Caraval (Caraval #1)
by Stephanie Garber
Imagine living your whole life in fear. Locked in, bounded by chains that hold you back from living your life, from doing what you want, and from expressing your true self. Imagine living a life where everything is planned out from the day you were born. Options are laid before you, making it seem like you can choose. But in reality, it’s all just for show, for appearances, for image. Imagine everyone keeping you from making your own choices. Imagine being so desperate for the taste of freedom you vow to give everything, and I mean everything, just to have your heart’s desire.
Imagine the feeling when out of the blue, your wishes come true. That by some miracle, a deity probably was moved, a lamp was rubbed, and a dandelion was blown, and your heart’s desires finally came true. I bet you would feel overjoyed and ecstatic. Some would feel like they are in heaven. Some would act like they have never before, seeming like an animal let out of its cage. Some would say like it’s the best feeling in the whole entire world.
But just then, just as you have received that wish, just as you are holding it in the palm of your hands, just as you are dwelling on the pits of glory; it’s taken away from you. Confusion, disdain and hopelessness starts to feed on you. On top of this, you are suddenly thrown into a magical, unfamiliar, extraordinary world you did not even know was possible to exist. This is what our main characters have felt all throughout the book. Surprisingly, it is also what I have felt, I have experienced and so much, much more.
The book revolves around sisters Scarlett and Donatella Dragna. For years, Scarlett has been writing letters to Caraval Master Legend requesting an invitation to Caraval, a mysterious traveling performance in which the audience participates in the show. And for years, she never received a response until this year, when she received a long-dreamt-of invitation from Legend. With hope in her eyes, and thrill in her heart, Scarlett is whisked away to the show, along with her sister, Tella, and a handsome, devilish, rogue, named Julian. Only, as soon as they arrived, Tella is kidnapped by Master Legend.
It turns out that this year’s Caraval revolves around Donatella. Scarlett is then told of the game’s rules, and that she has 5 nights to find her sister before everything is too late and a set of horrid consequences is unleashed. Scarlett has been told that everything that happens in Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless, she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, magic, betrayal and heartbreak.
I am pretty sure that all of you have made a book review or two before in your life. It may be a requirement in school, a hobby of yours, or the book you have read has sparked certain feelings in you, you just can’t help but share your thoughts with other people. Some may have already forgotten, but your English teacher probably presented the proper way of making a book review. You should be able to determine at which point of the book does the beginning, the rising action, the climax, the falling action and the ending happens.
Prior to reading this book, my expectations regarding the sequence of events were like of any other book. I am used to be being able to immediately distinguish the events of the book from each other. But before I finished reading, I realized the author somehow challenged the cookie-cutter way on presenting the stories. What I thought was the beginning was already part of the rising action which is usually found before the middle of the book. But what really stood out for me is the challenge in finding out which part of the book was the climax.
My mind was completely blown away again and again for the twists, secrets and revelations that happened in the book until it dawned on me: the book was written to awe and confuse minds at the same time. There are numerous points in the book wherein I would think that I have already figured out the climax when suddenly in comes a curveball to surprise me and scrap my thoughts about how the story will end.
Reading this book, to sum it up, was a rollercoaster ride. It’s just like life. Life is full of surprises and curveballs that make you feel emotions you have never felt before. This book was full of unimaginable sights, heavenly food, surprising twists every corner, and it was just so good. It would be like the person who’s toxic but is everything you want and need reincarnated as a book. I know that each and every one of you has or will have something or someone just like this in your lives. You want to cut off your ties with them because they make you feel high, your emotion levels are going through the roof all at the same time, and you’re hypnotized by them. But you can’t sever your ties with them so you keep them shelved. Knowing that when you interact with them again, or to risk even just a glance, those feelings and emotions together with your history comes rushing back to you. They’ve made you addicted. You’ll feel a little bit guilty but it’s totally worth it. That is how I’m feeling about this book right now. That is what life makes you feel. It’s one of the glories of life to make us feel out of our minds. I am impressed therefore with the author as this is only her debut book and she has already summed up what life has in store for us in one printed and bounded material.
Literally after finishing this book, I checked if my sanity was still intact. This book plays with your mind so good, you can’t seem to hate the author. It was a ploy, a clever act by the author, performed so seamlessly I was sucked and hypnotized before I even knew. I questioned everything that I just read, the author, the characters, the book, my mind, and everything that I thought I knew. I wondered if everything that I read from the beginning was even real. I reread everything to see just how much of it was real and how much was fake. Same as what happened to our main character.
Don’t even get me started with the characters. Each character’s background was so intricately weaved with each other it was so hard to doubt. All the characters were made so beautifully and I wished I was part of Caraval. Every single one had a distinct role, not just for the sake of placing characters or for the sake of having characters, but they all blended into the story perfectly. They all had a role and by the end of the book, each of those roles was justified.
The character development of Scarlett and Donatella was thought perfectly as well as their chemistry and their bond. This is not the typical sister goes to save her sister story but it is so much more than that. Telling what happened between them in this review seems cruel because every bit detail is worth to be read in the book.
This book is a combination of genres. From romance to fantasy, young adult, family, suspense, investigation, everything goes perfectly with each other. I strongly recommend it to those who want to be flying off their seat and losing their minds. A 10 out of five stars for this book.
THE B WORD 