Book Review: Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

Title: Thunderhead
Author: Neal Shusterman
Series/Standalone: Arc of a Scythe (Book #2)
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Science Fiction
Pages: 504
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Year Published: 2018
Format: Hardcover Copy (Own It)
First Line: "How fortunate am I among the sentient to know my purpose."

"Rowan has gone rogue, and has taken it upon himself to put the Scythedom through a trial by fire. Literally. In the year since Winter Conclave, he has gone off-grid and has been striking out against corrupt scythes- not only in MidMerica, but across the entire continent. He is a dark folk heor now- 'Scythe Lucifer'- a vigilante taking down corrupt scythes in flames.

Citra, now a junior scythe under Scythe Curie, sees the corruption and wants to help change it from the inside out, but is thwarted at every turn, and threatened by the 'new order' scythes. Realizing she cannot do this alone- or even with the help of Scythe Curie and Faraday, she does the unthinkable, and risks being 'deadish' so she can communicate with the Thunderhead- the only being on earth wise enough to solve the dire problems of a perfect world. But will it help solve those problems, or simply watch as perfection goes into decline?"

My Rating: 3.5/5

This is a series that has been talked about a lot in the YA book community. It's an interesting idea and very unique in its presentation. I really do think that the premise of both stories is interesting, but here's why it's not 5 stars for me. They are so long for the content we actually need from them. I just find that the writing style in these books begins to bore me about halfway through and I dread picking it up. That being said the endings are usually magnificent and I usually enjoy them the most. So here is my issue. I really liked the first 1/ of the book, I would say that portion was a four. The middle section was more of a 2 and then the end was a 4.5. So overall I'd say that makes it a 3.5. There are things that I really liked in this story (the suspense of all the different characters during the changes of the scythedom) and other things that I hate (the unnecessary romance). 
This leaves me thinking that I will not continue with the story, but by the time it comes out I might have changed my mind. The fact for sure is that I will not be keeping the series or buying the final instalment (I will just borrow it from a friend or the library). 

Thanks for reading (sorry if this is one of your favourite books),
Sidny