The night circus meets the hunger games

I had this book on my "to be read" list for a long while before finally adding it to my "currently reading" list. Skimming the brief description on the first page of the novel doesn't do this fantastical story justice -- there is so much more to this book than what is initially shown. And even though I will be upfront in saying that this book/series will not be regarded as one of my favorites, there were many parts of it that I greatly enjoyed. Firstly, it's a relatively easy read. I was entertained all of the way through and definitely pulled in by the many plot twists. I admire the planning that went into the making of this complex book surrounding a game that blurs the fine line between what is real and only a game - kudos to Stephanie Garber! I also loved its similarity to The Night Circus (which I didn't like so much) and The Hunger Games (which I liked a lot); I felt like it had the circus aesthetic that I enjoyed in the first and the danger of a seemingly otherworldly competition from the second. What made this novel hard for me to fully "fall" into were some of the characters' relationships. While Julian, Scarlett's love interest, exhibits behavior that makes a lot more sense once the book is in its concluding stages, I found the romance between him and Scarlett, or "Crimson," to be a bit over dramatically passionate at times. I also felt like the sister relationship between Scarlett and Tella could have been developed more in the beginning and middle of the story, possibly through consistent flashback scenes. When tensions heightened at the story's climax, the conviction Scarlett possessed throughout the Caraval game to save and find her sister felt all dried up; it was hard to believe that she would do the things that she was willing to do for her sister at times. Now, I don't have a sister, so I am merely speaking from a place of my personal impression. But I wish to end this review on a positive note by praising the absolutely amazing description and use of colors to describe emotions that Garber utilizes! Right from the first few chapters, we as readers are introduced to a character who possesses a unique sense of perception and perspective to translate her emotions and reactions through all sorts of colors and hues. And this unique narrating process endures throughout the entirety of the book. I have never read another novel that matches this craft decision, and I not only enjoyed it as the story unfolded, but found myself thoroughly impressed as a writer. All in all, this book was very enjoyable even though it is not one of my new favorites. (One small side note: I loved the length of the chapters -- each one was almost always just the right length, haha.)



Some of my favorite quotes from Caraval:

"It was the kind of night where she could smell the moon, thick candle wax dancing with the salty scent of the ocean, full and glowing."

"There's more to life than staying safe..."

"Not quite sure how far she'd already fallen, she imagined loving him would feel like falling in love with darkness, frightening and consuming yet utterly beautiful when the stars came out."

"She might have felt weak, but her love for her sister was not."

"She remembered thinking falling for him would be like falling in love with darkness, but now she imagined he was more like a starry night: the constellations were always there, constant, magnificent guides against the ever-present black."

"Every touch created colors she had never seen. Colors as soft as velvet and as sharp as sparks that turned into stars."

"Hope is a powerful thing. Some say it's a different breed of magic altogether. Elusive, difficult to hold on to. But not much is needed."

"Shades of the rich ruby love she'd felt during the game mixed with hues of deep-indigo hurt, turning everything just a little bit violet."

"It tasted like the moment before night gives birth to morning; it was the end of one thing and the beginning of something else all wrapped up together." 

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