Caraval Review

This had been a book I'd seen around a bunch and heard some positive feedback for it so when I was looking for a book to read at the library, I thought it was a good one to try.

Summary: Scarlett and her sister, Tella, have lived their whole lives on their tiny island. Their cruel father has arranged a marriage for Scarlett and their childhood dreams of attending Caraval, a magical one-time a year interactive performance, seems impossible. They finally receive tickets days before the wedding and Tella whisks Scarlett off with the help of a visiting sailor. Except, as soon as they arrive Tella disappears. Scarlett learns that the game revolves around finding her sister and whoever finds her first, wins the game. It's all supposed to be an elaborate performance but it becomes clear there's more going on than appears.

This is a hard book to describe because of how intricate it is. There's a lot of different pieces to the story, but that's part of why it was so great.

It takes place in a created world, but Caraval is the only part of it that's truly focused on. That in itself is already a lot to cover so I didn't feel the book was lacking in its world coverage, but I am still curious. A lot more can be explored in a sequel and I hope we do learn more about the existence of magic outside of Caraval.

I found this book to be creatively beautiful. This carnival-like performance is incredibly intriguing where I would like to experience it myself. It's still extremely mysterious though as to how everything works. Some parts seem like they could be quite dangerous and they should be liable. I want to know if they're able to be held accountable for what happens. Everything is supposed to be fake, but we learn that that's not always true and that can cause issues.

Anyways, it's all very complex. I thought Garber intertwined all the threads really well, the story had a great flow alongside exploring the magic.

The romance was done superbly where it was not about finding one's soulmate within 5 days (or however long it was). Instead, it was about what kind of love somebody should seek. Five years after the book ends they might no longer be together, but they'll still be going after their own happiness rather than settling.

This also had a great sisterly love focus. Tella and Scarlett have a unique connection after having to survive their father and their combined resilience was beautiful. They're not a hundred percent supportive and perfect sisters because that's impossible, but the flaws make their relationship more realistic and thus better.

I have a lot of questions still after this book, but not in a bad way. Instead, I'm just super excited for the next book. I want to know more about Caraval's creator, Legend, so badly. He was the most mysterious character and very deceptive. What is the truth to his life?

5 out of 5 stars!