David Estes Fans and YA Book Lovers Unite! discussion

Caraval won for March's Mainstream Book of the Month!

Spoilers are welcome but please hide them with spoiler tabs for those who have not read this book.

Enjoy!!! :)

I'm really excited to read this one!

Me too!!

I should have my copy today and am excited to read this one!!

I know nothing about this book except it keeps popping up on my radar so I had to add it to my TBR. Can't wait to read it!

I've heard so many great things about this one! Can't wait!

Love the look of this book. I got my copy and the inside pages are really cool!!

Has any started reading this one? I did! I'm 20% in and it's got my interest, a real page-turner. The author's creativity is awesome and she has some really unique ways of describing things. I did read some reviews before starting, so I am well aware of the fact that the world-building is very focused on one specific location, but I'm hoping that later books in the series flesh out the rest of the world a bit more.

Overall, a good read so far! I am flying from Hawaii to South Dakota tonight so I'll have plenty of reading time :)

I think I'll put aside my current read for now and pick this one up. Glad to hear you like it, David!

I just finished listening to Caraval on audiobook and really enjoyed it. I was worried because I recently saw several lackluster reviews. I do think a lot of my enjoyment was due to Rebecca Soler's narration though. She did a fantastic job. I don't want to say much more because I don't want to spoil anyone but I will say I will be reading the sequel, even if it may not be on my most anticipated list next year.

David wrote: "Has any started reading this one? I did! I'm 20% in and it's got my interest, a real page-turner. The author's creativity is awesome and she has some really unique ways of describing things. I did ..."

Have fun on your trip David!! I just checked the weather, and the first few days won't be too cold, but Tuesday snow is predicted! The rest of the week doesn't look too bad, mostly in the 50s, which is pretty good for northern South Dakota this time of year! Anyways, have fun :)

I'm at 30%. I kept hearing that this was a YA The Night Circus, but it feels more like (view spoiler)[Alice in Wonderland to me. Nothing is really making sense yet. (hide spoiler)]

Heather wrote: "I just finished listening to Caraval on audiobook and really enjoyed it. I was worried because I recently saw several lackluster reviews. I do think a lot of my enjoyment was due to Rebecca Soler's..."

Awesome! I do get some of the negative reviews, but overall I'm enjoying it too. I think it has been slightly overhyped, but that doesn't mean it's not a really good read!

Jenny wrote: "David wrote: "Has any started reading this one? I did! I'm 20% in and it's got my interest, a real page-turner. The author's creativity is awesome and she has some really unique ways of describing ..."

Thanks Jenny! It is going to be weird seeing snow again :P I have very little in terms of warm clothes, so I'm going to have to layer. I found a warm hat and one glove LOL. The most fun will be seeing all the students though!

Karen wrote: "I'm at 30%. I kept hearing that this was a YA The Night Circus, but it feels more like [spoilers removed]"

YAY! I'm glad you're reading it now too! I'm just ahead of you, at 40% I love how things aren't making sense, although I can really sense how the loose threads all FEEL like part of the same tapestry. Can't wait to watch it all come together. I really liked the (view spoiler)[fortune teller with the tattoos all over his body, and how he used them to predict the future. So creative! I also loved the garden that made her despair. And also how each of the Caraval characters continue to pop up again and again. I was surprised that Scarlett didn't immediately think of Dante in regards to the "follow the one with the black heart" clue, considering he wears all black. (hide spoiler)]

David wrote: "Jenny wrote: "David wrote: "Has any started reading this one? I did! I'm 20% in and it's got my interest, a real page-turner. The author's creativity is awesome and she has some really unique ways ..."

Oh yes, definitely :) You'll have to tell me all about it when you get back!

This does look very interesting so I got on the list at the library. There is 8 people ahead of me so it must be popular at the moment and will take me 3 months to get.

I guess I really did not notice all the hype about this book beyond seeing the title pop up at times. I kept thinking it was either about a mysterious circus or some mysterious cruise ship.
I decided to go with the audible version and I was greatly pleased with that decision. It did me much longer to get through it, but I feel that it was worth it. I really enjoyed how the reality and the fantasy/game was so blurred...especially Julian(view spoiler)[always wondering if he was or was not ...Legend...in love with her...dead...in love with her...Legend (hide spoiler)]. Just when I thought I had it figured out, something else happen to throw me off again and again. I'm really anticipating the sequel.

Tracy wrote: "This does look very interesting so I got on the list at the library. There is 8 people ahead of me so it must be popular at the moment and will take me 3 months to get."

It's very popular, I was lucky to get my copy at the library before the month was up :)

Laura wrote: "I guess I really did not notice all the hype about this book beyond seeing the title pop up at times. I kept thinking it was either about a mysterious circus or some mysterious cruise ship.
I decid..."

Awesome! I'm am *almost* done and still wondering about the truth, which is the sign of a good mystery.

David wrote: "Tracy wrote: "This does look very interesting so I got on the list at the library. There is 8 people ahead of me so it must be popular at the moment and will take me 3 months to get."

It's very po..."

I see that David.

