Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Caraval 
by Stephanie Garber

Read: March 2-3, 2017
Published: January 31, 2017
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Whatever you've heard about Caraval, it doesn't compare to the reality. It's more than just a game or a performance. It's the closest you'll ever find to magic in this world...

Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett's father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the far-away, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over.

But this year, Scarlett's long-dreamt of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval's mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season's Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But she nevertheless becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic with the other players in the game. And whether Caraval is real or not, she must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over, a dangerous domino effect of consequences is set off, and her sister disappears forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval...beware of getting swept too far away. (Amazon)

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Why did you read this book?
I found this book on Amazon while I was searching for books similar to The Night Circus. I'm a big fan of circuses and while the premise of this book doesn't necessarily center around a circus, it was close enough for me. It intrigued me enough to buy it anyway. Also, I'm a sucker for a pretty cover.

What did you like about this book?
First off, I really enjoyed the world building of Caraval itself. It was so easy to forget that there was a world outside the game...and the fact that it was, in fact, a game. The descriptions in this book are just fantastic. One thing that confused me, but I actually really liked even though I didn't understand it was the use of color in Scarlett's emotions. Whenever she feels anything, it's described as a color. For example, when she's afraid it's usually plum colored. The color thing was never really explained, but I liked it anyway. I hope that gets expanded upon in future books. One big thing I loved about this book was the romance. It was a slow burn that you could see coming a mile away, but that just made me more excited for it to finally happen. And the book wasn't about the romance, which I appreciated. It was about Scarlett trying to find Tella before the five nights of Caraval ended. The romance was just an added bonus. The novel's pacing was also very excellent. It didn't start too slow and the tension built with increasing intensity throughout the book, which of course left me speed reading by the last quarter of the book just to find out what was going to happen.

What didn't you like about this book?
As fantastic as the world building was, the characters were a little lacking in comparison. Scarlett and Julian saw the most character growth, presumably because they got the most page time. Scarlett and Tella's father was a very flat character. He seemed to be evil for the sake of being evil without any real purpose. I hope is story is developed further in future books. The other thing that kind of turned me off to this book was the juvenile writing. I understand that it is a YA novel, but I don't feel like that should be an excuse for not expecting more out of an author. The plot was good, the world building is great, I didn't hate the characters, but the writing overall was just kind of...meh. It's difficult because I automatically compare it to The Night Circus, which is definitely more mature and for a more advanced reader.

Bottom-Line:
I really did enjoy the book. It was one of those books that I just wanted to read in one sitting...and I would have if my schedule had allowed it.  Unfortunately for me, this book left us with a killer cliffhanger and I have to wait for the next book to come out. So if you're as impatient as I am, I'd suggest maybe waiting until the next one is out or almost out before you read the first book.



"She imagined loving him would feel like falling in love with darkness, frightening and consuming yet utterly beautiful when the stars came out." -Caraval by Stephanie Garber

The Book List

          I meant to post this last weekend, because it was my birthday. Of course, time got away from me and I've had midterms this week (I've actually got one in a couple of hours...but I just can't study anymore). Anyway, I turned 20 last Saturday and I thought I should at least post something for my birthday. I couldn't really think of anything to write about because currently my life is all about school, which isn't that interesting. So, in lieu of something touching or thoughtful, here is a list of 20 books that I have read that were published in the last 20 years (all of which I would recommend). Enjoy!

1. Maskerade by Terry Pratchett (1995)
2. Calvin and Hobbes: It's a Magical World by Bill Watterson (1996)
3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling (1997)
4. Holes by Louis Sachar (1998)
5. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (1999)
6. How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? by Jane Yolen (2000)
7. Pay it Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde (2001)
8. Tithe by Holly Black (2002)
9. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (2003)
10. The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen (2004)
11. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (2005)
12. It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini (2006)
13. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher (2007)
14. The Host by Stephanie Meyer (2008)
15. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare (2009)
16. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (2010)
17. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (2011)
18. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (2012)
19. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (2013)
20. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare (2014)
21. The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon (2015)

"I guess it's hard for people who are so used to things the way they are - even if they're bad - to change. 'Cause they kind of give up. And when they do, everybody kind of loses." -Pay it Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Day Eighteen

Writing Challenge Day #18: Your Zodiac Sign and if You Think it Fits Your Personality
          My zodiac sign is Libra. I didn't really know all that much about it, other than that Libra is mostly October and it has something to do with scales. So, I had to do some research. It was actually very interesting and I wouldn't mind learning more about astrology. Here's what I found out: Libra, the scales, is the 7th zodiac symbol in the wheel. It goes from September 24 to October 23. It is also a constellation, a quadrangle shape, and has the star Zubeneschamali in it. Zubeneschamali is a green tinged star 160 light years from Earth and is the brightest in the constellation. It is located between Virgo (to the West) and Scorpius (to the East). In Babylonian Astronomy, the scales were sacred to the sun god, Shamash, the patron of truth and justice. This is very similar to Roman Mythology, where Libra is meant to represent the scales held by Astraea, the goddess of justice. I find the Arabic idea of Libra to be more interesting than the first to. The scales can also be "an allusion to the fact that when the sun entered this part of the ecliptic at the autumnal equinox, the days and nights are equal," (Wikipedia).
          So I'm definitely getting the Justice! vibe from Libra. Now I shall share with you the characteristics that Libra's tend to have.

