Nessa Luna
Written on Jun 16, 2017
Welcome to Caraval, where nothing is quite what it seems...
'If you ever wondered how it would feel to step into a dream, here's your ticket' - Stacey Lee
Scarlett has never left the tiny isle of Trisda, pining from afar for the wonder of Caraval, a once-a-year week-long performance where the audience participates in the show.Caraval is Magic. Mystery. Adventure. And for Scarlett and her beloved sister Tella it represents freedom and an escape from their ruthless, abusive father.
When the sisters' long-awaited invitations to Caraval finally arrive, it seems their dreams have come true. But no sooner have they arrived than Tella vanishes, kidnapped by the show's mastermind organiser, Legend.
Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But nonetheless she quickly becomes enmeshed in a dangerous game of love, magic and heartbreak. And real or not, she must find Tella before the game is over, and her sister disappears forever.
A mesmerising, magical and stunningly imaginative debut novel for anyone who loved The Night Circus.
- ISBN10 1250095255
- ISBN13 9781250095251
- Publish Date 31 January 2017 (first published 6 December 2016)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Flatiron Books
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 416
- Language English
Reviews
rohshey
Written on May 1, 2017
Leah
Written on Apr 26, 2017
I'm even more confused as to the ending. On the one hand, the ending was brilliant, the way it all came out, the way everything started to make sense, but it also kinda left me with a lot more questions? Is that how Caraval is every year? Why are people so hot about something that can potentially kill you? That has proven to turn people mad? WHAT'S THE DRAW?
I wanted (expected?!) it to be more like The Night Circus. (It wasn't. The Night Circus is EPIC.)
I just don't know how I felt about the book. There were bits I liked, but the whole thing also kind of felt like a trippy dream? And the world building was terrible. I never felt grounded in any of the places mentioned, it was literally like reading about a different world. It takes two days to get from Trisda to where Caraval is being held The Isla de los Suenos, yet how far away is it? Why is there a Northern and Southern divide/empire? Do people LIVE on The Isla de los Suenos during the year when Caraval isn't there, because the whole concept was Scarlett writing to the Legend each year to get them to come to Trisda, so they can't always be based on one place? I WAS SO CONFUSED.
I basically skim-read this book, I'm not going to lie. It took so long to get going and then it didn't even build the world up correctly (OR AT ALL) and I'm still baffled as to whether Caraval is a real place or if it's all just made up for the duration then it goes back to being a normal island? I feel like the sequel won't even give us these answers since it appears to be going off in another direction. I'll read, or at least skim, the sequel, just out of curiosity but the hype around this book did not pay off in this instance.
alisoninbookland
Written on Mar 19, 2017
This was a reread for me and I’m still not a Tella fan. I know there’s more to her (and I’ve been told I’ll like her more in Legendary) but her foolhardiness bothers me. I suppose it’s because I’m more grounded and realistic like Scarlett so Tella’s ways just drive me batty. It’s lucky that things worked out well but that was one heck of a chance to take!
I go back and forth with Garber’s prose though. It is lovely and magical. Other times, it’s heavy handed and I skim over it. For example: “He tasted like midnight and wind…”. WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?! It sounds pretty, I guess? The story flows very well though and I hated putting the book down.
I’m currently indifferent to the insta-love going on. I am happy the Count is out of the picture but I’m not sure on Julian. I can understand being smitten with him but love? Eh, we’ll see. Then there’s the whole old-enough-to-date-her-grandmother thing going on which is a bit odd.
All in all, a magical journey.
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girlinthepages
Written on Mar 6, 2017
Leigha
Written on Mar 5, 2017
I've never been captivated by books centered around the magic of a carnival or circus. Sadly, Garber's Caraval is not the novel to break me from my apathy. The plot is simple - two sisters, Scarlett and Donatella (Tella), are given tickets for Caraval, an elaborate whodunit dinner theater event performed once a year. The plot may be simple, but the rest of the novel is convoluted and cliched. To me, this book failed on almost every level.
It failed as a fantasy. Development, what is thy name? We are given a generic, brief sketch of the world. The world-building is pretty much dropped once the sisters arrive to Caraval in chapter two. I would have loved more description about the world, and Caraval's context in the world.
It failed as a mystery. The mystery revolves around the kidnapping of Tella. The clues around her kidnapping seem so arbitrary. Scarlett's thought process for discovering these supposed clues make very little sense to me.
It failed as a romance. First strike - I'm usually tapped out when the romantic lead begins by kissing another sister (Page 1). Second strike - I'm very rarely a fan of romances developed over a short span of time. I never believed the strong feelings between Julian and Scarlett developed over a five day period, and certainly never love. Third strike - I'm not a fan of a romance starting as a lie.
It failed as a character-driven novel. I was not a fan of the sisters. Or Julian. Or any other character featured in this novel. It deals in too many cliches - the older, responsible sister; the younger, flight sister; the mysterious, attractive love interest; the cruel, oppressive father. I don't mind cliches, but I'd like them to be used in a unique way. This novel would have been far more interesting if Scarlett was kidnapped over Tella.
Honestly, I do not understand the hype around this book. If you like it, great. But if you’re looking for something unique to the young adult fantasy genre, this is not it.
tl;dr A unfulfilling novel featuring cliched characters and a convoluted plot. Skip it.