Laura wrote: "I guess I really did not notice all the hype about this book beyond seeing the title pop up at times. I kept thinking it was either about a mysterious circus or some mysterious cruise ship.
I decid..."

Glad to know the audio is good Laura. That is the only way I have been getting through books lately.

I'm on page 280 and although I'll finish it, it's just too fantastical for me. Not really my cup of tea.

I can't figure out Julian at all. I did get to some pretty cool twists so maybe I'll enjoy it more now.

I'm almost finished, Karen. Personally, I enjoyed the earlier parts of the book. Not only did I feel the writing was stronger, but the hook for me has been better than the execution. I know a lot of readers have loved this one, and I'm not quite done so hopefully my opinion changes by the end. But so far, we're in agreement. As usual LOL

I just finished up with with it. I really enjoyed it, but I do think it was a bit overhyped.

I finished and it was ok for me. I don't think I'll be reading the sequel though.

Glad I read it though! It is a gorgeous book and will look great on my shelves! :)

I finished it!!! I agree, it was okayyyy, but I'm probably done with the series...

I finally got to this book, and OMG!!! This was at least a 5 star read for me!! I absolutely loved it!! I'm surprised by all the negativity. I think too many readers today overthink everything they read, instead of just reading the book and enjoying it. (It's the same with TV) I'm constantly hearing, "there's no way that could happen" "instant love is too hard to believe" and so on. Really? Maybe these readers should be reading non-fiction. They definitely should probably not be reading YA! I mean, I grew up reading fairytales as a little girl and they had total instalove. But those stories still hold a special place in my heart. Same thing with fairytales, there are a lot of things that could never happen or are just not believable, but millions enjoyed them just the same...and still do. If you want to read something, but it has to be totally believable and not over the top, and absolutely no instalove...maybe YA is the wrong genre for you.

Donna wrote: "I finally got to this book, and OMG!!! This was at least a 5 star read for me!! I absolutely loved it!! I'm surprised by all the negativity. I think too many readers today overthink everything they..."

Hear, hear Donna...completely agree with you on this one :) If I wanted it to be "real", I'd just live in reality. Books, movies, etc are escapism to me to a point at least.

Instalove--I always hate this term. I think what people forget is how it feels to be infatuated with someone as a teen. What we are reading in YA isn't usually "deep love", but a crush or infatuation. So I don't mind instalove much, as long as it fits as a crush, not a deep romantic feeling. Those come later. Sometimes a teen character will confuse those in a book.

But yeah, for the most part, I want to be entertained. I do like the writing to be somewhat decent in a read. If the writing is terrible, then I probably won't like the book.

I'm glad you enjoyed it, Donna :) But I also don't think there's anything wrong with other readers expressing their opinions, even if they're different than my own. And I do think YA literature has a very broad spectrum these days, from more realistic fiction (even within the fantasy genre. For example, I'm loving the Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom books) to ones that are more fantastical. In other words, there's a spectrum, and just because someone didn't enjoy Caraval as much (like me and Karen, for example), doesn't mean I don't love a lot of other YA fiction immensely.

As far as instalove goes, I have no issue with it, so long as the connection feels real and not just forced by the author in order for the book to include "romance" for marketing purposes. In this book, I just didn't feel the connection as deeply as other readers might have felt. Again, I find myself comparing it to Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom, in which the writing and romance feels so perfect that perhaps it's not a fair comparison!

I'm really excited you and Jenny loved Caraval, Donna! I really wanted to love it, but it was just a little too fantastical for me. Same as Alice in Wonderland, which I also didn't like for the same reason. It's just not my cup of tea. I'm really glad I read it though because it was entertaining.

I'm like Jenny with the inst-love. I don't mind insta-infatuation, I've been there, done that myself so I get it. ;)

Karen wrote: "I'm really excited you and Jenny loved Caraval, Donna! I really wanted to love it, but it was just a little too fantastical for me. Same as Alice in Wonderland, which I also didn't like for the sam..."

Totally understand that :) Some people just don't like the fantastical (like Wonderland, good example). I myself love it, but that's just me :)

And I wasn't really talking directly about this book in particular in my above comment, I was talking more generally. I do have standards, even in YA, but for me, its mainly the writing or the writing style. If I can gel with the writing, I'm probably going to end up enjoying the book. How much would depend more on the plot and character arcs. But everyone is different in what they like and dislike. And there's definitely nothing wrong with that, like David said :)

Good discussion!

Okay, finally getting around to reading this one! Carissa and I are buddy reading it, and we just decided to chat on this thread rather than start a new one!

So I'm on page 121, or 30% and I'm really loving this so far! This is so my type of read, with the fantastical, and the mystery, and everything else! I just love mind games :)

At this point, I do think that Scarlet is being pretty naive and stupid, and I'm not a huge fan of her character. Julian is really intriguing me. But mostly I' m enjoying the world and the fantasy right now.

I'm almost done with it. The first half of the book had me wanting to give up on it, in fact I did set it aside for awhile. However, now I'm starting to like it and it's been keeping me on the edge of my seat and I'm also emotionally invested. Can't wait to see how it ends!

My 4.5 star review of

https://youtu.be/69DdrsqVvNw