Monday, April 27, 2015

2015 book 106

Jessie Ann Foley's The Carnival at Bray
Well, how could I not love/relate to the protagonist of a book who was a teenage girl in 1994 and was super into music and stuff? Not that my life resembled hers, otherwise--she's sixteen, and her mother's new husband has moved the family from Chicago to Ireland (where she befriends an adorable old man). There's a whole thing with her uncle/godfather, a super cool young musician, and there's a whole thing with Nirvana's concert in Rome (which, if you've been reading the press on Montage of Heck, you probably know alllll about), and there's obviously a cute Irish boy. (The romance here was just a touch too *soulmates* for me, but I mostly liked it.) But man, I was almost cringing when I read parts of this because Foley makes those moments so vivid--and I remember those feelings so well. Really, really realistic teenagers here, very well-done. A-.

No comments: