playful Ebon and the banter he shares with Sylvi. Sylvi is quite engaging as a character and does her part as a princess, but there seems to be a lack of detail of her responsibilities. All of the description goes into the world-building, the pegasi, the rules and the world of the book, but not much else. The bond between Ebon and Syvli is beautiful, world-shattering that makes their friendship so realistic and loving. Some timelines make no sense and a big chunk of the book is dedicated to the world-building of the story which can be overwhelming to the reader. It’s a nice book, but Ebon and Sylvi’s friendship really wins the reader over in the end.
Reviews and Awards:
School Library Journal: “This novel is reminiscent of McKinley's The Hero and the Crown (Greenwillow, 1984) and other earlier works, and includes many of her trademarks, including a tendency to ramble through pages of description and backstory, sometimes even in the middle of a conversation. Still, the story is strong and fresh, and the characters are nuanced and believable. Fans will anxiously await the sequel.”
Booklist: “McKinley’s storytelling is to be savored. She lavishes page after page upon rituals and ceremonies, basks in the awe of her intricately constructed world, and displays a masterful sense of pegasi physicality and mannerisms. The plot is very short on drama—a villain, established early, vanishes until the final pages, and with him goes the suspense—but an apparent sequel may add balance to the overall arc. Grades 8-11.”
#2,781 in Teen & Young Adult Fiction on Girls' & Women's Issues (Books)
#4,420 in Teen & Young Adult Sword & Sorcery Fantasy
#4,700 in Children's Spine-Chilling Horror
Connections:
*It contains the theme of true friendship
*It contains the theme of understanding and communication
*The book shines beautifully with the unexpected friendship and unique bond between Sylvi and Ebon
Related Books:
Maas, S. (2015). Queen of Shadows: Throne of Glass 4. Bloomsbury USA Childrens. ISBN: 9781619636040
Biel, V. (2014). Circle of Nine: Beltany. Lost Lake Press. ISBN: 9780990645009
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