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The Carnival at Bray
By Mary Cosola,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Teen transplanted to Ireland finds her way in moving tale.
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Based on 1 parent review
Not appropriate for 14 year olds as rated
What's the Story?
Maggie Lynch has lived all her 16 years in Chicago. Her mother, Laura, who has cycled through boyfriends nonstop since Maggie's dad left the family years ago, decides to move Maggie and her sister to the seaside town of Bray, Ireland, where Laura's newest boyfriend has a job offer. THE CARNIVAL AT BRAY follows Maggie's attempts at making friends, finding love, dealing with a dysfunctional family, coping with loss, and taking risks. When she moves to Bray, Maggie must leave behind Grandma Ei, who has helped raise her, and Uncle Kevin, a musician who has taken on the job of Maggie's social and cultural educator. The book is set in the early 1990s, and the grunge music scene provides a backdrop and soundtrack for Maggie's life. Her world is rocked by bands her uncle loves and introduces her to, such as Nirvana and the Smashing Pumpkins. In Bray, she has a hard time making friends but finds unlikely friendship with the town's oldest citizen, Dan Sean. Eventually, she connects with a boy named Eoin and learns that many other people are coping with family drama and heartbreak. When she's faced with a tragedy, she takes off on a European musical pilgrimage that has her hanging out with freewheeling bohemians and getting into risky situations.
Is It Any Good?
In The Carnival at Bray, author Jessie Ann Foley paints an honest and moving portrait of the turmoil faced by a teen raised in a dysfunctional family. Maggie's mom drinks too much, has a quick temper, and goes through one boyfriend after another. Maggie's encounters with the opposite sex are mostly depicted in a realistic way, except for the beginning of her relationship with Eoin. They barely speak and hardly know each other before they're kissing. This kind of "insta-love" is jarring and out of place in an otherwise realistic novel. Maggie's grief over a tragedy and her rage at her mother are palpable. Her journey to Rome to fulfill a promise is a thrill and an object lesson in flying by the seat of your pants.
Foley's writing is beautiful and descriptive, and the dialogue rings true. The book shines a light on why many people turn to drugs, alcohol, and sex to combat deep-seated unhappiness. The concert scenes accurately capture the excitement of discovering music that speaks to you and sharing that euphoria with a crowd of strangers. The ending, however, feels rushed and disappointing. After so much action and anguish, Foley only gives us a paragraph followed by a brief epilogue to tell readers what happens. The book has a serious time line error regarding Kurt Cobain's death and the subsequent cancellation of Nirvana's European tour. It also has continuity errors regarding Eoin's academic situation and the status of his and Maggie's relationship at the end.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about disagreements. How does your family settle differences, or do they deal with them at all? Can you think of ways of discussing and dealing with family issues before they become huge problems?
Do you think the media mythologizes musicians who die young, even if their deaths are due to drugs or suicide? Why do you think this happens?
Do you have a list of essential books you think everyone should read? Or bands you think everyone should listen to? What about bands you aspire to see and books you aspire to read one day?
Book Details
- Author: Jessie Ann Foley
- Genre: Coming of Age
- Topics: Adventures , High School , Music and Sing-Along
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Elephant Rock Productions, Inc.
- Publication date: October 1, 2014
- Number of pages: 235
- Available on: Paperback, Nook, iBooks, Kindle
- Award: ALA Best and Notable Books
- Last updated: January 27, 2019
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