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A review by meiror13
The Toll by Neal Shusterman
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Toll is the final installment in the main Arc of a Scythe series. This is a long book, and the timeline throughout the book seems messy at times. It works, but it can be confusing, especially since years are labeled using the names of animal species instead of numbers. I won't lie, the first time I read this book I would not have given it five stars. It would have lingered around the 3-4 star range, and I found that disappointing because I loved the first two books so much from the start. However, I read this book for a second time and found it to be worthy of a five star rating. The world building and characters in this book are too good for it to receive anything less, and the fact that I finished the book over a week ago and am still thinking about it means that it did impact me.
My biggest gripes with this book (other than the timeline) have to do with the plot. I love Citra and Rowan as protagonists, but I feel like they never spent enough time together throughout the series to really fall in love. I do see them having a solid relationship, but the books never provide enough context for it to feel as real as it could. I wish that, since the two of them were revived together near the start of this book, they could have worked together to take down Goddard. I think it could have been really interesting to see their dynamic working together, gradually adding in the other characters, while also trying to keep Rowan from being captured.
My only other complaint regarding this book is the ending. It felt kind of rushed, especially because the book was over 600 pages. It was cool how all of the storylines eventually came together at the end, and the ending was thrilling and made sense, but I do agree with many other readers that I would have loved to see a clearer "takedown" of Goddard, perhaps utilizing all of our protagonists and maybe even Scythe Rand in the process. The ending doesn't feel wrong, and I don't think that it is a bad ending, it just didn't satisfy me as much as I had hoped that it would.
Overall, this book is still great and if you liked the first two I do think that this one holds up next to them fairly well. I would recommend it.
My biggest gripes with this book (other than the timeline) have to do with the plot. I love Citra and Rowan as protagonists, but I feel like they never spent enough time together throughout the series to really fall in love. I do see them having a solid relationship, but the books never provide enough context for it to feel as real as it could. I wish that, since the two of them were revived together near the start of this book, they could have worked together to take down Goddard. I think it could have been really interesting to see their dynamic working together, gradually adding in the other characters, while also trying to keep Rowan from being captured.
My only other complaint regarding this book is the ending. It felt kind of rushed, especially because the book was over 600 pages. It was cool how all of the storylines eventually came together at the end, and the ending was thrilling and made sense, but I do agree with many other readers that I would have loved to see a clearer "takedown" of Goddard, perhaps utilizing all of our protagonists and maybe even Scythe Rand in the process. The ending doesn't feel wrong, and I don't think that it is a bad ending, it just didn't satisfy me as much as I had hoped that it would.
Overall, this book is still great and if you liked the first two I do think that this one holds up next to them fairly well. I would recommend it.