The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley

 

I can't remember which website or video I first heard about The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley from, but I do remember that it was a glowing recommendation. I ended up receiving it as a Christmas gift a few years ago. It´s been stored in my little rolling book cart ever since. The cover caught my eye while I was poking around looking for my next read last week, so I finally decided to give it a try.

The plot of this young adult novel follows Maggie Lynch, a sixteen-year-old girl living in the year 1993. She has recently moved from Chicago to Ireland with her mother, younger sister. and new stepfather. She is still trying to adjust to her new home and country as the story begins. One of the things she struggles with the most is having to leave behind her beloved uncle Kevin, who is only a little bit older than her. They were extremely close and she misses him deeply.

Eventually, time moves forward and Maggie starts settling in and getting used to her new life. She meets a boy she really likes and gets swept up in her first real romance. Just as things start looking up though, tragedy strikes. Kevin passes away and Maggie is absolutely devastated. She decides to go on a pilgrimage to a big concert in his memory, and her adventures end up teaching her a lot about both grief and love.

When I first started reading The Carnival at Bray, I assumed that it was going to be another just-okay YA contemporary novel. I was really surprised with how great this was. Foley is a beautiful writer, and her use of language was lovely here. There were several passages that felt authentically emotional and reminded me of my teenage days. Maggie was a likable and genuine character with plenty of flaws to work through. Her story of grief and healing was consistently engaging, despite the novel having a slower plot. This one got to my feelings, and it's been a long time since I felt that way about a book.

The setting of the novel was also really fun. I usually don't love books featuring travel or music heavily, but against the backdrop of the 1990s, I didn't mind it at all. This was when I was a teenager so it was very nostalgic for me. I enjoyed thinking back to a world without smartphones and Tiktok--a time when people were still buying CDs and watching cable television. I know this makes me old. I can't help it. It was a cool throwback though. The days of grunge music were so transformative to the lives of many young people living during that time period, and this novel captured those feelings perfectly.  

The only aspect of the story that annoyed me a little were it's numerous literary references. This would usually be a huge plus for me, but the book that was mentioned over and over was one that I deeply dislike. On the Road by Jack Kerouac features heavily. Both Uncle Kevin and Maggie mention reading it and drawing inspiration from its pages. I read that novel earlier this year and was not a fan, so it annoyed me a bit that I had to keep hearing about how great it was.

Overall though, I really liked The Carnival at Bray. It was a young adult novel that will resonate with both teenage and adult readers. I don't think it's one that I will want to read again (there are too many books in the world I still need to get to), but I'm glad to have experienced it once. I am looking forward to trying more books by Jessie Ann Foley in the future.

Challenge Tally

Clear the Shelves 2021: 29/50 (donate)

Total Books Read in 2021: 54