Caraval (Caraval, 1)

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!

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Published May 1, 2018

416 pages

Average rating: 7.43

607 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Sadie<3
Jun 21, 2025
8/10 stars
It's definitely something every preteen/teen needs to read! I absolutely loved it
Brt4787
Dec 02, 2024
10/10 stars
It was so good I read it in about 8 hours!
RubyReads
Jun 06, 2025
8/10 stars
4⭐️

I really enjoyed the world of this book a lot. I love Scarlett’s character and really excited to see her in the next books.

The world was honestly very unique and pretty intriguing. I loved how it kept changing but that did come with issues, at times I felt I couldn’t really visualize it well cuz it kept changing a lot.

I love Julian and his relationship with Scarlett even though its the typical insta love

Tella was very interesting and I liked her spunk

The father? He was straight trash. I do not like him.

Legend? Ehh.

What else is there to say?? This book cured my romantanasy slump and got me hooked real quickly! I would recommend for a fun interesting read!

4/5⭐️ cuz I still felt it needed a little bit more, idk what that oomph is but I hope it get it with the rest of the series.
ParkerReadsStuff
May 15, 2025
4/10 stars
This book is just bad.

I like YA fantasy but this is drab.
gill.jess
Apr 30, 2025
8/10 stars
4 ⭐️ I'm torn on this one because I did enjoy the book, but with the hype that surrounds it, I expected it to be a little better. It took me almost a week to get through, which partially is first trimester exhaustion, but mostly because I just wasn't pulled in right away. I want to blame it on Scarlett, but I can't pinpoint what it is. I will for sure be continuing the series because it did end on a cliffhanger and I'm curious to see where it goes, but I won't necessarily rush into it.

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