Save Me, Kurt Cobain - Seriously, Someone Save Me!

TITLE: Save Me, Kurt Cobain
AUTHOR: Jenny Manzer
PUBLISHER: Delacorte Press
PUBLISHING DATE: March 8, 2016

FROM GOODREADS: What if you discovered that Kurt Cobain is not only alive, but might be your real father?

Nico Cavan has been adrift since her mother vanished when she was four—maternal abandonment isn't exactly something you can just get over. Staying invisible at school is how she copes—that and listening to alt music and summoning spirits on the Ouija board with her best friend and co-conspirator in sarcasm, Obe. But when a chance discovery opens a window onto her mom's wild past, it sparks an idea in her brain that takes hold and won't let go.

On a ferry departing Seattle, Nico encounters a slight blond guy with piercing blue eyes wearing a hooded jacket. Something in her heart tells her that this feeling she has might actually be the truth, so she follows him to a remote cabin in the Pacific Northwest. When she is stranded there by a winter storm, fear and darkness collide, and the only one who can save Nico might just be herself.

MY THOUGHTS:  While I hate rating this book so low, because it actually is a pretty well written book and I wouldn't hesitate to read something else by the author, Save Me Kurt Cobain just wasn't a book for me. As an adult, I have read some wonderful YA books and had no trouble feeling connected to the characters, and since this one had 90's music thrown in I had to pick it up, but it missed the mark by a long shot for me.

Nico is a 16 year old living in Victoria, Canada with her father, Verne. When she was 4, Nico's mother Annalee went out, leaving Nico alone, and promised she would be back. However, she never returned. Nico spends her days wondering what happened to her mother. She doesn't really fit in at school and has one true friend, Obe. She loves grunge rock even though it's 2007 and dresses and lives the part. Nico visits her Aunt in Seattle before Christmas and during that time, meets a man she believe to actually be Kurt Cobain...who she also believes is her real father.

I enjoyed the musical references in this book and Manzer titles each chapter with a Nirvana song. Now I was never a big fan of the band, but I know enough about them to recognize quite a few of the titles. I also loved Obe, Nico's best friend. In fact, I wish he appeared more in the book. My main problem while reading this novel was Nico herself. I know she is a troubled teen and I can't imagine not knowing if your Mom really left you, or is something happened to her which prevented her return. In addition, it did appear as if many people were holding secrets about Annalee which they probably should have shared with Nico up front. I even think it's cool she tried to learn more about her mother through the music her mother enjoyed. However, Nico came off as "bratty" to me. She didn't appreciate Verne, her actual father, and pulled some really stupid stunts in the hunt for her mother and the deceased Kurt Cobain. And while on that subject, it's great to be a fan and I've ran into some great ones in the reading and blogging community, but really...Kurt Cobain is your father? Nico's obsession with the man is a tad too over-the-edge for me. I have met some bratty teenagers in my life and I expect some teenage angst from most of them. However, I wanted to reach right in the pages and smack Nico on more than one occasion. In her search for answers about her mother, she was downright cruel and disrespectful to the people who cared about her.

As I mentioned, I do believe this is a well-written book. I think a lot of teens might like it but I'm afraid many would be confused as to all the Nirvana/90's band mentions. I will not hesitate to read another Manzer book in the future, but really wished I hadn't picked this one up when I did. 

RATING: 2 PAWS