Caraval

Starred review from October 17, 2016
At the start of Garber’s magnificent debut novel, the mysterious Master Legend invites sisters Scarlett and Donatella Dragna to attend Caraval—a magical multiday event that is part spectacle, part treasure hunt. Although their tyrannical father has threatened death if they leave home without his permission, Tella strikes a deal with a roguish sailor named Julian for transport to Legend’s private island—a plan that essentially involves kidnapping the conflicted Scarlett, who is weeks away from marrying a man she’s never met. Upon arrival, Tella is taken, and it’s revealed that she is the subject of this year’s hunt. Scarlett and Julian join forces to find her, but in a game in which secrets are currency and appearances deceive, Scarlett has no way of knowing whether she’s a Caraval player or Master Legend’s pawn. Intriguing characters, an imaginative setting, and evocative writing combine to create a spellbinding tale of love, loss, sacrifice, and hope. While the search for Tella drives the narrative, Scarlett’s quest for self-empowerment is equally captivating. Scarlett and Julian’s chemistry intoxicates, and Garber’s tantalizing conclusion will leave readers hungry for a sequel. Ages 13–up. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Agency.

October 1, 2016
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the enchanted circus trope. Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome golden-brown sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarletts arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets. Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)

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October 1, 2016

Gr 8 Up-Scarlett and her sister, Donatella, have been raised on a remote island by a demanding and cruel father. Scarlett is about to be married to a man she's never met, and though her long-held dream of receiving an invitation to Caraval, the once-a-year, fantastical, immersive performance, has come true, she believes attending would jeopardize her wedding and destroy her sole chance to get herself and Tella away from their father. When her sister teams up with a sailor to trick Scarlett onto a ship and take her anyway, the heroine plans to stay for a night or two, then return home for her wedding. But then Tella is kidnapped by Legend, Caraval's mysterious mastermind, and the protagonist learns that she can get her sister back only if she plays Legend's game for five nights-and wins. It won't be easy, though. Nothing (and no one) at Caraval is what it seems: time speeds up, clothing morphs according to its own agenda, and players may be called on to pay for things with their deepest fears or two days of their lives. Without knowing whom she can trust, including her own reason and senses, Scarlett must work out where her sister is and how to save her. This twisty, terrifically fun page-turner is ideal for fans of Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus, Neil Gaiman's Stardust, and fantasy novels where relationships between sisters drive the plot, such as "The Hunger Games" or Rosamund Hodge's Cruel Beauty. VERDICT A must-have fantasy debut for high school collections.-Stephanie Klose, School Library Journal

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2016

In this YA fantasy debut, Scarlett, who lives on a small island with her sister and icily domineering father, receives an invitation to Caraval, a fabled audience-participation performance taking place once a year. It's shortly before her arranged marriage, but Scarlett sneaks away to attend. A likely crossover title pitched as having a Night Circus-like atmosphere; with sales to 25 territories and preempted by Twentieth Century Fox.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 3, 2017
Sisters Scarlett and Donatella “Tella” Dragna have always dreamed of going to Caraval—a once-a-year, multiday event that is part magical spectacle, part treasure hunt. With only a week before Scarlett’s wedding to a man she’s never met, Tella runs away to Caraval and arranges for Scarlett to be abducted by a sailor named Julian and secretly taken to Caraval too. But when Scarlett arrives, she discovers that Tella has become the prize of the game, and all the players are searching for her. In order to save both herself and her sister, Scarlett must figure out the ambiguous clues and confounding puzzles and journey through a magical world where secrets and plots abound, nothing is as it seems, and no one is to be trusted. Actor Soler’s narration, by turns curious, afraid, frustrated, and exhilarated, immediately draws the listener into this world. In a story full of colorful characters, she gives each one a distinct voice that is faithful to their descriptions in the text. This magical fairy tale will thrill lovers of fantasy and mystery. Ages 13–up. A Flatiron hardcover.

March 1, 2017
Scarlett has agreed to marry a count she's never met in hopes that her marriage will take her and her sister Tella away from their abusive, manipulative father. The only dream Scarlett has ever truly allowed herself is to attend Caraval, a five-night scavenger hunt with the prize of a granted wish, held in a fantastical city entirely created by the infamous magician Legend. After Tella and intriguing-but-exasperating stranger Julian scheme to get all three of them to Caraval, Tella is separated from the others, and Scarlett grows convinced that the scavenger hunt's clues lead not only to the prize but to her sister as well. Scarlett is enchanted by strange loveliness she discovers while searching: a carousel made of roses; divinatory tattoos that reveal the beholder's future. But Caraval may be as deadly as it is exquisite, and despite the distance from home, it's not as far outside her father's influence as Scarlett hoped. The stakes grow ever higher, and Scarlett is no longer sure what's real or whom she can trust. The suspenseful story is perhaps a bit too twisty-turny, but readers invested in the sisters' fates (not to mention the outcome of steamy will-they-or-won't-they? tension between Scarlett and Julian) will hang on tight and enjoy the ride. Garber's darkly beautiful and brutal magical world is the star here, anyway, full of luscious details that invite readers to linger despite the breakneck pace. katie bircher

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)