Caraval Review!

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

"Dreams that come true can be beautiful, but they can also turn into nightmares when people don't wake up."

Caraval follows the story of two sisters, Scarlett and Tella, as they make their way to the magical game of Caraval. It is this huge immersive treasure hunt style game that the creater, Legend, uses his magic to control and create. Everything and nothing could be a lie. It has these impossible features made to draw you in, and those who are working for Legend are just as magical. When Scarlett finds her way to the game, she quickly discovers that the thing everyone is searching for is Tella, who has mysteriously gone missing. As Scarlett learns more about the man behind the game, the entire motive of Caraval shifts, and she is not only playing to get the reward, but to save Tella's life. Full of hidden secrets, deception, and riddles, Scarlett falls head first into Caraval and into the whirl wind of it.

"'I want you to play the game,' he whispered. Then he threw her off the balcony."

My first impression of this book was that I was going to really hate the main character, Scarlett. She really got on my nerves. She is super overbearing and not a risk taker at all. When you learn more about their family, you get a better sense of why she is that way, but it made her do a lot of stupid things and she kept holding herself back. This drove me mad, and I could not tell you the amount of times I was yelling at her in my head. Secondly, I was also not a fan of Tella. She is arrogant and very selfish and doesn't seem to really care about her sister. This pissed me off, since Scarletts whole storyline is to save someone who doesn't even think twice about her.

But, if I have learned anything through this book, it's that first impressions can be misleading.

"If you're not willing to do this, you'' never be able to save her."

Scarlett does evolve and grow more into herself. She becomes fearless and she becomes more sure of herself, which is such a nice change. She is still hesitant and careful, but she has a new side to her that adds a lot of depth. I loved watching her develop as a character! Tella is still very selfish, but she did have her reasons for what she did. I'm still not totally sure how I feel about her, but she also was in like less than 50 pages of the entire book.

The whole mystery around Legend is probably my favorite concept of this novel. His identity is hidden, no one really knows who he is, and he is super powerful. It added a real thrill to the whole book.

I also was captivated by the way that Garber describes the game. Everything is in such colorful and beautiful descriptions and I really enjoyed that. The entire game came to life every easily in my head, and I appreciated that! I think she has such a way with words that it's magical and easy to imagine.

I did enjoy the ending, but it left me wondering where the next books could go. I'm excited to pick up the second one and see if the characters progress further, and if we finally figure out who Legend really is.

Overall: 7/10

Pages: 403

Spice Rating: 4/10

Trigger Warnings: death, suicide, abuse