Caraval: A review

[TeenHelp]

Caraval: A review
by Jenna (~Abibliophobe~)

Caraval, by Stephanie Garber, has been really hyped up on Booktube so I thought I would give it a read. It came out January 31st and it is already a bestseller on Amazon. The book has strong themes and is probably better suited for older teens. There is some triggering content such as abuse, grieving and suicide.

The book centers around two sisters, Scarlett and Donatella, who get tickets to a magical carnival. Scarlett is reluctant to leave her island home because her father is an abusive man who has done some terribly abusive things the few times they’ve tried to leave the island in the past. Upon reaching Caraval, Donatella goes missing and it is up to Scarlett to try and find her. As Scarlett searches for her sister she starts to realize that Caraval has a more sinister background.

Personally, I did not like this book. I felt that the author tried too hard to make her story beautiful. In the first few chapters she used too many similes and it put me off the story. I love a story that is lyrical but I felt like Caraval fell short. Some authors try too hard for a lyrical novel and it ends up feeling overdone and becomes hard to relate to. I think if the author had toned down the use of descriptive words and similes, the story would have actually been a lot better. Although, towards the end of the book she did tone it down a bit, which might be why I ended up really enjoying the last five chapters. The other issue I had with the book was that I did not really care for the characters. There were some scenes that should have gotten some type of emotional response from me but I didn’t care and it left me feeling bored. I also felt like the story was too improbable. I am a huge fan of fantasy and this novel is considered fantasy but the ending, while somewhat enjoyable, seemed farfetched. This is the first book in a duology, I believe, and I do plan on reading the second book when it is released due to the slight cliff-hanger at the end. However, I still think that this book got more hype than it deserved.

The one thing I did really enjoy about the novel was the relationship between Scarlett and Donatella. It was apparent that both sisters really cared for one another and, as someone who is not close to her siblings, I’ve always enjoyed reading novels that focus on really close sibling relationships.

The book was not at all horrible and if I was going to rate it I would probably give it three out of five stars. I think it’s definitely worth the read and I think that there are people out there who will really enjoy the novel and all the fantastical tidbits. It just was not something I enjoyed personally.