Rating: ★★★★★
(I read this book over a year ago, so please excuse me if I got any facts wrong)
Scarlett Dragna has dreamed of attending Caraval—a magical, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—for years. Her controlling father has kept her and her sister Tella isolated on their island, but when they finally get an invitation to Caraval, things spiral out of control. Tella is kidnapped by the Caraval Master, Legend, as part of the game, and Scarlett must follow clues, solve puzzles, and navigate illusions to find her. But as Scarlett goes deeper, she discovers secrets about Legend, her family, and herself. Time is limited, and the line between fantasy and reality blurs dangerously.
Let’s talk about the major events that occurred in Caraval. The story begins with the protagonist, Scarlett, who writes letters to Caraval Master Legend in pursuit of an invite to the game. She is engaged to Count Nicolas d’Arcy, whom she sees as an escape from her controlling father. After receiving tickets from Legend, she and Tella escape to Legend’s island with the help of a sailor named Julian. Scarlett and Tella arrive separately, and Scarlett does not see her sister for the remainder of the game. Julian—pretending to be Scarlett’s fiancé—enters Caraval with Scarlett to help her. A reminder that is repeatedly present throughout Caraval is “it’s only a game” (or some other variation of the same message). So, Scarlett’s objective is to find her sister. She and Julian receive a number of clues to aid them in their objective, visiting various shops and locations filled with magical illusions and interactive scenes, like a fortune teller, a dress shop, and a secret tunnel. We see throughout the book that money is not used as a currency, but rather secrets, memories, and days of someone’s life which really underscores how high the stakes are, especially for Scarlett who needs to find her sister. While romantic tensions grow between Scarlett and Julian, some clues hint that Julian knows more than he lets on. After seeing many illusions, she starts to doubt what’s real and who’s telling the truth (honestly, she should’ve been doing that from the start). She also meets a mysterious man named Dante (who was lowkey flirting with her before Julian came and got jealous). Scarlett and Julian both give up a day of their lives, therefore wasting one day of Caraval—but at least we got some romance. Eventually, Scarlett discovers the truth about Julian, that he is not who he claims to be and is a Caraval actor—leading her to believe that everything between them was all fabricated for the sake of the game. Julian is then supposedly killed by Legend, which devastates Scarlett. She is about to quit, but her determination to save her beloved Tella wins. So she makes it to the final location and finds Tella (who’s in love with Legend or something?). The sisters face their father (I’m 99% sure he was another one of Legend’s illusions) and he threatens them but Scarlett protects her sister despite everything. Then, Tella jumps from the balcony—believing it is the only way to end the game—and dies. Scarlett cries and wishes for her sister’s life back, which works because the winner of Caraval is promised a wish from Legend. So, after Caraval, everything is revealed to Scarlett. Julian didn’t die, but Tella did. She died but knew that Scarlett would bring her back (though that’s a crazy gamble to make). It turns out Tella was communicating with Legend secretly, and they planned the whole thing so the sisters could escape from the Isle of Trisda and their father. But Tella couldn’t have told Scarlett beforehand because she never would’ve agreed. Finally, Tella tells Scarlett that in order to make all of this happen, she made a deal with Legend. (There was also a whole thing with the Count showing up to Caraval, but it was just another actor).
But honestly, if I were Scarlett, I would’ve believed everything too.
In the epilogue, there’s a party. Tella’s acting suspiciously and it sets the scene for her own story in the next book, Legendary.
P.S. One of my favorite things from the story was Scarlett’s magical dress that changes depending on her emotions.
Let’s talk about the characters of Caraval. We have Scarlett Dragna, our protagonist. She is brave, skeptical, and loyal. She loves her sister, Donatella, dearly and is protective of her. Donatella (or Tella) her younger sister is bolder and more rebellious. Their father, Marcello Dragna, is controlling and rather abusive. The family dynamic is clear from the first chapter; Scarlett is the responsible one while Tella is the reckless one, and they would get hurt to keep the other safe. Scarlett warns Tella against kissing Julian, as their father could find out, and when he does, Tella starts blaming Scarlett. Initially, I thought Tella would be the evil, jealous kind of sister (think evil stepsisters from Cinderella) but when I realized that she was doing this to protect Scarlett and that this was their father’s way of using their love for each other against them, I started liking her. Julian, on the other hand, I strongly disliked. Like, this guy was kissing Tella one second and then flirting with Scarlett the next? Get a grip, bro. I thought he was so annoying, like bro if their dad sees you it’s over. But after that scene where he cut Scarlett’s dress when the boat sunk… I definitely changed my mind. Throughout the book, he just kept proving me wrong. I just didn’t like that he was kissing Tella at the start, but it’s fine since he hadn’t even met Scarlett yet and it was all a part of the plan. When I first read Caraval, I was so disappointed that his relationship with Scarlett didn’t advance much after the game was over, but there’s hope in the next two books. As for Legend, I’m very interested in him. He’s all mysterious and unseen. But he seems like a good guy, considering he helped out Scarlett and Tella despite them being strangers. So I hope to see more of him and learn his story in the next book. Ultimately, the characters of this book really stuck with me. They’re some of my favorite characters, even to this day.
Moreover, Stephanie Garber’s writing style is perfect. Some books are too simple, while others are too complex. But Garber’s books have the right mix of both. The plot is well planned, filled with plot twists I never saw coming. It’s very unique, unlike some of these new books that all have the same tropes. Definitely kept me interested and on my toes. And the language used is just right. Though I had to look up a word or two if I’m being honest. Her writing is very descriptive, which is perfect for someone like me who struggles to visualize scenes sometimes. Furthermore, the pacing of Caraval was perfect. It wasn’t so slow I’d get bored, but not too fast so that there was no suspense. If a book’s pacing is too slow, like Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen (I still loved that book lol don’t flame me) for example, it could take me months to finish. But I finished Caraval in under a week—despite having finals around the same time.
I don’t think I have anything to criticize about this book. No book is perfect, but it doesn’t have to be. I enjoyed it a lot and will definitely have some trouble trying to find another book that will stir the same feelings in me that Caraval did. Excited for Legendary and Tella’s story. Honestly, I sometimes find myself comparing the books I read to the Caraval trilogy and wishing I could read it for the first time again.
I 100% recommend this book to all fantasy and mystery lovers.
However, any summary or review wouldn’t do this book justice, so I suggest you read it yourself to truly experience the magic of Caraval ♥︎
