Book Review :: The Toll, by Neal Shusterman

The Toll by Neal Shusterman
ISBN: 1406385670
Series: Arc of a Scythe #3
on 2019-11-07
Genres: Dystopian, Young Adult
Pages: 631
Source: HarperCollins NZ, Walker Books AUS
Find at Walker Books AUS
Goodreads

From New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman comes the thrilling conclusion to the Printz Honor–winning series Arc of a Scythe.

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 New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman’s Arc of a Scythe trilogy, constitutions are tested and old friends are brought back from the dead.

Last updated on 19 March 2023

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The story of The Toll

The highly anticipated finale to The Arc of a Scythe series by Neal Shusterman has arrived and while it was released at the end of 2019, I finally read it over the summer break.

It’s been three years since Scythe Anastasia and Scythe Lucifer were lost in the disaster and sinking of Endura. In those three years Scythe Goddard has taken over and the world is in more dire straits than before. The Thunderhead as been quiet to everybody save one. Scythes and people from around the world are suddenly called to action, and as the book goes on, each have an important role to play in the Thunderhead’s plans.

My thoughts on The Toll

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book. I absolutely loved the first in the series, Scythe, and really enjoyed the second, Thunderhead. But The Toll just didn’t excite me as much and it was a bit of struggle for a lot of the book. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy over all but I did find it really tricky to actually get into and stay in.

With the other two books, I was drawn in from page one and it was hard to put the books down. We followed Citra (Scythe Anastasia) and Rowan (Scythe Lucifer) as they became Scythes, as they learnt how to glean, as they battled with the system and began to take it down. For the most part, we followed these two characters and while there were chapters of other stories happening around them and other characters popping up here and there, the majority was focused on Citra and Rowan.

“You can’t expose a lie without first shattering the will to believe it. That is why leading people to truth is so much more effective than merely telling them.”

Then we get to The Toll. It’s fitting that Citra and Rowan are actually barely in it because the world thinks they’re dead and gone, but they’re the characters who I like the best. The Toll introduces a bunch of new characters and while they’re great additions (and some I really love!), it wasn’t as interesting for me. I found it a long slog to get through (and it’s a big book!) and it wasn’t until the last quarter of the story that things really picked up and the characters started coming together in a way that I was excited about.

Having said all that, it was a really good ending to an overall fantastic series, and I’m glad I kept at it. As I said, the characters are really well thought through, especially some of the new ones, and the growth and character development of Citra and Rowan are top-notch. The plot was slow going but steady, and the culmination was excellently written.

“We’re exploring the possibility of building a wall to stem the exodus.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Goddard said. “Only idiots build walls.”

I was once again struck by the sense of mortality in this book. Shusterman has an incredible way of making you think about life, morality, death and the meaning of it all. The idea of the Thunderhead, an entity that can speak to people and guides them without being hands-on, is one that I’m sure has been done before, but not like Shusterman does it. He has a way with words and while reading The Toll I often, once again, found myself writing quotes down, or taking a photo of the page to come back to later. There are also laugh-out-loud moments (see above quote – Trump dig, anyone?) and moments where you have to stop reading to just pause and take it in. Not many authors can do that.

While I didn’t love The Toll as much as the previous two, it’s still a fantastic book and I highly recommend reading this series (and pretty much anything that Neal Shusterman writes).

So, what about you? Have you read The Toll yet?

What did you think? Let me know in the comments! 

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I received a free copy of this book from Harper Collins NZ and Walker Books Aus in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my review, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.