Written by Veronica Roth (Divergent) I am honestly copying the summary from Goodreads:
In a galaxy powered by the current, everyone has a gift.
Cyra is the sister of the brutal tyrant who rules the Shotet people. Cyra’s current gift 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 the son of a farmer and an oracle from the frozen nation-planet of Thuvhe. Protected by his unusual currentgift, Akos is generous in spirit, and his loyalty to his family is limitless. Once Akos and his brother are captured by enemy Shotet soldiers, Akos is desperate to get this brother out alive — no matter what the cost.
Then Akos is thrust into Cyra’s world, and the enmity between their countries and families seems insurmountable. Will they help each other to survive, or will they destroy one another?
Carve the Mark is Veronica Roth’s stunning portrayal of the power of friendship — and love — in a galaxy filled with unexpected gifts.
So, there are two reason’s I didn’t write my own summary:
- I waited too long to do this.
- I listened to these names. I have no idea how to spell them.
- I made the mistake (maybe?) of reading other reviews about this book. I did these because I had this idea that this book had a bunch of backlash about how this was promoting cutting. Never found that discussion. Did find a lot of people who didn’t like this novel.
I enjoyed this novel. I will admit that. But at points it was slow, and I think that a lot of people read way too much into this novel. A number of people were complaining about the racism in it – I think in this case that isn’t correct. I think that this is going to be one of those things that neither group has correctly, and maybe started with the differences in their beliefs. I don’t think racism is the correct term. Racism has to do with how people look. In this novel they even describe that they are all so mixed that siblings will look drastically different. The differences described here have to do with how people move, how they dress, the actual environment they grew up in.
This should also be a stand alone novel. I wanted it all wrapped up in one book. And yet… no. That didn’t happen. And I don’t think I will be reading the second book in this series.
The characters were enjoyable, though the romance was predictable. And I was hoping that I wouldn’t be correct in the romance that would develop. Again, I liked this novel, but I wanted it to be wrapped up in a single book.
Sorry this isn’t a bit more, but I just waited too long and took no notes on this! (The middle part of this novel is what was really memorable.)
