Review: Carve the Mark

Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I will not be writing a proper review for this as almost everyone has already pretty much made up their mind about if they're reading this or not. But i will give my opinion on the matter at hand and if i lose followers/friends because of this, eh, free speech is a wonderful thing. This is going to be long and soapboxy.


Little about me, I live in the USofA, i live in a state very close to the bible belt, i grew up in a veryyyyyy small town where the POCs barely made up a few tables in the lunch room, i am a very fair skinned white girl. I see first hand how racist and how white privileged people act daily. I believe in equal rights for all and try to keep my mind as open as possible, i am friends with anyone whose attitude works with mine and shares my same views regardless of their skin color or social status.

Now this book. Does it have racist undertones, sure does. Does it portray some white privileges, sure does. Is it so bad that i refused to finish it, nope.

There is a WHOLE WEEK for banned book reading! BANNED BOOKS! Lets see what is on this banned book list:

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , Mark Twain (1884). Reason for banning - Twain’s book is one of the most-challenged of all time and is frequently challenged even today because of its frequent use of the word “nigger.” Otherwise it is alleged the book is “racially insensitive,” “oppressive,” and “perpetuates racism.” (When i had to read this out loud in school, i would only say "N word" that's how bad I am offended by the word)

To Kill a Mockingbird , Harper Lee (1960). Reason for banning - Others have called it a degrading, profane and racist work that “promotes white supremacy.”

The Autobiography of Malcolm X , Malcolm X and Alex Haley (1965). Reason for banning - Objectors have called this seminal work a “how-to-manual” for crime and decried because of “anti-white statements” present in the book.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian , by Sherman Alexie (2007)
Reason for banning - drugs/alcohol/smoking, offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group.

Out from Boneville (Whole series), Jeff Smith (2005). Reason for banning - political viewpoint, racism, violence.

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood , Marjane Satrapi (2000). Reason for banning - politically, racially, and socially offensive, graphic depictions.

So where was all the rage about racism in these books?! Granted a few were written in the 1800's and during a very stressful time in America, but where were you in 2000 or 2005 or 2007 for the other books? Where was the uproar, where was the bashing, where was the threats towards these authors, where was the bloggers begging people to not read these books, to not spend money on these books, where was the boycotts, where was the twitter harassing. Where was it?

We spend a whole week prompting EVERYONE to read these books, to write reviews about them, to have libraries and books stores flaunting these books in huge displays, we have kids dressing up as characters from these books to "celebrate" banned books, we have stickers, and blog banners, and shirts, and mugs, and socks, and bags, and scarfs, and buttons.

Slogans for banned books week: Freadom, celebrate the right to read. Defend the first amendment, read a banned book. Censorship causes blindness. Closing books shuts out ideas.

So please make me understand this, during Banned Books Week, i'm allowed to read books that a shit ton of people find offensive, and i can flaunt it and be proud to read them, but i can't read this book because it offends people...

Bottom line, racism is alive and well in this world, it always will be as long as we let dumb things like this book come between people and/or create issues out of stuff to make issues. The characters in this book are freaking aliens for fuck sake, they are ALIENS! They are traveling through space, SPACE PEOPLE! Pretty sure in Star Trek we figured out they were bound to find a race/species that was very close to where we were in the stone age.

Read it or don't, idc, but don't ever tell someone they can't read a book because it's offensive to others when you sit there for a week reading books that are offensive to others.

End rant.

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