The Great Dempseys
by Brianna MacMahon
Genre: New Adult / Coming of Age / Romance
ISBN: 9781732405141
Print Length: 322 pages
Reviewed by Jaylynn Korrell
A deeply felt romance about true love, growing up, and choosing your own path
When Audrey Nielsen starts her first day at a new private school for New York’s elite, she has no clue what she’s gotten herself into. As a scholarship student, she makes her way from the Village to the Upper East Side to attend the prestigious Great Grey High School, where she soon meets another sophomore named Bobby Dempsey.
In many ways he is the total opposite of her, a rich boy set to inherit a hefty fortune from his family. But the two have more in common than it might appear. Though obviously handsome and insanely smart, this well-off kid is surprisingly humble and absolutely smitten with Audrey.
With plenty of people opposed to the match, as well as a few rooting for them entirely, Bobby and Audrey begin a relationship that will change the course of their lives. The Great Dempseys is a swoon-worthy coming of age romance set in the late 1970s that you should definitely check out.
This book can convince young readers that their great love is out there somewhere and remind older readers of how electric it can feel to be in love for the first time. Her main characters, Audrey and Bobby, are mature for their age. They start the book out at just 14 and 15 years old, but the two become serious quickly and don’t experience a lot of the typical turmoil that young couples go through. Their love is steady, and MacMahon’s writing style will make readers feel a kind of safety in how much their love feels like the real deal.
Still, there are plenty of things attempting to get into the way of this budding romance. As soon as I felt the waters getting calmer, an unlikely source comes in to shake things up. In this book, it’s often the families that rock the boat.
While Audrey’s family is a little too excited about their daughter dating someone so well-off, Bobby’s father feels the exact opposite. Their differing social classes is the kind of opposition that I love reading about in love stories. Mr. Dempsey has his own idea for how Bobby should be living his life before he takes over the family business, and that includes who will be by his side when that time comes.
It’s heart-wrenching to read how cruel Mr. Dempsey can be, especially because Bobby is such a well-natured person. He’d be the ideal son to any father, but he just can’t seem to find a sweet spot with his own. I gained sympathy for Mr. Dempsey thinking of how it must feel for a child to go on a different path than you imaged, but Bobby and Audrey’s relationship is so sweet; I couldn’t help but hope he would have a change of heart. His opinion plays a big role in Bobby’s life, and we root for it to change as readers.
It can be heart-wrenching, yes, but it can be heartwarming too, especially the lovely young couple and the times they connect with their chosen family. Audrey finds her way into a fantastic friend group. Together they balance out the ups and downs of the other relationships. MacMahon does an excellent job of keeping her characters grounded and not letting them get too swept up in each other. Audrey has real friendships that are of value to her, and she spends an ample amount of time nurturing those relationships—just as she does her romantic one.
These sections would be so important to me as a younger reader, learning that your boyfriend doesn’t have to be your entire world. Audrey is involved in clubs and hangs out with her friends independently while still making time for the love of her life. One of my key takeaways from this book is that some women (or girls) really can have it all. I was so impressed that Audrey remained true to herself. It is no small feat.
On the opposite side of that, Bobby finds himself a great support system in the staff at his home. His butler Charles plays the role of father figure to him, and they share a lot of touching moments in the book that help alleviate the sadness we feel for his failing relationship with his real father.
The book is set in the late 1970s and early 80s, and while we are reminded of that a few times, the dialogue can sound a bit more like modern day.
Reading this book is a whirlwind. It softens you with true love and great friends but adds the weight of parental expectations to it. The possibility of Mr. Dempsey’s disapproval is always looming but so is the possibility of a brighter future. This is the kind of book that will give young people hope that true love really exists.
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