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A review by kymboh78
Caraval by Stephanie Garber
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I teeter between four and five stars, overall giving it 4.5 but Goodreads doesn’t have that option yet.
I can say this is the fastest I’ve read a book in a minute. Having a three hour flight helps—but what helps even more is getting wrapped up in the story. The magic of Caraval easily sweeps off the page and captures you much as it captures the players in the book.
But let’s breakdown the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The Ugly—
My biggest grievance with this book, and the biggest reason I knocked off half a star is because I found the main character incredibly irritating on more than one occasion. You might be asking, well then how and why did you keep reading? For me, it wasn’t a deal breaker because it wasn’t constant. There was enough going on (and I think the story being told in third person really helped) that we weren’t always in her head hearing her regrets or having her narrate everything she was going through. Although, I will admit, I think the author has more freedom with adding details in the first person.
The Bad—
Some might argue this is literally the ugly of the book, but what I mean by “the good, the bad, and the ugly” is what I found my least favorite to favorite about the book. So take that with a grain of salt.
There weren’t any trigger warnings at the beginning of this book.
I understand the book was published in 2017 and trigger warnings weren’t really a thing then, but as the book has gained more popularity and new editions have been released, I wish there was a list of trigger warnings (I also think we as reviewers have a duty to mention these as well). Although these weren’t necessarily heavy throughout the book (depending on your definition) I do believe that for some, even the smallest blindsided mention of some topics can lead to hard traumatic triggered events.
With that being said, here are some trigger warnings.
- Domestic violence/parental abuse: this is the most prominent
- Suicide: mentioned a couple times
- Death
- Arranged marriage: this is a focus of the book
I can say this is the fastest I’ve read a book in a minute. Having a three hour flight helps—but what helps even more is getting wrapped up in the story. The magic of Caraval easily sweeps off the page and captures you much as it captures the players in the book.
But let’s breakdown the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The Ugly—
My biggest grievance with this book, and the biggest reason I knocked off half a star is because I found the main character incredibly irritating on more than one occasion. You might be asking, well then how and why did you keep reading? For me, it wasn’t a deal breaker because it wasn’t constant. There was enough going on (and I think the story being told in third person really helped) that we weren’t always in her head hearing her regrets or having her narrate everything she was going through. Although, I will admit, I think the author has more freedom with adding details in the first person.
The Bad—
Some might argue this is literally the ugly of the book, but what I mean by “the good, the bad, and the ugly” is what I found my least favorite to favorite about the book. So take that with a grain of salt.
There weren’t any trigger warnings at the beginning of this book.
I understand the book was published in 2017 and trigger warnings weren’t really a thing then, but as the book has gained more popularity and new editions have been released, I wish there was a list of trigger warnings (I also think we as reviewers have a duty to mention these as well). Although these weren’t necessarily heavy throughout the book (depending on your definition) I do believe that for some, even the smallest blindsided mention of some topics can lead to hard traumatic triggered events.
With that being said, here are some trigger warnings.
- Domestic violence/parental abuse: this is the most prominent
- Suicide: mentioned a couple times
- Death
- Arranged marriage: this is a focus of the book
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Domestic abuse
Minor: Suicide