Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by zaiphon
Caraval by Stephanie Garber
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I have conflicted feelings on this. Apart from what was a slow start for me (the first 100 pages felt repetitive), I also have some complicated feelings with the way this novel ended:
• The twists twisted...a little too rough at times. Once one major event happened, it was like a row of dominos toppling over hitting you with all these revelations. I didn't get a chance to digest everything.
• The world of Caraval was interesting to me, but it didn't feel fleshed out. It was as if I was only getting glimpses of what Caraval expectations were versus the reality.
• The side characters didn't feel tangible.
• Some major twists resolved themselves quickly and it felt sort of anti-climatic. Without spoiling too much, I was contemplating what would happen next and then all of a sudden, a character appears and is casually like "Oh yeah , these things are actually all good now haha thanks Scarlett". I guess I was hoping for more buildup to the resolution.
• It looks like Book 2 is in another character's POV and I didn't feel ready to switch that up yet. I am hoping we can see more details of Scarlett's character and building a stronger foundation for the other side characters.
Am I going to continue the series? Yes. Am I hoping the narrative gets stronger and more depth appears in book 2? Also yes.
• The twists twisted...a little too rough at times. Once one major event happened, it was like a row of dominos toppling over hitting you with all these revelations. I didn't get a chance to digest everything.
• The world of Caraval was interesting to me, but it didn't feel fleshed out. It was as if I was only getting glimpses of what Caraval expectations were versus the reality.
• The side characters didn't feel tangible.
• Some major twists resolved themselves quickly and it felt sort of anti-climatic. Without spoiling too much, I was contemplating what would happen next and then all of a sudden, a character appears and is casually like "Oh yeah , these things are actually all good now haha thanks Scarlett". I guess I was hoping for more buildup to the resolution.
• It looks like Book 2 is in another character's POV and I didn't feel ready to switch that up yet. I am hoping we can see more details of Scarlett's character and building a stronger foundation for the other side characters.
Am I going to continue the series? Yes. Am I hoping the narrative gets stronger and more depth appears in book 2? Also yes.