Friday, January 13, 2017

Review: Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth


Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth
Book One of the Carve the Mark series
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: January 17, 2017
Rating: 3 stars
Source: ARC sent by the publisher

Summary (from Goodreads):

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.

What I Liked:

Carve the Mark is absolutely worth the hype and the excitement, and it's definitely worth your time to read this book if you've been looking forward to reading it. Chances are, it won't disappoint you. In many ways, I liked this book a lot. But there were several specific things that might seem small or insignificant in the grand schemes of things, that ended up really bothering me. Hence, the three-star rating. 

This story is told by two characters - Akos, a Thuvhe, and Cyra, a Shotet. The Thuvhe are a peace-loving people living on Urek. The Shotet are more aggressive nomadic people that conquer various nations and planets. When he is fourteen, Akos is captured, along with his brother, by the Shotet, who kill his father in front of him. They are taken to the Shotet stronghold of Urek, ruled by Ryzek Noavek, a ruthless tyrant and older brother of Cyra. They are stolen for their currentgifts - Akos's brother Eijeh is the next oracle of the Thuvhe. Akos grows into his currentgift - he can interrupt the current (he can cancel it out, turn it off, that sort of thing). Several years later, Akos is shaped into a warrior, but he has lost known of his humanity. He is not a killer, though he has killed to protect himself. He is brought to help Cyra Noavek, whose currentgift is inflicting pain on others with her touch. No one can touch her without feeling pain, but Akos can, because he interrupts the current (and all currentgifts are "fueled" by the current). Akos cooperates because he wants to rescue his brother and flee. But the more he and Cyra interact, the more they learn about each other, and the more they realize that they share common interests, interests that could incite wars.

The beginning of the book was incredibly confusing (I'll talk about that in the next section), but once I (sort of) got a grasp of the world and everything going on, I started to get into the story and really sink into it. This is science fiction, though certain elements (like the currentgifts) can definitely be categorized as fantasy. This story takes place across planets of a galaxy, so it's a space-y type of science fiction. 

I must say, Roth did an excellent job with the characterization and character growth, specifically in terms of Cyra and Akos. I'll start with Akos. He is easily my favorite character of the book. He is Thuvhe, and so he is brought up to be more peaceful and somewhat passive towards violence. Even several years being trained as a Shotet soldier doesn't break him down. He is compassionate, and he is strong. I liked him a lot, especially for his unbreakable will. I was amazing and in awe of how much pain and grief and despair he bore, for years. Akos grows into a character that still hates killing, and is sick over having to kill anyone, but can do it. He becomes so strong and capable in other ways, and he's also extremely intelligent and clever. He isn't an alpha type of YA hero - he's quietly intelligent and very, very human. 

Cyra is almost the opposite of him, yet it slowly becomes apparent that she has similarities to him. She appears to be a brutal, cold, emotionless killer summoned and used by her brother, Ryzek. But Cyra does not enjoy wielding her painful power over others, and she definitely does not enjoy bending to Ryzek's will. In many ways, it is Akos who shows her mercy, what mercy is, and that she is still capable of being merciful, and better, and more. Cyra learns to turn her pain into something else. She loses none of her deadliness and her danger, but as the story goes on, she becomes stronger and more able to stand up to Ryzek.

Once I got past the first one hundred pages or so, I had little difficulty getting through the story. I was pretty engrossed and despite the book being rather long, I read it quickly. There is so much happening in this story, and I wanted to see how it would all end. There were so many moments when things could go disastrously wrong, and I held my breath as I turned the pages. No one can say that certain parts of this book weren't engrossing. A lot of the story ends up being about how to unseat Ryzek, and how to stay alive and protect each other.

There is romance! I liked seeing Akos and Cyra fall for each other. It's actually Cyra who shows her feelings first, which you wouldn't expect. Cyra is supposedly the more ruthless one, and Akos is the more emotional and merciful one. But it's Cyra that starts to fall for Akos first, and shows her hand first. I liked their dynamic a lot - they learn to trust each other before anything else. No love triangle! Thank goodness for that. I thought this romance was well-developed, and swoony towards the end.

There is also another romance which I thought was sweet. I can't say much about it because it'll spoil things, but it's between two characters that are good together. 

The ending, as insane and chaotic as it is, is not a cruel ending. There is no horrible cliffhanger, which is surprising, since this is book one of a duology. You'd expect something really terrible to have happened at the end, hurting the main character(s). Don't get me wrong, terrible (permanent) things definitely happened; but the ending isn't a cliffhanger, and I definitely appreciate that.

