The hype for this book was unreal, and so my expectations were sky-high. I did really enjoy the book but I was not blown away and only some of my high expectations were met, thus the 3.5 rating. I did give it a 4 for the Goodreads scale because I did really like the majority of it, and I will most likely read the sequel as well.
Despite the fact that I was told the book was circus themed... it really wasn't. More like a carnival mixed with a competition style game show. The world we hear about and sort of witness is all islands, though I'm not sure if this is an alternate universe or islands off the coast of somewhere pretty, like Greece or Florida as I imagined it. I haven't really seen that before in YA so it was nice, and easy for me to imagine, as I live myself on an island (Hawaiian islands to be specific). The mystical island and Caraval itself were magical and interesting, reminding me strongly of Wonderland from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass. However, things got real confusing, real quick.
I'm still not completely sure what half the plot consisted of, or even how the story fully ended. I guess what got tricky was picturing everything that happened, and what Caraval even looked like, and just keeping all the new plot devices straight. It gives me a headache thinking about it.
The writing was simply beautiful but those long, fanciful passages were like extra powder sugar on top of an already frosted cake: great, but a little too much. I found myself frequently skimming those paragraphs and feeling midly guilty while doing so. One part of Garber's writing that was unique and one of the best parts of the entire book in my opinion was how Scarlett could see her emotions and feelings as colors, and occassionally see others. It gave me Truthwitch vibes and I am HERE for it.
JULIAN: Um, yes! He was very fun to read about and I loved almost every scene he was in, especially when he used his nickname for Scarlett. I'm still very confused about his erratic behavior and his role in the story and how he found them but okay! We're just gonna roll with it. Aiko was my personal favorite character. I loved her journal and sweet personality and honestly, a spinoff just about her would be a great addition to this world. Just saying. I adored her scenes and hope for more Aiko action in book two.
The sequel is coming out sometime in 2018 and it is to be told from Tella's POV. After that epilogue I'm stoked to read that! Tella was a bit annoying but I think she's mainly understood and more page time would help us see her perspective more clearly. So all in all, I really liked aspects of this book.
The hype for this book was unreal, and so my expectations were sky-high. I did really enjoy the book but I was not blown away and only some of my high expectations were met, thus the 3.5 rating. I did give it a 4 for the Goodreads scale because I did really like the majority of it, and I will most likely read the sequel as well.
Despite the fact that I was told the book was circus themed... it really wasn't. More like a carnival mixed with a competition style game show. The world we hear about and sort of witness is all islands, though I'm not sure if this is an alternate universe or islands off the coast of somewhere pretty, like Greece or Florida as I imagined it. I haven't really seen that before in YA so it was nice, and easy for me to imagine, as I live myself on an island (Hawaiian islands to be specific). The mystical island and Caraval itself were magical and interesting, reminding me strongly of Wonderland from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass. However, things got real confusing, real quick.
I'm still not completely sure what half the plot consisted of, or even how the story fully ended. I guess what got tricky was picturing everything that happened, and what Caraval even looked like, and just keeping all the new plot devices straight. It gives me a headache thinking about it.
The writing was simply beautiful but those long, fanciful passages were like extra powder sugar on top of an already frosted cake: great, but a little too much. I found myself frequently skimming those paragraphs and feeling midly guilty while doing so. One part of Garber's writing that was unique and one of the best parts of the entire book in my opinion was how Scarlett could see her emotions and feelings as colors, and occassionally see others. It gave me Truthwitch vibes and I am HERE for it.
JULIAN: Um, yes! He was very fun to read about and I loved almost every scene he was in, especially when he used his nickname for Scarlett. I'm still very confused about his erratic behavior and his role in the story and how he found them but okay! We're just gonna roll with it.
Aiko was my personal favorite character. I loved her journal and sweet personality and honestly, a spinoff just about her would be a great addition to this world. Just saying. I adored her scenes and hope for more Aiko action in book two.
The sequel is coming out sometime in 2018 and it is to be told from Tella's POV. After that epilogue I'm stoked to read that! Tella was a bit annoying but I think she's mainly understood and more page time would help us see her perspective more clearly. So all in all, I really liked aspects of this book.
Check out my full review here! https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...