The Toll by Neal Shusterman

Summary from Goodreads:

It’s been three years since Rowan and Citra disappeared; since Scythe Goddard came into power; since the Thunderhead closed itself off to everyone but Grayson Tolliver.

In this pulse-pounding conclusion to Neal Shusterman’s Arc of a Scythe trilogy, constitutions are tested and old friends are brought back from the dead.

Review:

I wrote on Goodreads that I haven’t been this invested in a dystopian story in years. This book is insane. The twists, turns, darkness, and world building are unbelievable. It’s one of the best final books of a series I’ve read in a very long time. To say that Neal Shusterman blew me away again would be an understatement.

Shusterman has this uncanny ability to write both deeply thought-provoking narratives, and not so far-fetched dystopias rooted in current dark political climates. Unwind came from the Woman’s’ Rights movement. This series comes from several things: mass climate change, overpopulation, AI, and government corruption. And wow, can Shusterman connect the dots of a futuristic society to today. There are moments when the evil dictator character is so clearly a shadow version of Trump. But, I don’t even think its’ the tongue and cheek satire a lot of people will read that as. I feel like it’s the author saying: power is power. And anyone with absolute power is corrupt. And isn’t that the theme of almost all dystopias, even the classics like 1984?

There are elements here that remind me of the classics. There are hints of Fahrenheit 451, 1984, and Animal Farm. But, also, I saw little inspirational tidbits from The Hunger Games, The Giver, and The Handmaid’s Tale. This author did his research. He respects the dystopias of the past, but also makes a story completely his own. And the book becomes very sci-fi at the end. I will not go into detail about why because I would seriously spoil things if I did. And somehow, remarkably, so much is left out of all descriptions/blurbs/summaries I’ve come across online. And trust me, it’s better to go into this blindly.

Just know that the book is loaded with religious extremism, violence, mass murder, mass prejudice, dangerous law changes in regards to the changes in leadership, insane plot twists, conspiracy theories, computer hacking, underwater scavenging, scythes from around the world, grief, sadness, perseverance, rebellion, and hope. It was hard to put this book down. I had to know what the Thunderhead was planning. I had to know when the characters would all meet up and how. I had to know what on the earth the conspiracies were! And I absolutely had to know what on earth happened to Rown and Citra, really (which I must warn you, does not get addressed for a very long time!).

There were a few moments where things might have seemed a little too convenient for me at the end. And if I thought about things too closely, there might have been a loophole or two, but I honestly don’t care. I was so engrossed in the story, in the world, in the characters, and the outcome. This is the kind of book that first brought me into the YA universe. And it is the kind I crave and hope for all the time. I highly recommend this series. I give it a 10/10.