This is a spoiler-free review on the first book in the Caraval series.
Synopsis
Welcome, welcome to Caraval – Stephanie Garber’s sweeping tale of two sisters who escape their ruthless father when they enter the dangerous intrigue of a legendary game.
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 faraway 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.
Review
This book is mysterious, adventurous, magical, and a really enjoyable read overall. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy books with a little bit of mystery.
World Building/Setting
I really liked this completely new made-up fantasy world and the magic system as well. Scarlett’s dress would change its appearance based on how Scarlett was feeling or what was happening around her. There were also magical items that could be bought with things like your secrets or 3 days of your life instead of money.
The beginning of the book takes place on the island where Scarlett, Tella, and their father live and the rest of the book is set on the Island of Dreams inside the magical game of Caraval.
Writing Style
The book was relatively fast paced and easy to read. I loved how the author described everything. It made the world feel very real and bright and colorful. I liked how there were pictures of the letters and notes written throughout the story. My only complaint is that the ending felt a little squished and could have been spread out a bit more.
Characters
I‘m sorry but I did not like the main character, Scarlett, at all. I found her super annoying and naive. She is contradicting in how she is stupid but smart at the same time.
She knows that certain things are dangerous and they shouldn’t do, like leaving the island, but she chooses to believe other things that are so obviously not true. She seriously thought that going through with a marriage that her abusive father arranged would make her happy and safe and that his letters were true and he wouldn’t take advantage of her at all.
She was also the one trying to get Caraval to come to her home and then they finally got a chance to see them and she was so against it and acted like she wasn’t just trying to get them to come there for the past 7 years. She was also overly protective of her sister to the point of being super irrational.
Tella, on the other hand, was more interesting because she was a risk taker. She knows that some things are worth the risk. We didn’t see her for most of the book, but from what we did get, I liked her a lot better than Scarlett. She certainly knows how to play a game and get what she wants.
I didn’t realize how important of a character Julian was at the start of the book. He has lots of secrets and it was fun finding some of them out along the way. He tried his best to push Scarlett away because he knew he wasn’t trustworthy and didn’t want to hurt her, but he eventually gave up.
Julian is very romantic and I like Scarlett and Julian together, but I was almost hoping for a little more. I was expecting a different love interest and am still kind of hoping there is another one coming that will be slightly more interesting. Julian and Scarlett are cute but I’m not satisfied yet.
Plot
I enjoyed the plot but what I mostly liked about it was the ending. It was so deceptive and had many twists and turns and I really had no idea what to believe. I actually spent most of the book wondering if someone will get hurt or if it really was just a game. I liked how Scarlett was so set on not playing in the game but since the point of the game was finding her sister she was kind of forced to play and experience Caraval anyway.
This was not my favorite book but it was still very magical and I will be continuing with the series. I’m hoping that the second and third books can redeem themselves. Let me know what your thoughts are on this book and if the series gets better.