Book Review - Caraval by Stephanie Garber

   So, I put off reading Caraval for a good long while - it sounded like something I might enjoy, but there was something about it that made me unsure. Anyways, I finally decided that it couldn't hurt to try it, and OH MY. While there was some stuff in the book that I didn't like so much, I definitely don't regret picking it up <3.

4 1/2 Stars

   Believe it or not, Caraval was the 100th book that I've read this year. (!!!!) I was incredibly excited to find out that I had met my reading goal for the year ... five months early xD. And if it wasn't for the stuff in the book that I didn't really enjoy, my 100th book probably would have received a full five stars!

   From The Back Cover

   Whatever you've heard about Caraval, it doesn't compare to the reality. It's more than just a game or a performance. It's the closest you'll ever find to magic in this world . . . 

   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.
 

   View Caraval On Amazon --- View Caraval On Goodreads

   - The main character was epic. I loved Scarlett - she was a strong, beautiful main character, but not in a "I'm a girl but I can kill you with a butter knife" kind of way. Scarlett was strong in a "you try whatever tricks you like, but there's no way on this good earth you're going to stop me from saving my sister" kind of way.

   -The concept (and setting) of Caraval. At first I thought Caraval was going to be more of a circus-y thing (I don't know where I got that idea? Carval just sounded like it might be some kind of twisted/dark circus thing?), but it wasn't. And while that did throw me off for a few seconds there, once I realized that it wasn't a circus, I really enjoyed it! xD 

   -The mystery. There was so much mystery revolving around Caraval - what with some people not being who they seemed, and Scarlett trying to bring the clues together so that she could find her sister, Tella, there was a ton of pieces to try and put together. It was especially fun for me, as a reader, to try and put all those pieces together and figure out what was what before the characters did!

  - ... there actually wasn't too much that I didn't like? It wasn't the cleanest book ever - some of the romance ... wasn't the best, but (unless I'm having a goldfish-brain memory which isn't out of the question) only the first chapter really looked like it could get sketchy. But the book also managed to hold my attention for the entire book - which is sometimes a hard thing to do! So ... yes, even though there were a few things I didn't like so much (which cut the book's rating by half a star), I did very much enjoy Caraval.  

   So, because this book isn't the cleanest thing, I would probably recommend it for 14+. Still, I very much enjoyed it, and it was a worthy 100th book!  

~ Savannah Grace 

   Have you read Caraval before? How many books have you read this year?