Review: Carve the Mark

Carve the Mark
by Veronica Roth

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: January 17, 2017

In Veronica Roth’s new book, CARVE THE MARK, Roth combines fantastic space travel and beautiful new planets, with magical powers with a dark twist. Akos is a teenage boy living in a world where a magical light path called the "current" gives everyone incredible gifts. He lives with his mom, one of the planet's oracles, and his family in the harsh cold city of Hessa. Life isn’t that bad until he is kidnapped by a dangerous group of men who belong to the Shoet people, a deadly group of people obsessed with killing and conquering, and is forced to serve them.
Cyra is one of the Shoet. She lives with her brother, the leader of the Shoet, and is forced to use her deadly current gift to cause pain and suffering to those who defy them. But one day she decides to stop.
CARVE THE MARK follows the story of these two people, who are fighting for peace in a world obsessed with death and suffering.

I really enjoyed this book. Veronica Roth’s writing style really makes you fear for the characters and wonder what will happen next. By using oracles, she makes it so she is actually telling how the book will end; but at the same time, she makes us wonder how exactly she will do that. I loved the contrast of the nice and caring civilization fighting against this other brutal and cruel one; Roth is able to show us what each group thinks of each other and the differences and similarities between them. This book is all about defying boundaries and escaping your future. In the novel, she shows us that everything is not what it seems, and even if it seems to be set in stone, you will always be able to change it.
Although there are some violent scenes in the novel, it still is a fun read!  I loved this book and I can’t wait for the second novel!