We’re going to pretend this is a review and not 1,000 words of mindless fangirl babble as my brain dissolves, okay?

Glad we got that out of the way. Thunderhead is book two in the Arc of a Scythe series by Neal Shusterman. This will probably have spoilers for book one because, well, that’s sort of how series work.

You can find my review for Scythe here.

I loved this book, okay? So much so that I bought my library a copy so that everyone in this tiny town can suffer with me.

I’m a giver. What can I say?

So, what exactly is the Thunderhead? It’s cloud’s final form.

It’s what happens when cloud gains enough experience and finally evolves. Or when it digivolves to ultimate. It’s a fancy AI that oversees everything is what I’m trying to say.

The Thunderhead is the grandparent you always wanted, who says just the right things, gives you everything you ever wanted, and somehow has enough restraint not to kill you when you’re being a little twerp.

And it’s got personality! And secrets. And probably some dark, deep place where it stores all its regrets over humanity which is slowly bogging it down and will eventually destroy it, because humanity destroys everything.

I’m not bitter. Okay, maybe a little. But you will be, too, after this book! In the best possible way.

❧ Oh my Thunderhead, Scythe Lucifer is probably the greatest thing ever, and I’m okay with that.

I mean, okay, sure, his tactics are a bit questionable, and he resides in a very morally gray area. Some might even call it illegal. But psh, what are laws but guidelines, really?

Rowan chooses a black cloak, even though that’s against all the Scythedom rules (see above) and chooses the moniker Scythe Lucifer but it’s not what you think.

Okay, it sort of is. Of course there’s a double meaning, like all worthwhile things in life. Yes, Lucifer is Satan, fell from heaven, supreme bad guy, yada yada.

But Lucifer also means light-bringer. And if anyone needs a little bit of light shone on them, let me tell you, it’s these scythes, because, phew, there’s a lot of shade being thrown around. Just saying.

❧ The Thunderhead is like the sassy best friend you always wanted who knows they’re always right but smiles at you quietly and lets you be your stupid self and then picks you up afterward anyway.

What I’m saying is we should be BFF. Even if it’s an AI. I genuinely love the personality that is put into this.

Despite it not being human, Thunderhead was made by humans, and there is something distinctly human in the struggles that it faces.

It even has its own character arc, which is amazing for something that is pretty darn near (but not quite) omniscient. And it was glorious.

❧ I went in expecting a roller coaster ride, like the first one, and I wasn’t disappointed … but it was sort of more than I expected?

Which is good? I think? When I read Scythe, it was unpredictable, in the best possible way. I hate when I start a book and call the ending by 10% of the way in. That’s so not a problem here.

There’s chaos and death and attempted assassination and more death and espionage and plotting and did I mention death? (I mean, they’re scythes, not bunnies.)

Remember when I said it was like a roller coaster ride? Scratch that. It was a roller coaster ride in the dark, where every now and then, someone would jump out and just throw something at you. It could be water. It could also be monkey feces. Who knows? But I was fully engaged the whole way and couldn’t turn the dang pages fast enough.

Each time I thought I had gotten over a shock to my feels, another one popped up and tore the wound open again, and I’m still trying to duct tape everything back together.

❧ I have nothing really bad to say about this. It was too perfect and everything I wanted in a dystopian book and how dare it?

I mean, I suppose I can fake moral outrage at that. How dare so much perfect reside between two covers? Stop hogging it. Leave some for the rest of us. Gosh.

But just for the fun of it, let us count the ways, shall we?

❂ Plot – Unpredictable, kept me guessing, and pretty much blindsided me over and over again mercilessly.

❂ Characters – Brilliant, even the ones I don’t like, which is annoying. I want to hate them. Stop making me feel like they’re human and let me just rage for a minute, okay?

❂ Writing – Thought-provoking, highly quotable, and engaging.

❂ World-building – Spot on. This book even comes with its own nursery rhyme, which I loved.

❂ Series – I would offer my firstborn to get The Toll now and not have to wait. Fair warning, though, she’s pretty mouthy.

❧ WHAT EVEN IS THAT ENDING? THERE ARE NO WORDS.

*curls up in the fetal position in the corner*

2019 is so far away. Winter is coming. All hope is lost. We have been forsaken.

Have you read Thunderhead yet? Are you also broken? Do you need a spot in my pillow fort and some chocolate? Because I’m totally willing to share.