Scythe (2016) by Neal Shusterman is the first book in the New York Times–bestselling Arc of a Scythe series. It is set in a distant future where advances in technology have rendered death by natural causes obsolete, and where society is organized by an artificial intelligence system known as the Thunderhead. The novel follows two teenagers, Citra Terranova and Rowan Damisch, who are trained as new recruits by the Scythedom, an organization that decides who will die. Scythes, who operate outside the Thunderhead's control, are responsible for "gleaning" or permanently killing a certain percentage of people to combat overpopulation. Citra and Rowan confront ethical, spiritual, and institutional obstacles as they realize that the Scythedom isn't as perfect as it seems.
Scythe is the first in a trilogy, followed by Thunderhead (2018) and The Toll (2019). The book was listed as an Honor Book of the Michael L. Printz Award for Teen Novels in 2017 and was in the American Library Association's Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults. A movie adaptation is currently in development with Universal Pictures.
