Legendary: The magical Sunday Times bestselling sequel to Caraval

By Author / Illustrator

Stephanie Garber

Genre

Adventure

Age range(s)

11+

Publisher

Hodder & Stoughton

ISBN

9781473629202

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

21-02-2019

Synopsis

A heart to protect. A debt to repay. A game to win. The stunning, internationally bestselling sequel to Caraval

'Extravagantly imaginative and enchanting . . . Pure magic and escapism' Cecelia Ahern

After being swept up in the magical world of Caraval, Donatella Dragna has finally escaped her father and saved her sister Scarlett from a disastrous arranged marriage. The girls should be celebrating, but Tella isn't yet free. She made a desperate bargain with a mysterious criminal, and what Tella owes him no one has ever been able to deliver: Caraval Master Legend's true name.

The only chance of uncovering Legend's identity is to win Caraval, so Tella throws herself into the competition once more. Caraval has always demanded bravery, cunning, and sacrifice, but now the game is asking for more. If Tella can't fulfill her bargain and deliver Legend's name, she'll lose everything - maybe even her life. But if she wins, Legend and Caraval will be destroyed forever.

The games have only just begun.

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What readers have said about Legendary:

'Do you know what is an absolute magical delicious delight?! THIS BOOK'

'there is nothing quite like the amazement and sensational wonder of these books'

'Stephanie Garber is a master storyteller. Just like in the first book, Legendary's magic immediately ensnares the reader'

Reviews

Legendary is Book 2 in the Caraval series and it picks up straight after the end of book 1. With another invitation to a Caraval competition. However, this time the stakes are higher. After Tella saved her sister in book 1, both the sisters should now be happy and celebrating, but this is not meant to be. The arrangement that Tella made with the mysterious 'friend' is not over and he is asking for more before he will set her free from their agreement. Tella is the reveal the name of Legend at the end of the competition, if she doesn't she will lose everything, including her life. Legendary is written from Tella's POV, which I thought was really well done. The reader gets to find out more about her and learns with her as she at times makes disastrous choices as she gets deeper into the game. Tella is a great character, one that the reader can relate too. She is much more complex and brave than she lets on. This is a girl you can root for. You get to learn so much about her past that you don't get from Scarlett's POV in Caraval. The author has included lots of returning characters, which makes the story familiar and flow much easier and even though we're in Tella's POV, even Scarlett's story continues. Yes, the loving couple, Scarlett and Julian are still around as you would expect however, we didn't get much of them, Scarlett especially was surrounded by mystery, which thankfully did come together towards the end of the book. We are also introduced to new characters that help make this story magical and mysterious. Legendary is an entirely new world, one that is even more magical than the last. New settings and new myths come to life. 416 well written pages that are suitable for 14+ confident readers due to all the twists and turns of the story. The plot however, is broken up into reasonable sized chapters, some of which contain wonderful scripted letters that add to the mystery, especially the last letter at the end of the story, which happily (hopefully) makes the reader want to continue the story in book 3, FINALE. Before you take this story on you need to read book 1. Both of which I would happily recommend. 432 pages / Ages 14+ / Reviewed by Linda Brown, school librarian.