Book Review: Carve the Mark

NOTE: I’ve included as few spoilers as I can. In the interest of doing this, I will be writing a separate post regarding the fallacious accusations that Carve the Mark is racist.

Perhaps the most anticipated YA book of 2017, Carve the Mark reminds us why we were swept away by Veronica Roth’s first novel, Divergent.

Before I get too far ahead of myself, here’s the cover:

And here’s the synopsis:

On a planet where violence and vengeance rule, in a galaxy where some are favored by fate, everyone develops a currentgift, a unique power meant to shape the future. While most benefit from their currentgifts, Akos and Cyra do not—their gifts make them vulnerable to others’ control. Can they reclaim their gifts, their fates, and their lives, and reset the balance of power in this world?

Cyra is the sister of the brutal tyrant who rules the Shotet people. Cyra’s currentgift gives her pain and power—something her brother exploits, using her to torture his enemies. But Cyra is much more than just a blade in her brother’s hand: she is resilient, quick on her feet, and smarter than he knows.

Akos is from the peace-loving nation of Thuvhe, and his loyalty to his family is limitless. Though protected by his unusual currentgift, once Akos and his brother are captured by enemy Shotet soldiers, Akos is desperate to get his brother out alive—no matter what the cost. When Akos is thrust into Cyra’s world, the enmity between their countries and families seems insurmountable. They must decide to help each other to survive—or to destroy one another.

Fans of Star Wars and Divergent will revel in internationally bestselling author Veronica Roth’s stunning new science-fiction fantasy series.

 

Some synopses truly succeed in getting me excited to read a book, and this was one of those. I’m a lifelong fan of Star Wars, and was a big fan of Roth’s Divergent. One concern that I had after reading the synopsis was that the currentgifts would be too similar to the legacies from James Frey’s (Pittacus Lore) I Am Number Four and I wouldn’t be able to shake the connection as I read. I am pleased to say that this concern was never realized.

So let’s get to it. Roth Successfully builds up a brand new world for the story to unfold within. Not just one single nation or planet either, but a whole solar system full of diverse cultures and strange new technologies, resulting in a world that is both fully immersive and populated with well developed and surprisingly complex characters.

Cyra, the main character, has a strong claim to being the strongest female lead character the YA sci-fi genre has seen yet. She is pitted against a myriad of challenges, many of which are completely unique to her in the genre, and deals with each in her own distinct way. She is also a total badass.

Akos, the other main character, offers an interesting and at times necessary view of Cyra from a perspective that is not her own. He somewhat predictably becomes Cyra’s love interest, but their relationship is delightfully complicated (even for YA, where contorted love triangles run amok.) and their development is not quick, nor their togetherness definite.

I don’t want to give too much away, so I’ll wrap it up with this. Roth lays out the setting and initial character development in a long opening exposition, which is written in the same style that drew us into the Divergent fandom: remarkably simple yet sprinkled with tidbits of beautiful creativity. Readers are kept interested by her imaginative description of the universe, until the plot thickens, and the reader is helplessly ensnared in the story until the very end.
As always, feel free to comment your own thoughts below.