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A review by eshuert
Caraval by Stephanie Garber
5.0
Wow! What a whirlwind! Caraval's promised magic does not disappoint.
Scarlett and her sister, Tella, are trapped on a small island by an abusive father. Scarlett had put her dreams of Caraval to rest and thinks she has finally figured out a realistic way to get her sister and her off the island. But when Scarlett suddenly gets swept away to Caraval, nothing is as it seems. Tella is missing, and the only way to save her is for Scarlett to win the game.
The story gets darker and darker as it goes along and draws you in. I barely noticed myself turning pages, and suddenly almost one hundred had passed. The descriptions are intricate and the setting was so unique, I felt so drawn to this world. Not only that, but the writing was just incredible. The most memorable part of the writing was when Scarlett described her feelings as colors, and described colors by saying things like "soft as velvet." It blew me away and gave me a whole new kind of appreciation for this story.
I wouldn't say this is a character-based book. Scarlett had very gradual change, which I felt was realistic but I was not completely satisfied by who she was at the end. I hope that in the second book, she becomes a much stronger individual and just becomes more confident and a little less weepy. I felt Julian also went through only some growth that it didn't feel complete, but I hope that book 2 takes it farther. That being said, I was not upset with the romance. I honestly didn't care if it was realistic or not because it was lovely and cute. Plus, nothing in Caraval was "realistic" anyway. Everything was magical.
So the plot was spectacular! The first half of the book was interesting but the second half is where the tension builds and things. get. real. I felt my head spinning while reading the second half, not in the bad way, but because I was so immersed in the story. The twists and turns were unexpected and I really enjoyed them! It could be argued it was too confusing and not well thought out, but I disagree. I loved the drama. I have not read a book like this for so long.
SIDENOTE: I want to add that magic in this book is strange, and not fully explained. For me personally I didn't feel like it needed explaining. I think that Caraval is more complex than we know and the characters will ever know, and I think that's how it retains its magic and mystery.
So this book has flaws, but they in no way spoiled my enjoyment of Caraval, and I loved it! Sometimes a book sucks you in so much that you have a hard time looking at it from the outside and judge it's quality exactly. I felt this way writing this review, sorry, it is probably so scattered (as are my thoughts on this book) but I felt myself swept into Caraval. READ THIS BOOK. They warn you in Caraval that you shouldn't get too swept away. Whoops.
Scarlett and her sister, Tella, are trapped on a small island by an abusive father. Scarlett had put her dreams of Caraval to rest and thinks she has finally figured out a realistic way to get her sister and her off the island. But when Scarlett suddenly gets swept away to Caraval, nothing is as it seems. Tella is missing, and the only way to save her is for Scarlett to win the game.
The story gets darker and darker as it goes along and draws you in. I barely noticed myself turning pages, and suddenly almost one hundred had passed. The descriptions are intricate and the setting was so unique, I felt so drawn to this world. Not only that, but the writing was just incredible. The most memorable part of the writing was when Scarlett described her feelings as colors, and described colors by saying things like "soft as velvet." It blew me away and gave me a whole new kind of appreciation for this story.
I wouldn't say this is a character-based book. Scarlett had very gradual change, which I felt was realistic but I was not completely satisfied by who she was at the end. I hope that in the second book, she becomes a much stronger individual and just becomes more confident and a little less weepy. I felt Julian also went through only some growth that it didn't feel complete, but I hope that book 2 takes it farther. That being said, I was not upset with the romance. I honestly didn't care if it was realistic or not because it was lovely and cute. Plus, nothing in Caraval was "realistic" anyway. Everything was magical.
So the plot was spectacular! The first half of the book was interesting but the second half is where the tension builds and things. get. real. I felt my head spinning while reading the second half, not in the bad way, but because I was so immersed in the story. The twists and turns were unexpected and I really enjoyed them! It could be argued it was too confusing and not well thought out, but I disagree. I loved the drama. I have not read a book like this for so long.
SIDENOTE: I want to add that magic in this book is strange, and not fully explained. For me personally I didn't feel like it needed explaining. I think that Caraval is more complex than we know and the characters will ever know, and I think that's how it retains its magic and mystery.
So this book has flaws, but they in no way spoiled my enjoyment of Caraval, and I loved it! Sometimes a book sucks you in so much that you have a hard time looking at it from the outside and judge it's quality exactly. I felt this way writing this review, sorry, it is probably so scattered (as are my thoughts on this book) but I felt myself swept into Caraval. READ THIS BOOK. They warn you in Caraval that you shouldn't get too swept away. Whoops.