“Welcome, welcome to Caraval! The grandest show on land or by sea. Inside you’ll experience more wonders than most people see in a lifetime. You can sip magic from a cup and buy dreams in a bottle. But before you fully enter into our world, you must remember it’s all a game.”
Two sisters. One magical adventure. The chance of a lifetime.
Scarlett and Tella have always dreamed of seeing Caraval, the once-a-year magical performance put on by the mysterious showman who is only known as Legend. Just weeks before Scarlett's marriage to a complete stranger, Tella and Scarlett receive personal invitations from Legend himself to attend this year's performance on his island home. Seeing a chance to escape their abusive father and their dismal futures, Tella, with the help of a handsome sailor, whisks Scarlett away to Caraval.
However, Caraval is much different than the sisters expected. Instead of a fun filled magical adventure, the sisters find that Caraval is much more deadly than they expected. Upon arrival, Tella is kidnapped by Legend and made the prize for this year's Caraval. Whoever finds Tella first is the winner and gets one wish. But if Scarlett can't find Tella before the 5 days of Caraval are up, then she may never see her sister again.
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Caraval is one of those books that has been in my TBR pile for a while. It was always kind of in the back of my mind, whispering, "You need to read me." I finally pulled Caraval to the top of my TBR pile when one of my students told me, "Mrs. White, you need to read this. Like, right now." So I pushed aside all my other waiting books and started Caraval.
I went in to this book expecting to enjoy the story, but it was more fun than I even anticipated.
First of all, I really enjoyed to closeness between the two sisters, Scarlett and Tella. I mean, there were times when I would have liked to smack each of them upside the head, but I appreciated the positive sibling relationship that was represented in this book. Scarlett and Tella, despite their obvious differences, were both willing to sacrifice everything if it meant saving the other.
Caraval is one of those stories that keeps you guessing, theorizing, and speculating about the characters, the plot, and who can be trusted, and I found myself constantly questioning what was real in the story, what was part of the game, and what the master of Caraval really wanted with the sisters. I found myself thinking about the book whenever I had free time trying to puzzle out how the story was going to turn out. So be sure to have a nice chunk of time set aside when you start this book, and pay close attention as you go.
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