The Carnival at Bray
Written by Jessie Ann Foley
Published by Elephant Rock Books in 2014
ISBN: 978-0989515597
Grades 9 & up
Awards: ALA 2015 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults, 2015 Printz
Honor Award Winner, 2014 Helen Sheehan YA Book Prize
Book Review:
The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley is a historical fiction novel
that takes place in the early 90s. Sixteen year old Maggie has to move from her
home in Chicago to a small town in Ireland called Bray. Her mother married a
new man, so in addition to moving to an entirely different environment, she has
to adjust to living with another person.
She stays connected to her previous home through her beloved uncle,
Kevin. Kevin is in a rock band and sends
many words of wisdom to Maggie, as well as influences her musical tastes. Maggie soon finds herself settling in to her
new home with the help of an old man named Dan Sean and a new love interest,
Eoin. Then tragedy strikes which causes
Maggie to go on a whirlwind tour of Europe ending in Rome where she sees her
favorite band, Nirvana. She ends up
finding herself along the way.
Professional Review:
Teaching Ideas:
English (VA SOL 9.4): The
student will read, comprehend, and analyze a variety of literary texts
including narratives, narrative nonfiction, poetry, and drama.
Maggie enjoys poetry and connects to a
particular poem by W.B. Yeats called, “A Dream of Death.” Write your own poem about
main events in the story or one of the main characters.
Adapting to a change in environment is a big
theme in this story. In a paragraph,
describe one or two situations in which Maggie had to adapt to her new
environment.
English (VA SOL 10.6): The
student will develop a variety of writing to persuade, interpret, analyze, and
evaluate with an emphasis on exposition and analysis.
Letter writing leads to important events in the
novel, particularly Kevin’s letter to Maggie. Choose two other characters, and
write a letter from one to the other. Think about what Aine would say to
Paddy. Or what Ronnie would write to
Maggie. Choose the characters that most appealed to you. Adapted from http://www.elephantrockbooks.com/The_Carnival_at_Bray_Study_Guide.pdf
Geography (VA SOL WG.4): The
student will locate and analyze physical, economic, and cultural characteristics
of world regions.
The book takes place in a small town in Ireland.
Students will create a travel guide of a town or city in Ireland featuring the
culture, food, and recreation activities in the area. The idea is to make people want to visit your
town.
Music (VA SOL HG.6.1): The
student will explore historical and cultural aspects of music by describing
distinguishing characteristics of musical forms and styles from a variety of
cultures.
Research the music of the 1990s in the United
States. Create a playlist using
hypster.com (or equivalent) to showcase music you think Maggie would like to
listen to.
Book Pairs:
The Absolutely True Diary of a
Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie. Like The Carnival at Bray, it’s a coming
of age tale about fitting in somewhere other than home. This book has literary
merit based on book awards and is appropriate and relevant for the 14-18 age group.
Heavier than Heaven by
Charles R. Cross. This book is a
biography of Kurt Cobain, whose band Nirvana is a prominent feature in The Carnival at Bray. This book was
recommended by Kirkus reviews as a companion.
It is accurate and appropriate for the age group.
And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard.
Though through very different circumstances, the main character leaves her home
to go somewhere else and learns to deal with life. This book is an award
winning novel recommended for the same age group as The Carnival at Bray.
The Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats,
edited by Richard Finneran. In the
novel, the main character refers to a poem by W.B. Yeats often. This collection of poetry is included because
students may want to read more after what they encounter in the book. Poetry is part of the English curriculum, and
this would be a nice way to incorporate it.
It is appropriate for high school students.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
by Stephen Chbosky. A coming of age
novel that takes place during a similar time period, this is a perfect title to
read alongside The Carnival at Bray. It is appropriate for the 14-18 age group. It is high interest because a movie based on
the book came out in 2012.
Further Explorations:
A music playlist to accompany the novel. The book centers around grunge rock music of
the 90s.
The novel takes place in Bray, Ireland. Students will enjoy learning
more about this location on their tourism site.
Readers interested in this book and the author can follow her on
Twitter.
Listen to the author talk about her novel.
The publisher’s site is filled with information about the title.
Students can visit the author’s blog to get more information on this
title and other upcoming events.
Students today may not know much about the grunge movement or how it
came about. This site explores that time in music history.
References:
Alexie, S., & Forney, E. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time
Indian. New York, NY: Little, Brown.
Chbosky, S. (1999). The perks of
being a wallflower. New York, NY: MTV/Pocketbooks.
Cross, C. R. (2001). Heavier than
heaven: A biography of Kurt Cobain. New York, NY: Hyperion.
Elephant Rock Books. (n.d.). The carnival at Bray study guide.
Retrieved from
http://www.elephantrockbooks.com/The_Carnival_at_Bray_Study_Guide.pdf
Elephant Rock Books. (n.d.). The carnival at Bray. Retrieved from
http://elephantrockbooks.com/the_carnival_at_bray.html
Elephant Rock Productions. (2014, October 29). Jessie Ann Foley, author of The carnival at
Bray [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDU1ESGgjSw
Foley, J. A. (2014). The carnival
at Bray: A novel. Ashford, CT: Elephant Rock Books.
Foley, J. A. (n.d.). Jessie Ann Foley, writer. Retrieved
from http://jessieannfoley.com/
Foley, J. A. (n.d.). Jessie Ann Foley. Retrieved from
https://twitter.com/JAFoleyNWside
Hubbard, J. (2014). And we stay.
New York, NY: Delacorte Press.
Kirkus Reviews. (2014, August 20). The carnival at Bray. Retrieved
from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jessie-ann-foley/carnival-bray/
Sahagian, J. (2015, July 7). The best of the 1990s: A guide
to grunge music. Retrieved from
http://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/angst-flannel-and-90s-nostalgia-where-to-start-with-grunge.html/?a=viewall
Visit Wicklow. (n.d.). Bray, Wicklow county. Retrieved from
visitwicklow.ie/towns-villages/bray/
Yeats, W. B., & Finneran, R. J. (1997). The collected works of W.B. Yeats.
New York, NY: Scribner.
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