Most commonly known for the book and movie trilogy “Divergent,” Veronica Roth is a New York Times best-selling author and novelist. However, a less popular book, “Carve the Mark” and its sequel shows Roth’s full talents as an author with action, betrayal and one of the biggest plot twists I’ve ever read.

The split point of view of the book showcases the different emotions and the character’s perspectives. From the first page to turning the last, “Carve the Mark” is one of the best extraterrestrial dystopian novels. The book starts out with Akos Kereseth, son of an oracle, as he lives a happy life with his family on the peaceful nation-planet of Thuve.

The story quickly picks up as the fates, a single sentence that defines the destinies of a few chosen people are released, revealing that Akos’s brother is to be the next oracle of his planet. His family is attacked by his nation’s enemy, Shotet soldiers. After watching his father die, Akos and his brother are kidnapped and he learns he has a fate that makes him a potential traitor to his homeland.

Cyra Noavek is the sister to the brutal tyrant of the Shotet people. The Shotet believe in the current, an all-powerful force that flows through every person and gives them a gift, Cyra’s gift gives her dark tendrils of immense pain that she can inflict onto people by touching them. Her tyrannical brother, Ryzek uses Cyra’s gift to his advantage, forcing her to help him remain in control of their nation.

As a way to ease Cyra’s pain, her brother gives her Akos, who had been sent to train as a Shotet soldier and whose gift interrupts the current and shuts Cyra’s gift off. At first unsure, their friendship grows as they learn to trust one another and learn about each other’s cultures. Though only sixteen, they find themselves involved in uprisings against the tyranny, unveiling secrets about themselves and their heritage. Roth gives the best mix of heroism and romance that will make you laugh just as much as you cry.

Without a doubt, “Carve the Mark” by Veronica Roth is one of her best and most beautiful novels vividly depicting love with all its faults.