Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Caraval (Caraval, #1)

by Stephanie Garber

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.

Reviewed by chillywilly on

4 of 5 stars

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This was pretty good. There was one particular thing that I didn't really understand until I listened to a podcast that the author spoke about the book. She said the color emotions were a form of expressing her feelings that she couldn't put into words. Which come to find out is called synesthesia. I looked that up and there are like 50 different versions. The one thing I did have a hard time with were some of her descriptions. I would be thinking of one thing and then the next paragraph I would feel confused because I would think that I was in a totally different area but really the characters were still in the same spot. Overall I liked the idea behind the book and the world she was creating. I do feel there could have been more as she did like to have the character repeat her love of her sister quite often and those spaces could have been filled with more descriptions of them or the area and more background on the characters.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 16 May, 2020: Finished reading
  • 16 May, 2020: Reviewed