Caraval
Pages: 407
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: January 31st, 2017
SUMMARY:
Scarlett Dragna has always had one dream: receiving a ticket to Caraval, the whimsical spectacle that defies the boundary of reality with the performance of illusion in an interactive exhibition where the audience members do not watch the show, but are the show. But Scarlett's dream appears improbable when her abusive Father thrusts her hand into an arranged marriage. But despite the counterbalanced weight of the odds, an invitation to this year's Caraval is delivered to Scarlett. With the careful planning of Scarlett's Sister Tella, and the mysterious alliance of a sailor, Scarlett is whisked away to the mystical events of the performance. But events take a turn for the worse when Tella is kidnapped by Legend, the creator behind the extraordinary spectacle of Caraval. As it turns out, this year's game revolves around the retrieval of Tella- placing an insurmountable weight upon Scarlett's shoulders. Scarlett must bend the barriers of reality and time to locate the whereabouts of Tella- along with struggling to grasp the subtle reminder that Caraval is, indeed, just a game.
REVIEW:
The physiological fantasy of Caraval renders it inappropriate to give it the high rating it deserves. I gave Caraval four and a half stars out of five. I found the illustrious tale of magic and mayhem to be quite intriguing. The element of fantastical enhancement encapsulated the novel with an air of mysterious intrigue that propelled the reader to continuously flip the pages until the conclusion to Garber's shocking story came to it's conclusion.
Plot: The plot to Caraval was a decisive factor in my review. I found the plot to be thoroughly enhancing, clean, and extremely well-executed. Garber does a wonderful job of crafting unique plot twists that intricately intertwine the respective events that the novel features. Caraval's plot was a well-paced masterpiece that did not doddle to submerge the reader into a series of highly intense emotions that derived from the conclusive certainty that everything in Garber's world was not as it seemed.
Characters: Garber's characters were well-designed creations of intelligent remorse that displayed the highest intentions of determined defiance. However, I did feel slightly detached from the novel's main protagonist. Scarlett's personal did not impress or surprise me in any significant way; rather, I found her to be very similar to most YA heroines that I have encountered in the past. In addition to Scarlett, I found the inclusion of Tella to be a rather distinctive feature to the story line. I found Tella to be a frustratingly stubborn character whose loyal personality added a dash of freshness to the novel. But Tella's role in the story was fairly limited- which was for a driven reason. However, I feel that I would have rated the story a bit higher if I had more time to interact with the Dragna Sisters. The third main character in the novel was Julian-an experienced sailor that was befriended by Tella, along with playing the role as the main love interest. Julian was the epitome of surprise in the novel. True to the spirit of Caraval, Julian never appeared to be as he seemed. But Julian's element of surprise in the novel was frustratingly complex, which aided to drive the story in a direction of utter astonishment.
Setting: I found the setting to be a highly illustrious feature of the story. The setting of Caraval was full of surprises and never failed to amaze my senses further. Caraval is a mixture between the circus-filled wonders of amazement to the unexplainable bewilderment of a magician's tricks. The wonder and amazement of Caraval never ceased to impress me; and never failed to impress me with the wonderfully new world of magic-filled chaos.
Writing Style: Garber's writing style was unique in the best way possible. It faintly reminded me of the delusional sense of reality that is associated with magical realism, while strongly resembling a new twist on physiological fantasy. The writing style that was displayed in Caraval was, in short, wonderfully bizarre. The tone that Garber comprehended in her debut novel was richly versed with elements of intoned surprise; and branded the whole of Caraval as a brand-new spin on YA storytelling.
Conclusion: Caraval was a thrill of an adventure that excluded no element of surprise from it's carefully plotted twists. I would highly recommend Caraval to anyone in the market for a fast-paced, high fantasy read. I would also recommend Garber's Caraval series to any fan of the Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling or to any fan of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.
