Saturday, July 2, 2016

The Carnival at Bray
by Jessie Ann Foley


Foley, J. A. (2014). The carnival at Bray. Ashford, CT: Elephant Rock Books.


16-year-old Chicago native Maggie Lynch has been uprooted from her home and hauled off to Bray, Ireland with her younger sister when her mom marries a man she’s known only four months and agrees to move to his hometown on the other side of the world.  Forced to leave behind her beloved Nanny Ei and her wanna be rock star Uncle Kevin whom she idolizes, Maggie wonders if she will ever feel at home in her new surroundings.  Maggie struggles to make friends with the girls in her new school and finds the only person she can really talk to is 100-year-old Dan Sean, the oldest resident in the county.  One of the only things that bring Maggie joy are the care packages she receives from Uncle Kevin containing books, music and words of wisdom.  So when suddenly Uncle Kevin is found dead on New Year’s Day and Maggie discovers her family has lied to her about the details, she is devastated.  Armed with only Kevin’s letter to her, Nanny Ei’s Christmas money and two tickets to see Nirvana at the Palaghiaccio di Marino in Rome, Maggie embarks on the trip of a lifetime.  Along the way Maggie discovers true love and what it means to truly live.  Kirkus Review recommends Kurt Cobain’s biography Heavier than Heaven as a companion book to this Printz Honor novel and students who enjoyed The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and Timely Persuasion by Jacob Lacivita will no doubt love this book.


Book Trailer for The Carnival at Bray


Jessie Ann Foley discuss The Carnival at Bray

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