The Toll by Neal Shusterman

genre: young adult science fiction

This is the third and final book in the Arc of a Scythe series, so go read those first and RIGHT AWAY!

The Scythdom is changing and shifting, now that Rowan and Citra have disappeared and Scythe Goddard has maneuvered himself right into power.  With only Greyson Tolliver left to communicate with the Thunderhead, it seems as though a true age of politicism and unrest has arrived, what with the Tonists continually unhappy and the rules keeping the Scythes in order shifting with Goddard's whims.  Could the Thunderhead possibly have a plan to save humanity from itself?

This was unputdownable for me.  Riveting.  Long, yes, but every thread developed, all the characters playing their roles in a grand scheme that was so grand I literally shook my head in disbelief.  I loved that ideas from the first and second book were woven in and brought to light as crucial to the story.  I just never guessed where it would take me and that's my favorite thing.  Yes, Goddard is a tiny bit caricatured as the bad guy but his behavior isn't all that different from the behavior of a lot of the world leaders in our day, as terrifying as that actually is.  I appreciated the deep and ethical thoughts this book made me have.  Dang I love a satisfying conclusion to a story that has so many moving parts. I was sad when it was over, but in a really good way.