Jo
Written on Feb 25, 2017
Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.
When I first heard of Caraval by Stephanie Garber, it didn't immediately appeal to me. I think it was something to do with the game no matter how magical it might be, I guess I was just a little disbelieving that it would be all that interesting. But when it started cropping up in my social media, with so many people raving about it, I thought I would give it a go. But I ended up finishing this book feeling like I missed something that everyone else got, because there was very little about this book that I enjoyed.
Caraval is a game, a game of magic and mystery. There's a problem that must be solved, and you have five days to find and work out all the clues to win the game and get the prize. Scarlett has wanted to experience Caraval ever since she can remember, and has written to Master Legend, the game master, each year for seven years, to ask him to bring the game to her Isle, Trisda, to no avail. This year, though, she send a final letter, informing Legend that's there's no point of him coming to Trisda, because she will be getting married and will be unable to attend anyway. And at last, she receives a reply; an invitation to Caraval with three tickets, for her, her sister, Tella, and her fiancé. There's no way Scarlett can go as she would miss her wedding, and her wedding is the only chance she and her sister have of escaping their cruel and abusive - and, really, down right monstrous - father. But Tella dreams not only of freedom, but of adventure, and arranges with a sailor, Julian, to kidnap Scarlett, and take them to the game, giving him the third ticket. What Tella doesn't realise is that this year, the game is personal. Legend kidnaps Tella on arrival. The aim of the game? Find Tella, and then you'll find Legend, who will grant you a wish. Scarlett doesn't care about the game or the wish, just about finding Tella and making sure she's ok. With the help of Julian, she agrees to play the game in order to save her sister. But there's more to the game than meets the eye; Legend constantly plays tricks with his players, and not everything is as it seems. Will Scarlett manage to work out Legend's twisted game and find her sister before the game is over?
It *does* sound exciting and mysterious, but to be perfectly honest with you, the first two thirds of the book were excruciating. Yes, there's the mystery, and there's magic, but the clues, finding them, and working them out? There was nothing exciting about that at all. The main reason I kept reading? Julian. He was the only character in this whole book sparked any interest in me. He himself is a mystery, and he has his own secrets. Sometimes he acts like he doesn't care about Scarlett or helping her find Tella, just that he's out for himself, completely selfish, only wanting to win the game, and at others, there seems to be more to him, like he does care, and there's something he's hiding with this confident arrogance. But there were parts of the book where he disappeared for ages, and I was stuck with Scarlett, who I was never able to warm to.
She took absolutely forever to make a decision. Paragraphs and paragraphs of her over thinking every little thing before deciding one way or another. She was distrustful and questioned absolutely everything, and to a certain extent that's understandable - her sister has been kidnapped, and this game is confusing, and you can never be certain of anything - but she would take so long to come to a decision and finally act. It took me a really long time to read this book, seven days, because I was just not invested in this story or in Scarlett, and I didn't care enough to pick it back up all that often. Besides Julian, I kept reading because I felt like I'd got this far, I wanted to know how it was going to end, what the big mystery was, and discover if it was all worth it.
Getting to that final third, it looked like it might be! Everything stepped up; the pacing, the level of danger, the excitement. Scarlett was getting close to the end, she could practically touch it, but always just a little out of reach. There were twists and turns that I wasn't expecting at all, the stakes were raised, and things just really started to get interesting! Things even start to get emotional! Throughout the book Scarlett is reminded that not everything is as it seems, and she shouldn't trust what she thinks she believes. All the while, even when things get exciting, you're never really sure what's true and what's not. Some things are so extraordinary, it almost has this dream-like quality. And how can you figure things out when you don't know what to think or what to believe? It was *exciting*! But then we get the big reveal... and it was such a let down. Because as Scarlett and the reader has been told throughout the whole game, nothing is as it seems. I just thought, "Really?! After all that, that's what was going on the whole time?! Are you serious?!" Not only was it a let down, it was also unbelievable - not in the sense that it was unrealistic, but in that angry sense when you've discovered what someone has done, and you just can't believe that this person would do that. Because not only is it disappointing, it's also really not ok.
And Scarlett's reaction to it all? After all she's been through and experienced? Oh my god, I disliked her even more. I can't really explain why I have issues with her reaction without spoiling the big reveal, but... *I* was mad, and I didn't even care about the story for most of the time. I expected so much more from Scarlett.
And then the book ended on this incredible cliffhanger, and I have to give kudos to Garber for that. Although this particular story is wrapped up and the game does come to an end, it seems some people haven't stopped playing. Again, not everything is as it seems. And I have to admit, I am intrigued. But I don't know if I'm intrigued enough to read the as yet untitled sequel. It was such a slog getting through this one, I don't know if I can be bothered to risk seeing if the second will be the same.
Despite being marketed as for fans of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, both of which I adored, Caraval quite clearly wasn't for me. However, there have been so many people who have completely loved this book, so do go and read some other people's reviews before deciding whether or not you want to read this book.
Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton for the proof.
catiebug
Written on Feb 21, 2017
ross91
Written on Feb 8, 2017
Stephanie
Written on Feb 7, 2017