The Carnival at Bray - by Jessie Ann Foley (Paperback)

About the Book

"It's 1993, and Generation X pulses to the beat of Kurt Cobain and the grunge movement. Sixteen-year-old Maggie Lynch is uprooted from big-city Chicago to a windswept town on the Irish Sea. Surviving on care packages of Spin magazine and Twizzlers from her rocker uncle Kevin, she wonders if she'll ever find her place in this new world. When first love and sudden death simultaneously strike, a naive but determined Maggie embarks on a forbidden pilgrimage that will take her to a seedy part of Dublin and on to a life-altering night in Rome to fulfill a dying wish"--Page 4 of cover.

Book Synopsis

This remarkable novel, a Printz Honor winner and William C. Morris Award finalist, follows a teen during her life-changing move to Ireland. A searing exploration of grief, first love, and the transformative power of music, the book--now with a new letter from the author--is perfect for fans of Emergency Contact, We Are Okay, and I'll Give You the Sun.

Sixteen-year-old Maggie Lynch's heart pulses to the beat of Pearl Jam and the Smashing Pumpkins, but when her mother uproots them from Chicago to a tiny town in Ireland, Maggie struggles to adjust. Her uncle Kevin, who happens to be a grunge musician, is her only connection to home. Though he keeps Maggie supplied with the latest issues of Spin, she still feels totally isolated.

When a visit from Kevin goes wrong and tragedy strikes, Maggie knows that she can't let the world pass her by a moment longer. To fulfill a dying wish, she breaks her mother's rules by traveling to Rome for a concert. The journey is harder than she ever guessed, but maybe, along the way, Maggie will learn to live her life to the fullest.