Review – Caraval (Caraval, Book 1) by Stephanie Garber (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 416 pages
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Release Date: January 31, 2017
ISBN-13: 978-1250095251
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in Caraval series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars
“Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the far-away, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over.
But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.
Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But she nevertheless becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic with the other players in the game. And whether Caraval is real or not, she must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over, a dangerous domino effect of consequences is set off, and her sister disappears forever.
Welcome, welcome to Caraval . . . beware of getting swept too far away.”
This is the first book in the Caraval series, the follow up book to this “Legendary” has also been released. This is a planned trilogy. I absolutely loved this book it was full of so much magic and mystery.
Scarlett has always dreamed of going to see Caraval with her sister Tella. Scarlett and Tella have a horribly abusive father and the only way Scarlett sees to escape her father is marriage. She has long given up on her dreams of Caraval and is looking forward to her arranged marriage and finally leaving her father’s house, when it finally happens…she gets an invite to Caraval.
This book reminded me of Alice in Wonderland in a lot of ways…strange I know. Caraval has that same magical and slightly disturbing vibe to it and was just perfect for me. This book also reminds a bit of a teen-safe Westworld (HBO series). People journey to Caraval to get away and live life in a magical world for 5 days; they can take part in the game or just watch and enjoy.
The writing in this book is absolutely stunning. The descriptions are beautiful and magical and made me feel like I was in Caraval. I loved the characters; they were all complex and interesting. I just don’t know how better to describe this book; it was absolutely enchanting and darkly magical. I just loved it!
Overall I enjoyed this a ton and am eager to see where the story goes in Legendary! I would recommend to those who enjoy darkly magical fantasy YA reads. This is seriously one of my favorite books of the year and I struggle to explain why because I connected with this story so easily. I think it was mainly the beautifully descriptive writing and the amazingly magical setting.
This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Goodreads Reading Challenge
