Book Review — Caraval by Stephanie Garber

“Welcome, welcome to Caraval! The grandest show on land or by sea. Inside you’ll experience more wonders than most people see in a lifetime. You can sip magic from a cup and buy dreams in a bottle. But before you fully enter into our world, you must remember it’s all a game.”
Caraval, by Stephanie Garber


I first heard about this book when I was the Teen Services intern for a local library near where I went to grad school. One of my coworkers mentioned it to me as a good readers advisory option for a particular project I was working on. I read the synopsis and was immediately intrigued. Magical circus? I am into it.

And I was, indeed, very into Caraval. The game, or performance, or world of illusion that Scarlett Dragna has waited her entire life to see was enticing and magical and had a spicy edge of darkness that made the game more exciting. I loved the descriptions of the island where Caraval takes place. A castle that looks like a giant birdcage, where time moves faster. Streets filled with colorful shops and houses, each containing some tweak that elevates its wares beyond the ordinary: a dresshop where the prices are secrets or days of your life. It’s all delicious, and a little bit scary. Like biting into a chocolate that might have a shard of glass in it.

And yet, there were elements that turned me off, when I think they were meant to turn me on. Sometimes the descriptions of what Scarlett was wearing, and other times that she was swept into a moment of romance read like something young teenage me might have been into, but fell flat for me as an adult. I second guessed myself in the judgement of a YA novel for having writing/characters that read as immature to me, when it is intended for a teenage audience. However, there are so many YA books that soar beyond that descriptor as any kind of limitation, and instead work as excellent pieces of literature with teenage protagonists. As adult readers were teens once, it can be a channel for empathy and understanding, rather than sparking a sense of “Thank goodness I’ve outgrown that.”

In short, I’m curious about the rest of the series for the lush descriptions I know will be in store, but I’m hesitant to jump into dramatic love triangle when there are so many other books I haven’t tasted yet.