Now I'm going to talk about the things I didn't really enjoy. 

What I Did Not Like:

First: the initial one hundred pages or so? Very confusing, and very boring too. I had a hard time getting through the beginning of the story. There is so much information dumped into the first couple of chapters, and so many names. It also took me a while to realize that the beginning is when Akos is fourteen - and NOT the "present" time of the story. Same with Cyra's beginning - she is six when her chapter begins. The beginning has too much going on, and it isn't well-explained at first. I had to reread several of the chapters a few times to really get some sort of grasp as to what was happening.

I'm not sure I really understand the world/world-building? Currentgifts and their origin and how/why they exist still kind of elude me. What is the "current"? Where did it come from? How is it magically given people these currentgifts? The currentgifts are things like inflicting pain upon touch, or not feeling pain at all, or seeing the future, or seeing every memory of a person. 

Second: there are so many awful, brutal scenes in this book. I'm talking about torture and cruel treatment of people. I understand that this type of brutality is very real and exists in real life and has a place in this fictional world, but the brutality of a lot of it... didn't sit well with me. Usually a certain level of violence doesn't bother me too much? The violence in this book, while not exactly graphic, is horrifying. Which is probably the intent, but my stomach hurt, reading it. 

Third: Not the biggest thing I didn't like, but I wasn't a huge fan of having Akos's POV in third-person, and then Cyra's in first-person. I loved reading from both of their POVs! But it would have been nice to have a little uniformity (either both in first, or both in third). Also it already scares me, that Roth chooses to tell this story from both Akos and Cyra's POVs. We saw what happened in Allegiant...

Fourth: problematic racial content. Oh yeah, I definitely see where people are coming from, when they say that this book has some racist content. The Shotet are portrayed as "brown skinned", aggressive, nomadic people. They stole Thuvhe children years ago, and the Thuvhe retaliated and stole Shotet children, but the way the story is told, the Shotet are the "villains". I mean, given that the first chapter is about Akos's father getting brutally murdered in front of him, I get why that would be implication. But there are definitely underlying tones of something problematic here: the Thuvhe, light-skinned peaceful people, and the Shotet, darker-skinned aggressive people, are both cliches. And what's more, it seems like most of the Shotet have very violent currentgifts, whereas the Thuvhe have more passive, non-violent gifts (like Akos's, or his mother's, or his brother's). 

Do you see the problem here? Why is it that the "aggressive" people are always the brown/darker-skinned ones, and the more "peaceful" non-violent people are lighter-skinned? I have no qualms with the characters themselves (I adore Akos, and Cyra is such a fighter), but the social construct here is reflective of cliches and stereotypes. 

Read THIS peace if you want more information. I definitely do not know it all, but I recognize and understand the issue at hand here, in terms of race and culture.

Would I Recommend It:

Yes, I had issues with this book, and I firmly believe that last issue needs to be addressed. And yes, I also enjoyed the book, for the most part, regardless. It's a good story, and I was definitely swept up in the story as I was reading. I'll be reading the sequel next year. I don't know if I really should recommend this book, given the evident issues. But I did like the story too. If you've been excited to read this book, believe me, it probably won't disappoint. But... recognize issues when you see them. Talk about them. Discuss and learn.

Rating:

3 stars. Like I said, this is a good story, and of all of Roth's books, it's probably her best. I think I liked it more than I liked her other books (definitely more than I liked Insurgent and Allegiant - though I never fully read Allegiant). I want to see where the story goes. But there were some things that held me back a little, in terms of my rating. 


Was this review helpful? Please let me know in the comments section!

36 comments:

  1. I think I'll skip this one. I was looking forward to it at first, but since I didn't love the Divergent trilogy, and since you say the history of this book is quite confusing, I don't think it's for me. Great review, though! And I LOVE that cover :)

    Amy @ A Magical World Of Words

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    1. I know how you feel! Allegiant was a letdown, right? This one was good - but not great, you know? Thank you, Amy!

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  2. I have been hesitant about this book since I heard about it, and after reading your review I probably won't read it. There are just too many books out there:-) Thanks for your review!

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    1. After reading Roth's debut trilogy, I was hesitant about this one too. To be honest, I only read it because I was sent an ARC. It was good, but there were issues along the way.

