Review – Caraval

Title: Caraval
Author:  Stephanie Garber
Published by: Hodder & Stoughton
Publication date: 31st January 2017
Pages: 402, hardback
Genre: young adult, fantasy, romance

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.

***

I bought Caraval last month, after hearing so much about it online. I pretty much only buy paperbacks most of the time, so to me it felt like A BIG DEAL. I read a sample of the book online, and then went to two separate Waterstones in an attempt to find a copy with a completely pristine jacket (the one I ended up buying does have a small tear at the top, but I’m sure I’ll live). I’m really glad I went to the trouble, as I know now I will be rereading Caraval a lot in the future.

May Wrap Up & The Month Ahead

Oh dear, May went by so fast! I’ve been on study leave for most of this month, so the time has really flown by and now we’re almost halfway through 2017! I did manage to read a fair bit this month, even with my exams, so I do have a fair bit to wrap up in this post.

Book of the Month

This month’s book of the month has to be The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. The general consensus of this book, which I agree with, is that this is not a book that is a particularly enjoyable read. For those of you who do not know, this book is set in a dystopian future where, due to some sort of nuclear fallout, birth rates begin to fall, and many children die soon after birth. As a result of this, an extremist group take over this area (which I am pretty sure is in America), and the women are stripped of all freedom and power. The main character, Offred, is a Handmaid, and her sole purpose is now to be assigned to a Commander in order to bear children. This was a really harrowing read, and very well written, and I think it is important that everybody reads it. The TV show also began airing in the UK on Channel 4 on Sunday, so I am looking forward to that!