Caraval (Caraval, #1)

by Stephanie Garber

But the lie had already buried itself inside of Scarlett, as lies that children are told often do.

It was about the same size as her village on Trisda, but it felt spectacularly bigger, the way a word feels bigger with an exclamation point tacked onto it.

She remembered her first impression of him, tall, roughly handsome, and dangerous, like poison dressed up in an attractive bottle.

The future knows what things we desire, unless there is something greater in our path that chases us away.”

Every person has the power to change their fate if they are brave enough to fight for what they desire more than anything.”

And even though she would never tell him, she loved the way he moved, with total confidence, as though nothing in the world could harm him. It made her less fearful when she was around him. As if boldness and bravery did not always end in defeat.

Sometimes he gazed at her as if he wanted to be her undoing, but just then it was as if he wanted her to undo him.

Not quite sure how far she’d already fallen, she imagined loving him would feel like falling in love with darkness, frightening and consuming yet utterly beautiful when the stars came out.

She remembered thinking falling for him would be like falling in love with darkness, but now she imagined he was more like a starry night: the constellations were always there, constant, magnificent guides against the ever-present black.

Every touch created colors she had never seen. Colors as soft as velvet and as sharp as sparks that turned into stars.