Caraval
by Stephanie Garber
My dear, dear friend gave me this book for my birthday because she thought I’d like it. Not only did I absolutely love it, but I couldn’t imagine how she managed to part with her personal copy for my gift. When I recommend this book to someone, I’m going to buy them their own copy—mine will become well-worn over the years!
Caraval was so exciting, I had to force myself to stop reading it and space it out over a few days. I finished the entire book in four days and almost started reading it immediately again, I loved it so much. Stephanie Garber created an incredible fantasy world that makes readers wish it was real. The protagonist attends a magical carnival where you can purchase a dress by telling your deepest secret, and a fortune teller can tell your path by which of his tattoos you look at first. Spectacles are around every corner, and the assault on the protagonist’s—and vicariously, the reader’s—senses is overwhelming in the most delicious way.
I can’t recommend Caraval highly enough, and I haven’t even told you anything about it! Trust me, it’s better that way. This is a universal recommendation; I can’t think of anyone, regardless of age, gender, and preferred genre, who won’t love the ride of reading such a wonderfully engrossing book. Garber’s debut novel is surprisingly well-written. She manages to be concise, creative, mysterious, and uniquely descriptive all at once. Nothing feels overly wordy, and even though you’ll be anxious to read more, nothing feels cut off or slighted. She describes the taste of colors, the feeling of smells:
“It was the kind of night where she could smell the moon, thick candle wax dancing with the salty scent of the ocean, full and glowing.”
“She could see the sting of her rejection in stormy blue, ghosting over his heart like sad morning mist.”
“The world tasted like lies and ashes when Scarlett woke.”
Aren’t you anxious to read it now?
Caraval was so exciting, I had to force myself to stop reading it and space it out over a few days. I finished the entire book in four days and almost started reading it immediately again, I loved it so much. Stephanie Garber created an incredible fantasy world that makes readers wish it was real. The protagonist attends a magical carnival where you can purchase a dress by telling your deepest secret, and a fortune teller can tell your path by which of his tattoos you look at first. Spectacles are around every corner, and the assault on the protagonist’s—and vicariously, the reader’s—senses is overwhelming in the most delicious way.
I can’t recommend Caraval highly enough, and I haven’t even told you anything about it! Trust me, it’s better that way. This is a universal recommendation; I can’t think of anyone, regardless of age, gender, and preferred genre, who won’t love the ride of reading such a wonderfully engrossing book. Garber’s debut novel is surprisingly well-written. She manages to be concise, creative, mysterious, and uniquely descriptive all at once. Nothing feels overly wordy, and even though you’ll be anxious to read more, nothing feels cut off or slighted. She describes the taste of colors, the feeling of smells:
“It was the kind of night where she could smell the moon, thick candle wax dancing with the salty scent of the ocean, full and glowing.”
“She could see the sting of her rejection in stormy blue, ghosting over his heart like sad morning mist.”
“The world tasted like lies and ashes when Scarlett woke.”
Aren’t you anxious to read it now?