      You're welcome and thank YOU, Tammy!

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  3. I was excited about this book as soon as I heard about it, but I've been very hesitant to read it ever since Book Twitter classified it as racist. I can -definitely- see the problem and I'm not sure what V Roth was thinking when she made the violent villains brown-skinned... I'm glad you were still able to enjoy though, even while noting the problematic content. I may still read this one at some point, but it's definitely not as high on my list as it was. Great review!

    Tracy @ Cornerfolds

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    1. It is indeed problematic, in terms of the racial aspects. Perhaps it was unintentional, but the author definitely fell into the dark-skinned-aggressor trap, which isn't good. There were other issues with the book, but that one is at the forefront.

      Thank you, Tracy!

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  4. damn it, I was all excited and wanting to read it. Science fiction plus fantasy yes please?
    but than I got to the part of why you didn't like it and the bottom dropped >.< I don't understand why the dark skinned people always have to be painted in that light over and over again

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    1. And you know, theoretically I enjoyed the book! But there were issues with the book that detracted from the story. It's such a brutal story. And the race issues are definitely there. :/

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  5. Hmm interesting review. I can see how the beginning can be boring as well as overwhelming to read with so much information presented at once. I am not sure I am going to rush to grab this one.

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    1. If you do end up reading it though, borrow it from the library! Hopefully you'll like it, but keep an eye out for those issues.

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  6. Thanks for highlighting the good and no so good parts of the book. I'm always a little scared reading a book that's super hyped, so I think I'll hold off for now. And hmm, the problematic racial components are leaving me a bit bleh.

    Awesome review, Alyssa!

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    1. The hype monster is so real! With this one, I think the book was good (like the story was interesting), but the issues were definitely there too.

      Thank you, Cyn!

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  7. I feel totally crazy for saying this, but I don't actually have any interest in reading this book. After seeing Justina Ireland talk about it on twitter (she's so damn smart, love her feed) I was pretty much sure that I'd avoid it...and since then a lot more people have struggled with the representation of race here, just like you Alyssa. WHY do authors do these things?!

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    1. Don't feel crazy at all! If I hadn't gotten an ARC, there was a good chance I wouldn't have read the book. Justina Ireland is a champion in the book world! I definitely see the issues that she discussed. I'm not sure what was intentional and what wasn't, but Roth made a bit of a mess here. :/

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  8. We love Divergent so much, so we were looking forward to this. Now, we're not so sure. The racial stereotyping is definitely a problem for us, underlying or overt. And the first 100 pages being confusing doesn't seem very enjoyable, but it's good it picks up. Great review Alyssa! Love how it has the pros and con! <3
    ~ Pendragons 

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    1. If you end up reading the book, I hope you enjoy it! Perhaps borrow it from the library before buying it, if anything.

      Thank you, ladies! =)

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  9. I've been torn on this one... I did preorder it because I want that Divergent epilogue (I'm one of the very few people who actually liked Allegiant lol) But IDK if I'm going to rush to get to this one. Great review!

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    1. Oooo, that makes sense. I'm curious about that epilogue but honestly, if you-know-who isn't coming back to life, then I'm not sure I really care. :/ If you read this book, I hope you enjoy it, Teresa! Thank you. :D

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  10. Hmm, interesting review. I know that I still want to give it a try. I remember when I read an advanced readers copy of Divergent before it came out, and I actually thought it was pretty violent. So now I'm guessing this one is pretty bad. Thanks for all the heads up on things.

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    1. This one is soooooo much more violent than Divergent. It is almost excessive, at times. If you read this one, I hope you like it!

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  11. I have some reservations about reading this book, primarily because I wasn't happy with how she ended the Divergent series. But with your review now I think I'll save my money and wait to borrow it from the library. Great review Alyssa!

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    1. SAME! I hated the ending of Allegiant (I actually didn't even read the book). Borrowing from the library is a very good idea.

      Thank you, Kathy!

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  12. Nice! I was actually really excited for this book. More so because Roth was writing again! I feel like when authors make it big with Hollywood they quit writing for reasons. You never really know why, but you just notice that there are no books on the shelves but for those that were made into movies. So yeah, I am excited for this one!

