Believing that she will never be allowed to participate in the annual Caraval performance when her ruthless father arranges her marriage, Scarlett receives the invitation she has always dreamed of before her sister, Tella, is kidnapped by the show's mastermind organizer. A first novel. Simultaneous eBook. - (Baker & Taylor)
A long-desired invitation to Caraval, the annual audience-participation show, prods Tella and Scarlett to escape their powerful, cruel father, but upon arriving Tella is kidnapped as part of the game. - (Baker & Taylor)
Believing that she will never be allowed to participate in the annual Caraval performance when her ruthless father arranges her marriage, Scarlett receives the invitation she has always dreamed of before her sister, Tella, is kidnapped by the show's mastermind organizer. - (Baker & Taylor)
Welcome, welcome to CARAVAL, Stephanie Garber’s enchanting, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling fantasy debut about two sisters swept up in a mysterious competition filled with magic, heartbreak, and danger
Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their powerful and cruel father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the far-away, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over.
But this year, Scarlett's long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to attend. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season's Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.
Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But whether Caraval is real or not, she must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over, and her sister disappears forever.
Continue the adventure in Legendary and Finale—out now!
- (
McMillan Palgrave)
Stephanie Garber loves Disneyland because it’s the one place on earth where she feels as if the fantastical stories she loves to write about could actually come to life. When she's not writing young adult fantasy, she teaches creative writing at a private college in northern California, where she’s known for turning assignments into games and taking students on field trips that involve book signings. Caraval is her first novel for young adults. She would love to hear from you on social media. - (McMillan Palgrave)
Booklist Reviews
Scarlett and her sister, Tella, have grown up on stories of Caraval, a magical game run by a magician named Legend—stories that helped them momentarily escape their grim existence with their abusive, controlling father. Now, weeks away from marrying a man she hasn't met, Scarlett receives an invitation to the enchanting palace, and Tella is determined to go, even if it means kidnapping her own sister to get there. When they arrive, they get separated, and driven by both the enticing candy-colored magic and her urge to find her sister, Scarlett plays Legend's seemingly innocuous game. Of course, all those flying creatures, enchanted ball gowns, and miraculous estates hide something sinister, and with the help of a handsome, rugged sailor, Scarlett uncovers secrets about both her own past and the true dangers of Caraval. While Scarlett is sometimes a frustratingly inept protagonist, Garber's rich, vivid scene setting and descriptions make for entertaining reading, and the conclusion hints at a sequel focused on Tella. A colorful, imaginative fantasy with some steamy romance for good measure. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.
Horn Book Guide Reviews
Scarlett has always dreamed of attending the fantastical scavenger hunt Caraval. When she gets her chance, Scarlett grows convinced that the clues will lead to her missing sister. The suspenseful story is a bit too twisty-turny, but readers invested in the sisters' fates (and the outcome of steamy tension between Scarlett and companion Julian) will enjoy the ride through this darkly beautiful magical world. Copyright 2017 Horn Book Guide Reviews.
Horn Book Magazine Reviews
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 Horn Book Magazine Reviews.
Kirkus Reviews
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 Scarlett's 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) Copyright Kirkus 2016 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.
Publishers Weekly Reviews
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. (Jan.) Copyright 2016 Publisher Weekly.
School Library Journal Reviews
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.