Caraval (Caraval, #1) in Addicted to YA

From the Bookshelf of Addicted to YA…

Caraval (Caraval, #1)

Stephanie Garber

Start date: June 1, 2025

Finish date: June 30, 2025

Discussion: BOTM Currently Reading

Why we're reading this: Won the poll for the re-read for June
[close] Won the poll for the re-read for June

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of -109 topics — 1,282 comments total

BOTM Currently Reading

This topic has been closed to new comments.

* Current BOTM Reads
By Jeff , ThisGayReads · 1 post · 1798 views

last updated Oct 18, 2023 01:24PM

Stand Alone: A Language of Dragons
By Bailey · 3 posts · 41 views

last updated Jun 15, 2025 04:08PM

showing 10 of 14 topics view all »

What Members Thought

May 28, 2017 aikaterine rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: physical-read, favorites, series-started, book-boyfriends, ships

鉁� 2024 re-read review:

So happy that my reread firmly solidified my strong feelings about this book and story. I simply couldn't put this down, read it effortlessly and more quickly than any other book I've lately read. Although I thought I remembered bits and pieces, I had it all wrong, haha. But, I'm happy about it, as I was still surprised by all the twists and turns of this story.

Needless to say, the 5-star rating for this book is alive and kicking, haha.

鉁� 2017 first read review:

Origi ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Apr 16, 2017 Natha rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: translation, fantasy, drama

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

1 like · Like · see review

Jun 16, 2018 Caitie (caitiegirlreads) rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2018-reads, acquired-in-2018

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. My initial thoughts were 5 star favorite ! Stephanie is masterful with words and descriptives -- I fell in love with her world and her characters. I loved the journey through Caraval, but I鈥檓 struggling with part of the plot, specifically the ending. After further reflection there is a bad taste in my mouth, flavored very recent personal life experiences. My apologies in advance that this post is longer than my usual and very personal.

Caraval begins with 2 sisters Scarlett and Donatella. Scarlet My initial thoughts were 5 star favorite ! Stephanie is masterful with words and descriptives -- I fell in love with her world and her characters. I loved the journey through Caraval, but I鈥檓 struggling with part of the plot, specifically the ending. After further reflection there is a bad taste in my mouth, flavored very recent personal life experiences. My apologies in advance that this post is longer than my usual and very personal.

Caraval begins with 2 sisters Scarlett and Donatella. Scarlett writes to Legend the leader of the famed Caraval performers attempting to get him to bring his perfomers to her island. One year, she and her sister receive "by invite only" to come to Legend's Island and experience Caraval. Both sisters love each other with a fierce love, forged by their need to protect each other from their terrible Father. Through a mad series of events... the sisters and a boy named Julian find themselves on Legend's island and they discover that the game/performance that is Caraval is not what they expected. This years prize... One Wish.

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

I breezed right over it in the romance, excitement, plot twists and shock over the murder of a character I was becoming attached to... the moment that the entire book is working towards, and in the light of morning without Caraval鈥檚 Magic it all seems a bit fuzzy.

Tella鈥檚 Leap.

Was it self sacrificial or the uglier and darker word associated with her actions?

And was it really the only way to save them from their terrible Father?

If One-Year-Ago-Caitie was talking to me about this book, she would have told me to get over it. She would say it was just a story, that Legend's magic twisted Tella even before she began the game. The whole point of the story is that nothing is as it seems and that's what makes this book so unique and so tantalizing and wonderful.

In November, my Dad took his own life. He had lost sight of all hope and was trapped in the darkness of his own mind. And as much as I want to I can鈥檛 just wish my Dad back to life. And while (we know) he believed he was sacrificing himself to save us, as dark and twisted as that belief was. He鈥檚 gone.

My feelings now for the wonder of Caraval are bitter sweet. I wish that the ending hadn't hit so close to home. I will be reading Legendary sometime in the future because I love the voice that Stephanie Garber writes with, and I would love to read the unpublished novels preceeding and proceeding this series.

Have you ever read a book that too closely mirrors real life experiences... either fantasy or contemporary? Did it change how you liked the book for the better or worse?

...more

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 20, 2017 Naomi rated it it was ok

Ugh. No. This was just bad. The premise was interesting. I like riddles and complex plots and plots revolving around sisters. But this was not that at all. The story felt regurgitated. Like the author took the most common twists and plot points of every YA fantasy novel ever and mushed them together. (view spoiler) ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jun 16, 2017 鈽� Liz 鈽� Stellar Kitten Book Reviews 鈽� rated it really liked it

Okay, the Tella at the very end isn't bad. But she still annoyed the crap out of me in the beginning xD If I re-read this I would still totally just rush through the parts with her. But, aside from that: I really, really loved this book. It was a great read full of mystery (and more than a little magic). I think it definitely lived up to the hype for me.

Full review on :

description

I picked up this book because everyone was talking about it, and I wanted to know if it lived up to a ...more

Like · see review

Apr 20, 2017 Tweller83 rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, audio-books, district-book-committee

2017: Recommended by an author you love
2017 52 book challenge: A book recommended by a favorite author - recommended by Jodi Meadows
Blue Spruce nominee 2018.

I didn't love this one the way I thought I would. I did like the writing style and all the flowery prose, describing colors as things you can feel, etc. However, beyond that, I thought Scarlett, for all her protecting ways, seemed really stupid when it came to both reacting to her father and her sister. Caraval itself didn't seem to be the " ...more

Like · see review

Sep 22, 2018 Crystal rated it liked it

Overall score is a 2.5.

When I first heard about Caraval by Stephanie Garber, I was intrigued by the synopsis. It sounded like the kind of story I should love, a book I would stay up late just to continue reading.

I hate saying this because it pains me to do so, but I was wrong. As I got further and further into the book, I found myself asking myself why I was still reading. Which pains me to admit because I really did want to love this book.

That said I didn't hate it either. I didn't love it o Overall score is a 2.5.

When I first heard about Caraval by Stephanie Garber, I was intrigued by the synopsis. It sounded like the kind of story I should love, a book I would stay up late just to continue reading.

I hate saying this because it pains me to do so, but I was wrong. As I got further and further into the book, I found myself asking myself why I was still reading. Which pains me to admit because I really did want to love this book.

That said I didn't hate it either. I didn't love it or hate, I just didn't really care. Nothing about it really caught my interest. The characters felt kind of bland and unrelatable, which at first I thought might be because it was the world itself that was the star. The setting of Caraval and everything that goes on around it, with the main characters being there as the centerpieces who experienced everything. So I kept reading because I know that I'm still capable of loving a book even if I don't like the main characters. If I'm enraptured by the world and side characters, then that can more than make up for it.

Unfortunately, I didn't find myself falling in love with the world or any of the characters really. The magic system, while intriguing at first, ended up disappointing me in the sense that it was never really properly explained. There were many instances where it felt like the magic was just there to explain something that had happened, rather than having any real purpose.

And that promise of having something there but never really living up to expectations is how I feel about the entire book. That said I can see how someone might love it. At the end of the day, its just not for me. And this saddens me so much because I can't express enough how much I wanted to love Caraval. I picked it up looking forward to being swept away, only to come out feeling nothing.

I don't hate it, but I can't love it either. Like I said before I just don't care, which for me always feels worse than having more negative feelings. Because at least then I can like passionately express how I feel into words.

I don't think I'll be picking up the sequel Legendary anytime soon. I might depending on if I feel the urge to give this series another go, but at the moment I honestly don't think this series is for me. And I'd rather look into and read books that make me excited to read them.

...more

Like · see review

May 05, 2017 Rachel rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Love this fantasy world the author has created. The writing kind of reminded me of Cinder. But I loved this book and don't know if I'll be able to handle waiting for the next book. ...more

Like · see review