The Carnival at Bray

oh man, I messy cried at this one. I was a little skeptical at the premise–historical fiction set in the 80s/90s sometimes just feels to me like an author being like “eh, this is when I grew up, so we'll go with that?” but here, Nirvana/Kurt Cobain felt really important to the story in a way that I think is recognizable to a contemporary YA audience while still being a separate, unique element. You couldn't just swap out Nirvana for some other band and have the story function the same. (I feel similarly about [b:After Tupac and D Foster 1583449 After Tupac and D Foster Jacqueline Woodson https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402530480s/1583449.jpg 1576318]).Anyway, more than that, I loved Maggie, and her relationship with her family and new classmates all felt so true. I especially loved her travels with Eoin and the way she's changed by the people she meets in hostels. Just–really powerful and great. A good readalike for Gayle Forman, maybe. Has some sex (realistically & awkwardly portrayed), drugs, and rock & roll, so I wouldn't hand it out to the tweens.