Neal Shusterman

This was a masterpiece- but what else have I come to expect from Neal Shusterman? He's cool like that.

This book comes from a completely implausible premise- a boy named Brewster who automatically takes on the wounds of everyone he loves. His brother Cody kicks a rock? It's Brew's toe that hurts. Neal Shusterman has a knack for writing the supernatural believably. His character's don't go into long explanations of how they're "this way". Like in The Schwa Was Here, the character doesn't know why he has this power, and he doesn't like it, but he's learned to live with it.

This book was also relatable. The unnatural was explored through well-understood circumstances of high school life, sports injuries, teenage friendships, romances, and rivalries, abuse, and parents' divorce.

I love how Shusterman described the soft terror of not feeling upset.
I love how little-boyish Cody was. It's hard as a grown person to put yourself back in your third-grade brain and think how you would have responded at that age. Shusterman has it down.
I love how Brewster and Brontë were friends. Not Just Friends, but their relationship wasn't all making out and cuddling and stuff. It was watching out for each other and trying to help each other- even if sometimes their help wasn't as good as they thought it would be. They are possibly the normalest literary teen couple I've read (at least since I was a teenager myself).
I love Tennyson's friendships with his sister and her boyfriend. He was a good friend. He was also really selfish, which is human nature.
I LOVE the scene of the uncle's stroke. Has Neal Shusterman had a stroke and remembers what is was like? Whoa.
I love how the first chapter made me laugh out loud multiple times ("Rest her soul") and then the book got so heart-wrenching and serious. This is how you write. I took the bait from the first 2 pages and then I was reeled into this world of heartache, or the emptiness of its absence.
I love the whole vegetarianism thing.
I love the format of a lot a Brew's poetry. There's the one that works itself backwards at the end, it's really cool. Sometimes the verse form seemed force but other times it was so awesomely effective.

I LOVE THIS BOOK AND I LOVE NEAL SHUSTERMAN ok i'm done… (more)

Fortunately, and unfortunately, I don't have all that much to say about this book. It was a quick read with a really interesting premise behind it. I was intrigued enough to keep moving through it but was never really invested or gripped by it.

I was hooked at the beginning by the idea that society had reached such a point that humans would live forever. The only way someone could pass was by being gleaned by a scythe. The scythes are selected for apprenticeships and go through a year-ish term learning from their mentor. Sounds cool right! Absolutely. However, at times it felt rushed, and others felt too long. Basically, the pacing seemed off. I don't mind a book that switches POVs, which this one seems to do, but it isn't always obvious from the start when the POVs switch.

I think the biggest issue for me was that I could not get invested in either of the two characters. As mentioned, the plot idea is great! pacing was off, but I can forgive a lot if I am invested in the characters. These two... I could take or leave. Supposedly there is a romantic theme that is supposed to be in there, but it seemed really forced and truly they were words not feeling to me.

The book was good enough for me to give the next book in the series a chance. It wasn't a bad book by any means, I just wanted more from a book that has so much promise! I did appreciate the ending though. It left me wondering where the plot line will go with plenty of questions needing to be answered.… (more)