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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
This book relies heavily on established tropes, but doesn't bring anything new to them. Which typically would have made me give it three stars, I may have even bumped it to four just because I was happy to see YA in a not n context. But there are some serious problems with this book.
1) If you're going to use the alien races and the tension between them as a metaphor for our own, you can't make them look like the races here on earth and with the stereotypes associated with them. It's not only lazy writing, it's harmful because it reinforces these stereotypes.
2) I've seen some reviews here where people with chronic pain are pissed that Cyra's pain is her "currentgift" they're upset that the word gift is used. That doesn't bother me. Gifts aren't always good, ask the Trojans. But what is really upsetting is Spoilerit appears Cyra is able to get over her her pain by wanting to enough. That once she no longer thinks she deserves it, she is able to control it. Roth has stated that she used her friends with chronic pain for inspiration. And with the revelation that if Cyra wants it enough she can be "cured" makes me wonder what she truly thinks of the struggles of her friends.
1) If you're going to use the alien races and the tension between them as a metaphor for our own, you can't make them look like the races here on earth and with the stereotypes associated with them. It's not only lazy writing, it's harmful because it reinforces these stereotypes.
2) I've seen some reviews here where people with chronic pain are pissed that Cyra's pain is her "currentgift" they're upset that the word gift is used. That doesn't bother me. Gifts aren't always good, ask the Trojans. But what is really upsetting is Spoilerit appears Cyra is able to get over her her pain by wanting to enough. That once she no longer thinks she deserves it, she is able to control it. Roth has stated that she used her friends with chronic pain for inspiration. And with the revelation that if Cyra wants it enough she can be "cured" makes me wonder what she truly thinks of the struggles of her friends.
En helt okej bok som mot slutet ändå fick mig intresserad. För djupare tankar se min recension/diskussion på bloggen
I was completely enthralled with everything about this one. Must read the next book!
Mixed feelings on this one. It was interesting for sure and a cool premise, but it also took me about half the book to become really involved. I think the build up was a little too slow; however, part of the story was the character relationships and I understand not wanting to rush that. Still it dragged too much. I also didn’t like that her story was first person and his was third. It made it really hard to tell a voice difference or when perspectives were shifting because he was always “he” and “Akos” so it took a second to realize it was no longer Cyra’s perspective. If you’re going to go back and forth between character perspectives it needs to be clear. The first person, third person choice is a fun idea to do that, but I think in practice it didn’t succeed. I liked the main characters overall and when I understood where the story was headed, I stayed invested and interested. It just took some time.
I loved this book so much better then Divergent series. Can't wait to read the last book.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth took me a while to get into, but once I got going, I couldn’t put it down. While I don’t feel too attached to the main characters, I think the world and story is really interesting. Like most people, I was infatuated with the Divergent series, so I thought this would be another exciting Roth novel. Maybe I went in with expectations too high, but this wasn’t as compelling. I think the world here is more complicated and intricate, which may be why it was harder to get into for me, but overall I think if you like the scifi genre, this is a great duology for you. While not quite dystopian, this is a complex world with in depth cultures and countries (or rather planets) to learn. The concept is interesting, and towards the end the characters started to grow on me a little more. I think it’s worth the read, and I’m excited to see where the next book goes.
I received a copy of this book from HarperCollins upon my own request.
This review isn't sponsored and all the opinions are mine.
Upon getting it, I'm not allowed to share plot point but I can still tell you my opinions.
This book took me a long time to get into and I had really high expectations.
I read the Divigent series and liked them, but I always though that Roth could do better, because lets face it Allegiant? That was the worst.
I thought that if she had a new book, or series that she would be better, make something new.
Sci-fi fantasy young adult set in space with (super) powers, just sounds like something I would love.
I sadly didn't.
I didn't get into the book until like 200 pages in, which I struggled to get trough and then it got kind of interesting, but also was a bit of a yawn fest for me.
I'm not going to share any plot points, like I wrote, but so many things in this aren't that good.
The pace is off, sometimes a lot of action and other times just almost repeating things over and over.
The love story is the worst! Like seriously, really? And they are so enabling and manipulating each other all the time, that it seems very unlikely that they would like each other that much anyway.
In the Divergent series I act out what happens in Insurgent something like this.
[big news]
- What are we going to do?
- Let's run!
[plot point, new big news]
- Let's run. Hurry!
There's a lot of running in that book, isn't it?
In Carve the mark I would act it out like this:
Cyra: I'm so alone, have all this angst but can fight like a badass and know all of these languages. Feel sorry for me, even though you will only ever see the bad sides of me.
Akon: I will have revenge. Family is important. I don't trust anyone, or do I? I'm also this pretend badass, and know how to make poison.
Cyra & Akon: He/she is pretty great even though he/she has lied/was awful to me.
I found it fascinating about the different planets and languages, being the nerd I am. And how the different planets worked differently in most things. That part of the story I could have had more off. Else, I just finished it to see if it would get better. It didn't.
There are so many things that are off and utterly eye-rolling cheesy and yawn worthy in this book.
Yes, I had expectations which wasn't met. But really Roth, I believe you could do better.
I know that many have given this pretty high star ratings and I understand that many will read it. Think about while reading it though... is it that good?
My answer is no.
This review isn't sponsored and all the opinions are mine.
Upon getting it, I'm not allowed to share plot point but I can still tell you my opinions.
This book took me a long time to get into and I had really high expectations.
I read the Divigent series and liked them, but I always though that Roth could do better, because lets face it Allegiant? That was the worst.
I thought that if she had a new book, or series that she would be better, make something new.
Sci-fi fantasy young adult set in space with (super) powers, just sounds like something I would love.
I sadly didn't.
I didn't get into the book until like 200 pages in, which I struggled to get trough and then it got kind of interesting, but also was a bit of a yawn fest for me.
I'm not going to share any plot points, like I wrote, but so many things in this aren't that good.
The pace is off, sometimes a lot of action and other times just almost repeating things over and over.
The love story is the worst! Like seriously, really? And they are so enabling and manipulating each other all the time, that it seems very unlikely that they would like each other that much anyway.
In the Divergent series I act out what happens in Insurgent something like this.
[big news]
- What are we going to do?
- Let's run!
[plot point, new big news]
- Let's run. Hurry!
There's a lot of running in that book, isn't it?
In Carve the mark I would act it out like this:
Cyra: I'm so alone, have all this angst but can fight like a badass and know all of these languages. Feel sorry for me, even though you will only ever see the bad sides of me.
Akon: I will have revenge. Family is important. I don't trust anyone, or do I? I'm also this pretend badass, and know how to make poison.
Cyra & Akon: He/she is pretty great even though he/she has lied/was awful to me.
I found it fascinating about the different planets and languages, being the nerd I am. And how the different planets worked differently in most things. That part of the story I could have had more off. Else, I just finished it to see if it would get better. It didn't.
There are so many things that are off and utterly eye-rolling cheesy and yawn worthy in this book.
Yes, I had expectations which wasn't met. But really Roth, I believe you could do better.
I know that many have given this pretty high star ratings and I understand that many will read it. Think about while reading it though... is it that good?
My answer is no.
So I've only read the first 3 chapters of this book, and yet I'm writing a review. This isn't something I do very often because I always want to give books and authors the chance to finish the story, to finish what they're saying if you will. However, it has taken me over a week to read less than 40 pages, and I'm already frustrated with this story.
After 3-4 days trying to get into the first 3 pages of the book, I finally bit the bullet and pushed through the initial 2 chapters in Akos POV. Throughout the entirety of Part 1 (literally just those 2 chapters), I never developed any personal connection or reasons to care about any of the characters introduced. The young characters seemed inconsistently developed for their ages and the family dynamic was awkward. The societal development seems to have enough holes in it that I have no desire to see if Roth fills them in or not. THEN, I got to the third chapter, and not only does the point of view change, BUT SHE ALSO SWITCHES FROM THIRD PERSON TO FIRST. I continued to flip through the chapters and EVERY chapter in Akos' POV is in third person, and EVERY chapter in Cyra's POV is in first. Perhaps an author could have gotten away with that kind of purposeful inconsistency for the purpose of character development and mood, but this book does not seem to be written well enough to merit that kind of literary license. I was already underwhelmed and a bit critical of her phrasings, figurative language, and syntax in general, but these larger aspects of poorly executed literary devices were too much for me.
Because of the sheer difficulty I was having getting into this novel, I went online to look up some reviews in the hopes that it gets better. Unfortunately, the people reviewing didn't even have time to criticize the technical aspects of this piece because it seems that the meat of the actual story gets worse too. From blatant racism to white-supremacy to self harm and beyond, I can't see why I would want to finish this novel. NOTE THAT I HAVE NOT SEEN ANY OF THOSE THINGS FOR MYSELF AND THIS PARAGRAPH IS BASED ENTIRELY ON THE OPINIONS OF OTHERS. However, I'm not impressed enough with this story to explore those claims for myself.
I was so excited for the premise of current gifts and the pated families in this story, and I feel like it had potential. Unfortunately I do not feel the motivation to finish this book at this time. Perhaps in the future I will come back to it, but for now it shall sit on my DNF shelf until further notice.
After 3-4 days trying to get into the first 3 pages of the book, I finally bit the bullet and pushed through the initial 2 chapters in Akos POV. Throughout the entirety of Part 1 (literally just those 2 chapters), I never developed any personal connection or reasons to care about any of the characters introduced. The young characters seemed inconsistently developed for their ages and the family dynamic was awkward. The societal development seems to have enough holes in it that I have no desire to see if Roth fills them in or not. THEN, I got to the third chapter, and not only does the point of view change, BUT SHE ALSO SWITCHES FROM THIRD PERSON TO FIRST. I continued to flip through the chapters and EVERY chapter in Akos' POV is in third person, and EVERY chapter in Cyra's POV is in first. Perhaps an author could have gotten away with that kind of purposeful inconsistency for the purpose of character development and mood, but this book does not seem to be written well enough to merit that kind of literary license. I was already underwhelmed and a bit critical of her phrasings, figurative language, and syntax in general, but these larger aspects of poorly executed literary devices were too much for me.
Because of the sheer difficulty I was having getting into this novel, I went online to look up some reviews in the hopes that it gets better. Unfortunately, the people reviewing didn't even have time to criticize the technical aspects of this piece because it seems that the meat of the actual story gets worse too. From blatant racism to white-supremacy to self harm and beyond, I can't see why I would want to finish this novel. NOTE THAT I HAVE NOT SEEN ANY OF THOSE THINGS FOR MYSELF AND THIS PARAGRAPH IS BASED ENTIRELY ON THE OPINIONS OF OTHERS. However, I'm not impressed enough with this story to explore those claims for myself.
I was so excited for the premise of current gifts and the pated families in this story, and I feel like it had potential. Unfortunately I do not feel the motivation to finish this book at this time. Perhaps in the future I will come back to it, but for now it shall sit on my DNF shelf until further notice.