Friday, September 7, 2018

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman



Seeing as this book's predecessor was my favorite book of last year, this one had a lot to live up to if it wanted to impress me. Unlike movie sequels, I have a bit more faith in book sequels and went into this one with optimism. Well, not only did I find this book as good as the first one...it might actually be better! Let's dive in.

A year has passed and Scythe Anastasia, formerly known as Citra Terranova, has made a name for herself with her unique way of gleaning. At the same time, the allusive Scythe Lucifer, who punishes unlawful scythes, evades capture. But there are plans laid out throughout the Scythdom with the intent to see the two junior scythes put in their place. A wicked scheme that threatens the lives of Citra's mentor, Honorable Scythe Curie, and all the while the all-powerful Thunderhead observes, forbidden to interfere, but finds a way regardless.

Boy, this book was a rush! It was jam packed with action and twists and surprises and I just loved it! The intelligence of these books never ceases to amaze me, not to mention Shusterman's brilliant writing. Not only is the plot creative and the characters well developed, but there's a wonderful cheekiness to his writing as well. An almost dry sense of humor that keeps even the exposition and descriptions fun to read. The world building is some of the most well done that I've seen in a long while, covering just about every aspect of this world that it is possible to explore and keeping it engaging.

While we get the much welcomed returns of Citra and Rowan, we also get a couple of new characters that we get to meet and follow in this story. Firstly is Greyson Tolliver, a very ordinary young man who was practically raised by the Thunderhead and finds himself at its whims. Greyson is a humble guy who only wants to do what's right and show his appreciation to the Thunderhead, but often finds himself in very strange and often dangerous circumstances. He's probably the most human of all the characters, at the whims of an uncontrollable force and just trying to find some clarity. The other big character introduced (kinda) in this book is the Thunderhead itself. We hear what it has to say about situations, how it deals with the humans it has sworn to protect, and find that it has a personality of its own. We get to know the Thunderhead and why and how it works. It is fascinating to see and I actually really enjoyed the bits with it.

The plot of this book is a massive roller coaster, throwing "unsavory" people, a revenge plot, a political take over, and many more. Each one finds our characters, mostly Rowan, Citra, and Greyson, using all the wits and determination they possess to protect the scythodom and mankind from an upcoming catastrophe. This book also includes the return of "new age" scythe idealists and perhaps one of the most heinous, jaw-dropping, horrific acts preformed by a villain I've seen in a Young Adult book in a long while. It is a really ballsy move and absolute kudos to the author for that. I won't give anything away, in fact, I can't go much further without giving anything away, including an ending that will make the wait for the third installment that much more painful.

Final Verdict
I love it, I love it, I love these books so much! Brilliant writing, amazing characters, a thrilling plot, just...just everything was awesome! Book three can't come any sooner but, in the mean time, this little baby is going right on the Shelf or Recommendation!

Have you read the book? What did you think? Comment below and share your thoughts. Please make sure to Follow Midnight Readings for instant updates. Have a book you'd like me to read or would like to make a recommendation? Contact me on goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/65448711-michelle-beer

If you would like to read my book, Powerless, you can find it at:

Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Powerless-Shelley-Miller/dp/1543482546/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519062043&sr=8-1&keywords=powerless+by+shelley+miller

Xlibris: https://www.xlibris.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-001175242

Next Time: Will you accept this crown?

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