Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth | Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Ah, the first big disappointment of 2017. Well, in terms of new young adult releases, that is. I was so looking forward to this one but it's one of those instances where all the hype makes you wonder why. As someone who loved the Divergent book series (or at the very least, the first book) it was very surprising to see Carve the Mark be plagued by so many flaws--Veronica Roth isn't an awful writer in the least but the entirety of Carve the Mark feeds on an offensive undertone that makes me cranky. And due to some of the remarks she made in her NPR interview, I've lost a bit of respect for her as an author and, well, a person.

In other words, I'm not entirely sure what to make of her. I--well, if you just Google info on the interview, you'll see where the problem lays and I'll leave it at that. Thanks to everyone who brought this to my attention, as well.

I hadn't seen all of the posts about this novel's flaws until after I'd read part of my pre-order (which wasn't that long ago) and I'm quite happy that I'm not the only one who was just generally put-off by the stereotypes in the story itself and the ways in which Roth is conducting herself. Personally, reading this was like I'd put on an itchy sweater and was stuck with it until the end of the day.


What a strange thing for me to say, I know, but it's the only thing I can think of when it comes to discussing it. Even now, as I'm typing, I'm trying to figure out how to explain why I believe this book to be harmful. Not to mention her remark and blatant ignorance on that matter. Ugh.


And the truth is, it's one of those rare reviews where I can't bring myself to say anything of substance because I hated the book and couldn't finish it. I don't think I'll be purchasing books by Roth any longer and I just don't feel the warm and fuzzies for this book--the honeymoon period is over, I guess. I'm all for saying, in my reviews, that opinions should be formed on their own but that just doesn't feel right to say so in this case. Listen to what people are saying. Don't talk over them. Don't take it lightly.