2025 Teen Book Reviews Page 4
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Reviewed by Peter M.
You have probably already read the Shadow and Bone trilogy and all of its great storytelling and plot ideas, but have you read the next great installment in the Grishaverse? Six of Crows is set two years after the story of Alina Starkov and her allies and enemies in the city of Ketterdam in the nation of Kerch. Six of Crows is not your standard fantasy story where a hero discovers they have mystical properties and are the one and must defeat the villain, it is a heist story. A few of the characters include Kaz Brekker: a skilled thief with a troubled past and a lead member in a gang called The Dregs, who becomes the leader of the Crows. Next is Inej Ghafa, Kaz’s right hand woman and spy, and another member of The Dregs and later The Crows. Finally there is Nina Zenik, a Grisha heartrender who was kidnapped by Fjerdans and later joins the group. One night, Kaz is taken and tasked by the notorious elite Kerch merchant, Jan Van Eck to travel to Fjerda. Their mission is to travel to the impenetrable Ice Court, a Fjerdan military stronghold and acquire the Shu scientist Bo Yul-Bayur. Kaz is also told about the power and dangers of Jurda Parem, a power boosting drug made by Bo Yul-Bayur specifically for Grisha. Kaz takes Inej and Jesper and soon recruits the rest of the Crows to join their quest to the Ice Court. But along the way deals and alliances will be made and secrets and stories will be revealed. This is a must read for anyone who has already read the Shadow and Bone trilogy and wants a greater expansion on that universe. It throws in many new ideas, sets up new characters and just adds more depth to the entire world. It is a great read for any Grishaverse fan, or fantasy enthusiast. The author Leigh Bardugo has once again delivered another great series to read for the Grishaverse and has done a phenomenal job at worldbuilding. I would definitely recommend this duology and the other in-universe books to other fantasies like Harry Potter or The Ninth House. This book and its sequel the Crooked Kingdom deserve a read.
The Toll by Neal Shusterman
Review by Peter M.
If you have read the first two books in the Arc of Scythe trilogy and liked them and their amazing endings, then you would be engrossed in The Toll. The Toll is the climactic ending of The Arc of Scythe trilogy and has four main plots. The first plot is about Citra and Rowan as they try to survive the wrath of the Overblade and his allies and must navigate across the Merican continents and make allies along the way. But their story is not that simple for them. The next plot follows Greyson after the cliffhanger of Thunderhead, as he must run away to avoid persecution and capture from the Overblade. Greyson, with the guidance of the Thunderhead, will also join the Tonists and uncover strange new abilities and allies. The third plot is about the Overblade and his allies and co-workers as he plots to eradicate his enemies. But there is some growing dissent among his ranks, which could blow at any moment. The final plot follows Munira, the librarian of the Library of Alexandria and Scythe Faraday and several Nimbus agents in The Land of Nod. But the Thunderhead also has a presence there and is planning something.This book is the stunning, amazing, and climactic ending to The Arc of Scythe trilogy. This book combines everything good about Scythe and Thunderhead and adds more depth to this final book. This book offers great closure, action, and character growth and ends the entire series like Mockingjay or Lightbringer do for the Hunger Games and Red Rising series.The Toll definitely deserves to be read if you like a great story and an example of a final book that gives a satisfying ending to a great series.
Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman
Review by Peter M.
If you have read the book Scythe by Neal Shusterman, you are probably still in shock from its complex and intricate ending. But there is a book out there that continues Citra and Rowanʼs story, and that book is: Thunderhead. Thunderhead is set one year after the events of Scythe and continues to have Citra apprenticing under Scythe Curie. Rowanʼs arc is also continued as his gleaning persona gets darker. This story also introduces a new character named Greyson Tolliver, an orphan cared for by the Thunderhead who is trying to join their worldʼs special forces. But while interning there, he learns of a plot of the rival factions in the Scythedom and has to help Citra before it is too late. We also learn a lot more about the Thunderhead AI and its motives, plans, abilities and how it views the humans it governs over. But new characters and old are going to intersect and clash, promotions and ranks will be given, and great threats will emerge. This book is a great read for anyone who has read Scythe before. Thunderhead has all the drama, sci-fi, romance, dystopia, and everything else you liked about Scythe tripled. Neal Shusterman isnʼt worldbuilding anymore as he refines and expands the Scythe universe. The Arc of Scythe is another one of those series that has a sequel that is better than the first book. I hope you paid attention when you read Scythe, because you're going to want to remember everything!
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
Review by Anonymous
Youʼve heard of Artificial intelligence and everything it can do, so I ask you this: “What if it governed the world?” Set in the far future, the AI “The Thunder Head” has made significant advances including nanites that can heal a person. This is an amazing event that makes humans practically immortal, but poses a problem: overpopulation. So, that is where the Scythes come in, humans recruited to permanently kill or “glean” humans. After years of this, two average people in MidMerica, Citra and Rowan, have encounters with different gleanings. After these encounters, they are both recruited to apprentice under Faraday, a Scythe of the MidMerican region. Citra and Rowan then spend several months training under the Scythe, learning different tasks. But all of this soon comes to a head as rival factions of the Scythedom battle each other for supremacy and after a terrible tragedy the two are broken apart and sent onto opposite sides of the struggle. The book is a definite must read for a science fiction, dystopian, or romance reader. This is the first book in the Arc of Scythe trilogy. The author, Neal Shusterman, is great at worldbuilding for the series and adds very interesting plot points. I would recommend this lesser known series to others like The Hunger Games or Maze Runner because it has a more realistic and modern take on the world nowadays, with the Artificial Intelligence and technological breakthroughs. This book and its sequels and prequels are definitely worth a read if you're looking for a good series.