This is an important, heartbreaking, multiple-readings-needed kind of book.

In a world where death due to illness or accident has been eradicated, scythes make the decisions about who will be gleaned and who will be granted immunity. Like in the world we are familiar with, there are scythes who are of pure heart and those who glean for the rush of power. Citra and Rowan are chosen to be scythe apprentices. They begin training as strangers and end up facing an uncertain future. For older fans of The Giver.

I am not a fan of the steampunk genre, but I have to say I really enjoyed this book. It was hard to get into-it took the first 100 pages-but once I fell in, I was vested. I'll be recommending this one to my students who are looking for something a little different. I'm rating it so-so because it did take one third of the book to capture my attention.

Love has to be stronger than hate or there is no future for us.