Caraval

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 attend. 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 whether Caraval is real or not, she must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over, and her sister disappears forever.

• Caraval by Stephanie Garber
• Series: Caraval book #1
• Published: Flatiron Books on January 31, 2017
• Genre: Fantasy, romance, young adult
• Pages: 448 pages
• Dates/Time Read: 11.4.25 – 11.16.25 (6 hours 43 minutes)
• Format: Paperback
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• ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• 🌶

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I’m just one book away from completing my Once Upon a Book Club – Up All Night challenge! Woohooooo!!!! I had a challenge prompt to read a book that features a circus. I did a Google search, as you do when you’re clueless, and this book came up. I’m not entirely sure this matches the prompt, as I never got the sense that this book was about a circus, but since other people have used it, I’ll go with it.

It’s late, and I’m running a bit out of steam, since I didn’t take my night shift prep-nap. If you wonder what that is, as a night shifter, the night before I go back to work, I have to force myself to stay awake until at least 4 or 5am, so that I can sleep during the day. Typically, on the day before, I’ll wake up at a normal time but will have to get a nap in sometime around 7 or 8pm to make it through the night. That didn’t happen for me today, so I am already on the struggle bus, and I’ve got about 5 more hours to go before I can go to sleep! lol Sure, I could go ahead and just go to bed, but then I’ll be screwed later because I’ll wake up mid-morning and then have to work all night. See, I’m just rambling…all this to say…this is going to be a short and sweet review of Caraval.

The premise of this book really intrigued me. I wasn’t entirely sure where the road was going to take me, but man, it was a bumpy one with some twists I never saw coming!! I really enjoyed how the author wrote the story, keeping the reader in the dark right along with the FMC. You don’t discover any of the hidden truths until right when she does, and that was awesome! Towards the middle portion of the book, I did struggle to hold my attention to the story at times. I kind of got impatient, thinking “Ok…let’s get on with it, please”, but that may have entirely been my own issue as I’ve been easily distracted lately.

…Every person has the power to change their fate if they are brave enough to fight for what they desire more than anything.

There were definitely times the FMC, Scarlett, got on my nerves a little bit. She was a little all over the place for me. She was whiny at times. She is naive, even though she is the eldest and considers it her responsibility to protect her sister. Distrustful of just about every single person she comes into contact with, stubborn, and even sometimes childish. But I honestly think that this was the author’s intention. Scarlett is not the same character by the end of the book, so she’s grown on you by that time, and you even feel a little bit sorry that she had to go through all of that. At the heart of Caraval, it’s a book about sisters, the lengths someone will go to protect someone they love, and being willing to take chances to find happiness.

I don’t want to give spoilers, but Caraval is a dark book, so it contains some dark themes that may not be enjoyable for some readers. Possible triggers: death, murder, violence, abuse (especially from a parent), emotional manipulation, kidnapping, being drugged, and suicide. However, the darker themes are not overly graphic, and there is a happy ending. Definitely excited to see what’s in store in the sequels.