          Strengths:

• Diplomatic
• Graceful
• Peaceful
• Idealistic
• Hospitable
• Likes to be around other people (partnerships and groups)
• Can be very independent, but would rather be with others (not sure if this is strength or weakness..)
• Love excitement and new situations
• Adventurous 
• Artistic
• Excellent instincts and intuition
• Fair and respectful
• Courageous

          Weaknesses

• Superficial
• Vain
• Indecisive
• Unreliable
• Lazy
• Messy
• Very focused on money (this was actually listed as a strength, but I disagree. So I moved it.)
• Self-Doubt
• Underachievers
• Pushover
• Insecure
• Desperately requires love and approval

          Unfortunately, I have more of the weaknesses than the strengths. I definitely found myself relating to that list more. In fact, most of the things on the strengths list are the exact opposite of me. I am not courageous, nor am I adventurous. More often than not, I do not like to be around other people and I hate change and new things.  Whereas on the weaknesses, I am very indecisive, lazy, and messy. (You do not want to see my room...I think I'm messy on account of being lazy...) I definitely am insecure and doubt myself. In the past year I have become a pushover, which I hate. I never stand up for myself anymore. I am also desperate for love, unfortunately. I found something else that describes being a Libra a bit better than these lists however, on zodiac-signs-astrology-.com/zodiac-signs/libra.htm and I'm going to copy it here and highlight what describes me.

          "They are also likely to hide or bend their own true feelings in order to bring peace with a group and to make others like them. Sometime this results in them not really knowing what their true feelings are because they are trying to make everyone happy. Other people can see this and Libras have earned themselves a reputation for being indecisive, they simply do not want to hurt anyone's feelings or cause disorder or friction in a situation. This spills over inside the person and many times, Libras have difficulty making decisions. Inside, the Libra is very insecure , they suffer from a lack of self confidence, they are always searching for something to complete them. This is another reason why they are social butterflies, it is an unconscious attempt to find the missing peace through other people. By trying to appease other people all the time, Libras don't really know who they are inside. Libras desperately need love and approval, they will do the favors that people ask and and have a hard time saying 'no' or 'I'm too busy' in order to prove how nice they are, this gradually builds up resentment and negative self esteem issues inside. Libra's indecisiveness is caused by fear, their fear that a wrong decision will make everything come crashing down around them and cause turmoil in their lives. Life is not like that and the Libra that acknowledges the fact that life has ups and downs will be less emotionally wound up, not so hard on themselves and as a result, they will be a much happier person."

          Well, jeez. Maybe I just should have highlighted the stuff that doesn't describe me. It would have been less to highlight. Essentially, the only thing wrong about this is the social butterfly part. I am neither social nor a butterfly (still human, last time I checked...) I was actually kind of shocked at how well this paragraph described what goes on in my head. Good job, random website. I finally have a decent way to describe my indecisiveness. And now I have decided to be done. Until tomorrow!

"I am tired of trying to hold things together that cannot be held. Trying to control what cannot be controlled. I am tired of denying myself what I want for fear of breaking things I cannot fix. They will break no matter what we do." -The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Day Thirteen

Writing Challenge Day 13: Someone You Would Like to Meet

          This is a very good question. At first I thought maybe a band, but to be honest, I don't want to meet people that sing my favorite songs. I don't want to hear that they didn't even write the song, that it isn't personal, that they are just good at singing it...I'd rather pretend that each and every song means something to them, and they were written out of experience. Now, of course I know that this usually isn't the case. But still. I like to pretend. So that would have to be a no for a musician. (Unless maybe I met The Piano Guys. Or 2cellos. I love them regardless.)
          Then I thought...a historical figure? Or rather, an author that lived more than a century ago? Perhaps Jane Austen or Charlotte Bronte. I wasn't really feeling that either. But I like the idea of authors. J.K. Rowling? I would love to meet her and discuss all things Harry Potter. Which ultimately led me to book/movie characters. But there are so many of them that I would love to meet! And I have a whole list of them. Care to see?

• Sirius Black from Harry Potter 3-5
• Poppet and Widget from The Night Circus
• Brom from Eragon
• Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings 1-3
• Augustus Waters from The Fault in Our Stars
• Elizabeth Bennet from Pride & Prejudice
• Warden from The Bone Season
• Wes from The Truth About Forever
• Basil from The Picture of Dorian Gray
• Javert from Les Miserables
• Brigan from Fire

          Well, you get the idea. There are several characters that I would love to meet. The one character I would choose above all of these, however, you haven't heard of. Unless you are one of the five people (including my sister) I've told this to, you don't know who she is. Her name is Azure and she is the main character in a book that I am writing. And I absolutely love her. I wish it were possible to actually meet her and talk to her. So that's who I pick as someone I would like to meet. A character that was born in my head.


P.S. Fall is coming...so I'm changing the look again! And I, for one, am very excited for the autumn season :o)