Anyone who went through an angsty, rebellious phase during their teenage years likely has a deep-rooted—but not often admitted to—love for Nirvana, or more precisely, their lead singer/guitarist, Kurt Cobain. In her book, Where Did You Sleep Last Night, Lynn Crosbie brings out that teenager in all of us through the character of Evelyn Gray. But make no mistake, this is far from a Twilight-esque, teen fiction novel. Rather, Crosbie makes you feel just as strung out as Evelyn and her accomplice/lover Celine “Sadness” Black, who may or may not be a reincarnation of Cobain himself.

Evelyn meets Celine in a hospital as she is recovering from an overdose and quickly becomes infatuated. With the assistance of a nurse who gives them high doses of morphine, the pair find nirvana and attempt to hold onto that state of euphoria as they break out of the hospital and begin their lives together. Due to Celine’s resemblance to Cobain, he inevitably starts a band—Bleach, which goes on to achieve major success. Evelyn, who begins to bear more and more resemblance to Cobain’s wife, Courtney Love, then forms a band of her own. When the couple find themselves faced with severe separation anxiety and jealousy, their relationship begins to take a major toll on them, mentally and physically.

Where Did You Sleep Last Night parallels the real life stories of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love so closely, that at times it feels like we are reading right from their personal journals. It offers a glimpse of how the infamous couple might have lived and dealt with rising stardom as well as professional clashes and personal interests—usually with a combination of sex and smack. Additionally, the novel is loaded with facts and details about Nirvana, some of which are so subtly inlaid that even the most die-hard fans may not pick up on them.

Crosbie’s poetic use of language is powerful enough to make you think that the fantasies and/or hallucinations of the protagonists are those of your own inner angsty teen self. Evelyn lives a life, which these former versions of ourselves might only dream about. However, the track marks of tragedy make us comfortable observing from a distance.