The Carnival at Bray
The Carnival at Bray is a young adult novel by Jessie Ann Foley. The book was an Honor Book shortlisted for the American Library Association's Michael L. Printz Award for literary merit in 2015. The association's young adult division also named the book one of the 10 "Best Fiction for Young Adults" and had short-listed it for the 2015 William C. Morris Award for debut novels for young adults. The manuscript had previously won multiple contests. It was published after being entered into a contest to solicit submissions to Elephant Rock Books, and  became the first young adult novel published by the small independent publisher An earlier manuscript had won the Chicago Reader annual fiction contest. Reception. Kirkus Reviews gave the book a starred review, saying "The narrative subtly and carefully interweaves peer and family drama...with the highs and lows of the grunge music scene, from the transformative glory of a Nirvana concert to the outpouring of grief around the death of Kurt Cobain." Chicago Reader named "Carnival of Bray" on its list of favorite books of 2014, describing the book as "a lovely coming-of-age story set on the northwest  side and in Dublin, which got its start five years ago as the winner of our annual fiction contest". It was a finalist for the 2015 Chicago Writers Association Traditional Fiction Book of the Year.