    I had no issues with Allegiant really and what happened there. I do see why so many people were angry though. It worries me a bit though that you're saying there's two points of view. I would hope Roth didn't repeat herself. It doesn't seem like something she would do. I can only imagine the hate mail she received when Allegiant happened. But I will admit I admire her strength to write a book with an ending that might not be well received. She saw in her mind that it was the right move for her character. I guess that's why in part, I never had issues with it.

    Definitely looking forward to this one! Didn't know it was a duology at first and was almost resigning myself to waiting until next year to start it, but no killer cliffhanger you say? That may change things for me! Not sure though because I do enjoy binging those duologies! LOL! Great review!

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    1. That does seem to be a trend! Like Suzanne Collins, and J.K. Rowling (kind of).

      I didn't really talk about Allegiant here? Allegiant is its own thing. Carve the Mark has so many problems and the problems have nothing to do with Allegiant.

      It is a duology! I could see myself reading the second book, to see how it all ends.

      Thank you, Jessica!

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  13. Glad to know it's worth the hype. I read and loved Divergent, but never finished the series since some of the DC YA group hated the last book! I'm looking forward to this one though. Thanks for the review Alyssa :)

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    1. I didn't like Allegiant! Though I didn't read it, to be honest. I know all about the ending and I will never read the book. -_-

      You're welcome, and thank YOU, Liza!

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  14. I'm so torn about if I want to read this book or not. I really wanted to read this one at first, but I can fully understand the issues people have with it. I don't even know. I also really hated the last Divergent book so I may avoid any more of her books because of that alone haha. :P Great review though!

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    1. I know what you mean! I don't know that I would have read this book if I hadn't been sent an ARC. I loved Divergent but was not a fan of the rest of the series. I think she is one of those authors that revels in awful endings, so I'm scared of the sequel of this book. o_o

      Thank you, Erin!

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  15. Lovely review sweet girl. <3 I'm so glad you enjoyed this book :) I'm pretty excited about reading it, tbh. I think I will love the characters and the romance too :D Yay!

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    1. Thank you, Carina! I hope you enjoy the book (are you still reading it? Probably not? I'm late on replying to these comments. Ahhh!).

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  16. I have a question. It might sound silly or whatever but when I have the chance I try to find the specific editions of the specific books I fall love with.
    I know Veronica Roth has made 2 versions of this book's cover, this is the current cover although she softly announced that it would come hardcover and I would've bought it in my mother tonge if it had come hardcover into the Spanish translated version.
    I like this one as it comes with the stellar map softly carved in the dark-blue hardcover a part from the current protective cover.
    I've find a hardcover in original version on amazon and I just wanted to know if Veronica has released hardcover versions in other countries or whatever.

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    1. I think it's just the USA version that is hardcover. I don't know that any of the other versions are hardcover! Most are softcover, form what I've seen. The hardcover is GORGEOUS, especially under the dust jacket. :D

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  17. Great review.

    I agree about the violence aspect, like; i don't mind some realistic violence but this is a little over the top.

    The way I see it, Carve the Mark is basically Divergent mixed with Star Wars with more violence than both, and less romance than Divergent.

    I sure hope the second one doesn't turn out like Allegi-- i mean... the book we shall not speak of.

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    1. Yes! I'm glad you agree! It seems too brutal and almost necessary, at times. I definitely see what you're saying about Divergent + Star Wars.

      Oh man, if this book sequel's is A*******t part II, I am going to SCREAM! It would be so horrible!

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  18. Great review Alyssa and thanks for the heads up on the 'issues'. I too felt that the world building was harder to follow thus I read it a bit slower and kept rereading some parts. Because it's sci fi (which I enjoy) it takes a while to envision what's happening. But once the story started moving it was full steam ahead in regards to the action. And yes I totally agree that it was brutal. Ugh.. how can Cyra live through with all of that.. wow. In regards to the race issue, I really never thought about it much and it didn't affect the way I see the characters. Loved Akos and Cyra. Glad that it's a duology so the story will end and not continue endlessly like some others. I'm beginning to enjoy stand alones more now since it's just too long to wait for the next book and I have to reread to remember what had happened from before. I have to give you kudos for having such a great memory in remembering the storylines of the books you read. I have to go to back to your reviews to jog my memory. ;)

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    1. I'm glad you liked this one overall! The brutality was both fantastic (in that it was written incredibly well) and horrifying (it was too much sometimes). I think I'll be reading the next book because I can't not know how things end, you know? But I agree, standalones are so much more preferable these days. Patience is hard to come by!

      Thank you! <333

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