YA Books Podcast - Episode 91 - Carve the Mark

Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth (Author of the Divergent trilogy)

https://www.amazon.com/Carve-Mark-Veronica-Roth-ebook/dp/B01ER5L9V2/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_img_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=PX5T9Q6A9ZPX7PB28R2R

I know that I often feature lesser known books on the podcast, so this week I wanted to find something that might be more mainstream. I went to the Amazon top 100 young adult books, and the first one that wasn't a Harry Potter book was this one. It was around number six. With her Divergent Trilogy being so popular, I figured this was a good bet.
published on Jan 17, 2017 by
It must have recently been on a promotion, because I bought it for $2.99 and now it is at $10.99
It is currently at #678 on the Paid Kindle store.
When I bought it, it was #1 on three indices, now it is at 4, 5, and 5, on those indices.

4.0 stars on 304 reviews

Cyra Noavek and Akos Kereseth have grown up in enemy countries locked in a long-standing fight for dominance over their shared planet. When Akos and his brother are kidnapped by the ruling Noavek family, Akos is forced to serve Cyra, the sister of a dictator who governs with violence and fear. Cyra is known for her deadly power of transferring extraordinary pain unto others with simple touch, and her tyrant brother uses her as a weapon against those who challenge him. But as Akos fights for his own survival, he recognizes that Cyra is also fighting for hers, and that her true gift—resilience—might be what saves them both.

When Akos and Cyra are caught in the middle of a raging rebellion, everything they’ve been led to believe about their world and themselves must be called into question. But fighting for what’s right might mean betraying their countries, their families, and each other.

When the time comes, will they choose loyalty or love?

How did I like this first chapter?
I think the author's writing is great, though I did stumble on some of the phrasing when I was recording. There was one sentence about the Shotet being across a stretch of feathergrass that was really hard to read in a way that made sense. Let me read it. "And they lived on Thuvhe, the same planet as Akos and his family—though the Shotet didn’t call this planet “Thuvhe,” or themselves “Thuvhesits”—across a huge stretch of feathergrass." Reading that I feel like Fezzik in the Princess Bride, "I don't think that word means what he thinks in means." With the insertion about the Shotet in the middle of the sentence, we lose the connection to the original thought. I thought this was some weak writing in an otherwise strong story. There is a lot of wisdom in the idea that authors should read their work out loud to make sure it flows.

I'm impressed with the author's world building. I'm not impressed that she tried to explain so much of it in the first chapter, mixed in with cute childhood interactions. There was too much information dumped into the chapter. Again, too many obscure names introduced. If I hadn't read the chapter three times, including while recording, I don't know if I would have been clear on who was who at the end.

Also, we are barely introduced to the conflict at the end of the first chapter. And we only know what is coming by reading the blurb. Reading the chapter straight through, there is nothing in it that pushes me to know more. I'm disappointed that there isn't a nagging conflict to catch my interest.

If world building is a major draw for you, then, this chapter, and probably the book, is for you. I would have to read on another chapter of two to decide if there was enough conflict and potential character development to spur me on. The author has a lot of street cred, having written a major series in the Divergent trilogy. That is probably enough to encourage me to read the next two or three chapters to see if it will hook me.

Another thing that bugged me was the rankings. It was highest on a YA Scifi/distopian index. I'm not sure how they got the book into that index, because this story doesn't have any of the characteristics of a distopian novel, as far as I can see from the first chapter and the blurb. It is much more in the scifi/fantasy genre.

I was going to give this a four. Because it should appeal to more than just the distopian crowd. Or just the YA romance crowd. Based on the potential that the author knows what she's doing. It's worth a try for most readers. At least the first few chapters to see if you're going to get drawn in. But, the price point is a draw back. $11 is a lot for a 'maybe' e book. If other reviewers had averaged it higher than a straight four point oh, it would be a more sure bet. I give it between a three and a four recommendation. There are a lot of great books available for $5 that are less risk.