A review by bzliz
Caraval by Stephanie Garber

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

2.5

This could have been good but was poorly executed. The world was trying so hard to be magical but ended up falling flat because everything Scarlett encountered was deliberately put in her path. By the time Tella was explaining everything that happened, I was just thinking about how they Truman Show’d this girl because everyone was watching her every move and she never truly made any independent choices. Honestly, the book would’ve been better if Scarlett actually went off the deep end once she saw the true depths of the deception from everyone around her, because how do you ever forgive someone who claims to love you for putting you through psychological torture? 

I ended up reading a summary of the rest of the series because I know there’s a 0% chance I’m reading more of these books and that solidified my decision. It’s a shame these books didn’t come out sooner because 13 year old me would have gobbled this up without another thought but I’m old enough to know now that I deserve better than this series. 
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