The Toll by Neal Shusterman

By yalitreader on July 14, 2024

Summary: The Thunderhead has changed the world entirely. It no longer talks to anyone, so everyone is left on their own. Everyone, that is, except Greyson, who becomes known as The Toll as he travels the globe sharing the Thunderhead's wisdom. Simultaneously, Scythe Faraday works on establishing a Thunderhead-less society, and Scythe Goddard plots to take over the world now that Citra and Rowan are gone.

Review: I liked The Toll! It was definitely my least favorite of the series, but it was still good. I honestly went in with quite low expectations because several friends had read it and hated it, but I quite enjoyed it! This be could be, though, because my expectations were terribly low, so the bar was in Hell for entertainment. The book really was just a classic Shusterman novel.

My least favorite part of the book were all of the new characters. There were SO MANY of them that we were supposed to focus on, but it was difficult. My favorite thing in novels is the characters -- way more than the plot or themes -- but I found myself not wanting to connect with any of these new characters. I knew they were short-lived (since this was the last book in the trilogy). Also, I already had the core group of characters from the rest of the series to focus on (Citra, Rowan, Goddard, Rand, Faraday, even Greyson). This novel introduced characters like Loriana (the Nimbus agent who leads others on the island), Munira (Faraday's assistant on the island), and Jeri (the ship captain who helps Citra). They were all very important to this story, and I didn't dislike them, but I also couldn't get attached to them since they wouldn't exist beyond this story.

While on the topic of characters, I didn't love the lack of Rowan. We had a decent amount of Citra, but this whole book really turned into the Greyson & Thunderhead show. I don't really mind that per se, but I do like Rowan and Citra more and had more investment in them. I think that's why a lot of people don't like this book as much — their beloved characters are taken from them. Honestly, even Goddard is more fascinating to me than Greyson. Seeing Goddard's deluge into madness during his various chapters was so captivating, and it was made even more so by watching Rand witness it and grapple with her options. Again, Greyson is fine, but he's definitely the least interesting of the main characters.

In terms of the plot, I really loved the fail-safe idea at the end of the book. This idea really was just to return diseases to humanity, thereby killing people naturally and eliminating the need for the scythedom, rendering all scythers obsolete. I was really curious about how the Scythedom would end up abolished, and this was a pretty genius way to make it happen. It really ties the idea together that existed throughout the whole series: Their world is not a utopia.

One of the things I didn't love was the final decision to go to space. It was fine. I didn't hate it. I just also didn't really feel the need for it to happen, but I get it. It was a way for them to start anew and to try bettering the human race. It was an interesting mechanic, though, with the randomness of the ships and the unknown destinations or viability of the planets. I really liked that it ended without showing us their new lives too. That wasn't necessary. The final ending was perfect given the space-traveling circumstances.

This book just left me even more excited to read Gleanings and to just see even more of the Scythe world. Shusterman truly is an incredible (and my favorite) author.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Recommended reader: Anyone who likes:

Dystopia
Elements of mystery
AI
Death
Stories about friendship

Reviews of Previous Books:

Scythe
Thunderhead

Discussion Questions:

Analyze Goddard as a character. What is his motivation? Why do others flock to him? Why do some oppose him? What is his fatal flaw in life that prevents him from finding the success he craves? Who ended up being his downfall, and what really motivated that person?
Rowan and Citra are not necessarily the main characters in this book as they had been in the first two books. However, they are still important. What role do these two play in this story? How do they change and influence the plot? What role do they play in the final ending of the series? What have they learned about themselves and their wishes throughout this series, and how does that influence their final choices?
Explain the relationship between Greyson and the Thunderhead. Why do you think Greyson was the only one not marked Unsavory? How did their relationship evolve throughout the story? How did their relationship end, and why? Do you think the Thunderhead made the right choice in selecting Greyson? Why or why not?
What do the Tonists believe in? Why do some people not like the Tonists? What theme may the author have been trying to include in the story through the inclusion of the Tonists?
What fail-safe was put in place by the founding scythes? What were they afraid of happening? Did it end up happening? Do you think that their fail-safe solution was a good one or not? Explain your thinking.

Specifics of the book: