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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Violence, Kidnapping
Minor: War
Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth has two characters, Crya and Akos that are extremely likable and easy to fall in love with. While I'm not a huge YA fan or avid reader of those books, I found myself wanting to pick this book up to find out what happens next in their journey. Seeing their character arcs across the nearly 500 page first book in the duology was exciting and enjoyable to read through.
Where the book begins to flounder, for me, lies mostly in two areas; pacing and writing.
Pacing:
There were so many times in the book that I wanted to get more: more detail, more build-up, more action, more suspense, more everything. But I didn't get any of it. Even some of the most suspenseful, action filled scenes in the book covered 2-3pgs, less than a lot of the dialog or descriptors of locations. I don't know know why she Veronica Roth decided to do this but it really let me down, especially towards the latter half of the book, because it all felt so rushed and uneventful. And at the end (NO SPOILERS!), there was just a quick couple sentences to setup the next book. It doesn't necessarily seem like she thought out the book as well as, say, George RR Martin or J.K. Rowling, and decided to write as it came. Take it for what you will, but this seriously detracted from this book for me.
Writing:
I got through the first 1/3 of the book without really noticing that the characters chapters switched from 1st person (Cyra) to 3rd person (Akos). I know, I'm slow. But regardless of how long it took me to discover this, it REALLY slowed down the reading process for me and took me out of the book. It seems like Veronica wanted you to see the story through Cyra's eyes, rather than Akos, which I can appreciate but it didn't flow as well as I think she would have liked it to. I also felt a strong push towards the feminist movement, all female power-players, and male dominated bad guys. And while I'm not trying to start a debate about the whole thing, as a male reader trying to enjoy the book I felt a bit alienated when every single bad guy in the book is a male, save one.
Misc:
There were a lot of reviews that I read where people were upset about the descriptions on the Shotet and Veronica Roth was somehow racist for including this in her book. I completely disagree with that and this was one of my favorite aspects of the book: that two people from two completely different background, worlds, races, etc. that couldn't be more different learned that through understanding, they weren't as different as they thought in the first place.
Overall, this was a pretty enjoyable book that had it's flows. Would I read it again? No. Would I refer it to a friend? Probably no. But I will most likely read the second part of the duology when it comes out.
Where the book begins to flounder, for me, lies mostly in two areas; pacing and writing.
Pacing:
There were so many times in the book that I wanted to get more: more detail, more build-up, more action, more suspense, more everything. But I didn't get any of it. Even some of the most suspenseful, action filled scenes in the book covered 2-3pgs, less than a lot of the dialog or descriptors of locations. I don't know know why she Veronica Roth decided to do this but it really let me down, especially towards the latter half of the book, because it all felt so rushed and uneventful. And at the end (NO SPOILERS!), there was just a quick couple sentences to setup the next book. It doesn't necessarily seem like she thought out the book as well as, say, George RR Martin or J.K. Rowling, and decided to write as it came. Take it for what you will, but this seriously detracted from this book for me.
Writing:
I got through the first 1/3 of the book without really noticing that the characters chapters switched from 1st person (Cyra) to 3rd person (Akos). I know, I'm slow. But regardless of how long it took me to discover this, it REALLY slowed down the reading process for me and took me out of the book. It seems like Veronica wanted you to see the story through Cyra's eyes, rather than Akos, which I can appreciate but it didn't flow as well as I think she would have liked it to. I also felt a strong push towards the feminist movement, all female power-players, and male dominated bad guys. And while I'm not trying to start a debate about the whole thing, as a male reader trying to enjoy the book I felt a bit alienated when every single bad guy in the book is a male, save one.
Misc:
There were a lot of reviews that I read where people were upset about the descriptions on the Shotet and Veronica Roth was somehow racist for including this in her book. I completely disagree with that and this was one of my favorite aspects of the book: that two people from two completely different background, worlds, races, etc. that couldn't be more different learned that through understanding, they weren't as different as they thought in the first place.
Overall, this was a pretty enjoyable book that had it's flows. Would I read it again? No. Would I refer it to a friend? Probably no. But I will most likely read the second part of the duology when it comes out.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Unengaging. There are horrors here but they are consistently glossed over.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Racism, Rape
I’m just not really into Science Fiction, so I could never get into it.
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have not read anything by Veronica Roth for years and I realized how much I missed her with this book. I had almost forgotten how much I love her amazing writing, usually unexpected twists (even when I kinda see them coming) and flawed characters. What a ride!
I loved Cyra and Akos's journey so far. I loved the fact Cyra is way more vicious than Tris and Akos more sweet and vulnerable than Four and I still could see bits and pieces of the latter in the former. Can't wait for more!
I loved Cyra and Akos's journey so far. I loved the fact Cyra is way more vicious than Tris and Akos more sweet and vulnerable than Four and I still could see bits and pieces of the latter in the former. Can't wait for more!
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced