I liked what Rand chose to do in the end too, I guessed she would do it, considering her actions throughout the book, so it made a lot of sense. I also enjoyed the little snippets of Thunderhead interacting with the Iterations. Greyson and Thunderheads final scene together was super sad.
I had a lot of problems with this book though and the more I think on it, the more I find and feel. Over all... I didn't really enjoy this book much and was rushing it to get it over and done with. Sad because I loved Scythe and Thunderhead.
The Toll was full of filler. You could probably cut 400 pages of the 600 and you'd have a good story and miss nothing for it. At no time did I feel excitement or anticipation (I felt anticipation for months before I started reading it, but none while reading it). The focus on certain characters was just annoying and pointless.
This book was disappointing, I had been so excited to read it, and... oh well.
And this,
"I will never understand how you binaries are so attached to your birth plumbing. Why should it matter whether a person has ovaries, or testicles, or both?"
"It doesn't," Greyson said, feeling a little flustered. "I mean ... it does matter for some things ... doesn't it?"
"You tell me."
Greyson couldn't look away from that gaze. "Maybe ... it doesn't matter as much as I thought?"
I do love my scifi with a heavy dose of anti-science claptrap. Sigh. No, I am sure reproductive differences don't matter at all. A person with testicles will totally fall pregnant for you one day, if they just feel like a woman hard enough. And in a world that appears to have no gender roles, no sex based problems or oppression, the only difference between men and women must be biology. So where does gender even fit anyway? Good job Shusterman, virtue signalling at it's worst and finest.