Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth (review)

Roth fans will rejoice at this new outing that focuses on themes familiar from her Divergent series: identity, individual versus social responsibilities, and ethical quandaries. In this novel, the scope is interplanetary, and narration shifts between two teens on opposite sides of a long-standing (and drastic) cultural divide. Cyra and Akos are first brought together through violence, as Akos is kidnapped by Cyra’s cruel, tyrannical older brother to be used for political gain, but when it is discovered that Akos’ touch actually literally soothes Cyra’s constant physical agony (all characters have a “currentgift,” and Cyra’s is to harbor horrific pain and then use it like a weapon on people she touches), the two become inseparable. This is a dense, complex novel and promised sequel likely will be as well; Roth seems committed to exploring both societies on deep levels, and neither is a simple culture. Cyra’s first-person narration has more power and grit than the third-person narration focalized through Akos, but both protagonists are memorable in their desperation to move beyond mere survival and into something that resembles more of a full, rich, and independent life, despite overwhelming odds against them, apart and together.