A review by addied67a2
Caraval by Stephanie Garber

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

I think this book was just ok. The setting was whimsical and fun, but there was a constant back and forth whiplash of truth and lies. It was written in a frustrating way, where the author was guiding the reader to have certain speculations, then falsifying them, and then seeding doubt about said falsifications. It definitely wasn't predictable, but almost nauseatingly so.

I also thought the relationship between Scarlette and Julian was underdeveloped. A week is not enough time to decide you're in love with someone, especially when it didn't seem like there was much to connect them, other than some inexplicable draw to each other.

I probably would have liked this more if I was younger, in the 13-16 age range.