Book review of Caraval by Stephanie Garber

 

This month, I read Caraval by Stephanie Garber. The book is named after a magical game called Caraval where players race to do tasks and find clues in a magical world, trying to be the first to achieve a goal and win a wish from the mastermind behind the game, Caraval Master Legend. The book is about Scarlet and Tella Dragna, two sisters who have grown up hearing stories about Caraval from their grandmother and dreaming of its magic. One year, Scarlet and Tella escape their cruel father to attend Caraval, only to be separated when arriving. The book is told from Scarlet’s perspective and it describes her adventures and magical experiences as she plays the game and tries to find her sister.

I really liked this book. I have not read anything like it before and I think the concept of Caraval was very unique. I particularly loved the descriptions of the game Caraval which made it feel magical. For example, Caraval is set in a small town on an island with a beach covered in snow, all things that are associated with magic, wishes, and dreams. In addition, the game is played at night which makes everything more mysterious and more unusual. I also thought that all the little details about the game added to the magic, for example how all the street vendors are paid with secrets instead of money. If you want to buy one of their magical items, the vendors ask you to share a secret, for example “Who do you fear the most?” These little details made the world feel even more different from the one we live in and this made the world feel even more mysterious and magical. In addition, this helped show me the values in the world. While we value money, in Caraval they value secrets. In the game, secrets can be used against other players and they can be used to gain an advantage or to find others’ weaknesses. Because of this, they are valued highly. Seeing the important role secrets have in everyday life in the book made me realize that everyone in Caraval cares about secrets and is hiding something.

This led to a really interesting plot. At the beginning of the book, the characters playing the game are told that everything that happens in Caraval is just a game and that no one can be trusted. Still, like the characters I had a hard time not believing what seemed to be happening. I believed everything that every character said about who they were or what was happening. There were a lot of plot twists in Caraval. Every time I thought I was sure of something, something seemed to change. I thought I understood each character’s history and motives, and then realized that they lied and I was completely wrong. All the plot twists made the book really entertaining to read and very hard to put down because I always wanted to know what would happen next. 

I think that Caraval has something for everyone. Parts of it focused on the mystery and action aspects as the characters tried to solve clues and figure out where to go next, parts of the book focused on the magical world and what could be done there, and parts of it were about the two sisters and how they dreamed of magic when they were younger. I enjoyed all these aspects of this book and I am looking forward to reading the next two books in the Caraval trilogy. I would definitely recommend reading Caraval.

-Maya