Thunderhead (Arc of a Scythe #2) by Neal Shusterman 

My rating: five stars

Genre: YA, Fantasy

Edition: Audiobook

Goodreads Summary: 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 hero 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?

I listened to this book on audiobook and I think this might be the most satisfying audiobook that I have ever listened to. The voice of the reader was so calming yet they were somehow able to make me feel as if I was really there – to where I was sitting on the edge of my seat towards the end.

Likes: I don’t know how Neal came up with a world like this, it is such a unique but logical idea. I feel like so many people want immortality but don’t realize the negative effects that would take place and the fact that we would have to somehow control the population. Though the idea of Scythes is dark, I love it. The twists and turns in this book were so surprising and disarming, the direction that it went wasn’t a direction that I saw it going at all – though that’s not a bad thing. There was a lot of political intrigue in the book which adds another layer to the world and the book expands upon the effect the end of the first book has on the story. 

Dislikes: There were a few confusing and slower parts when a third character’s point of view comes into play. This character does some things that I didn’t necessarily understand, though I realize that it was most likely on purpose. That is honestly the only negative thing I can think of for this book. It would say that it was too long but the pacing and the different plots with multiple POVs kept it entertaining the entire time.

Overall, I gave this book five out of five stars because I would honestly read it over and over again. I thought Scythe was complex and well-thought out, but I was definitely not ready for Thunderhead. This book blew me away with the beautiful writing, intricate plots, and jaw-dropping plot twists. I would recommend this book to everyone, just make sure to brace yourself!