Kelly Dwyer (1994)
I took this book out of the library on a whim and was pleasantly surprised. The main character, an 18-year-old who is on her own after leaving her California home to start fresh in Boston, seemed very true to me. There was a lot about this book which I found myself unexpectedly identifying with, so it may not appeal to everyone as strongly as it did me. I enjoyed following Laura’s struggle to carve a niche out for herself, only to be pulled back to confront the difficult decisions of her family situation.