Sunday, February 12, 2017

Book Review: Punk 57 by Penelope Douglas

Punk 57
By Penelope Douglas
Release Date: October 21, 2016
Source: Christmas Present
“We were perfect together. Until we met.”

Misha

I can’t help but smile at the words in her letter. She misses me.

In fifth grade, my teacher set us up with pen pals from a different school. Thinking I was a girl, with a name like Misha, the other teacher paired me up with her student, Ryen. My teacher, believing Ryen was a boy like me, agreed.

It didn’t take long for us to figure out the mistake. And in no time at all, we were arguing about everything. The best take-out pizza. Android vs. iPhone. Whether or not Eminem is the greatest rapper ever…

And that was the start. For the next seven years, it was us.

Her letters are always on black paper with silver writing. Sometimes there’s one a week or three in a day, but I need them. She’s the only one who keeps me on track, talks me down, and accepts everything I am.

We only had three rules. No social media, no phone numbers, no pictures. We had a good thing going. Why ruin it?

Until I run across a photo of a girl online. Name’s Ryen, loves Gallo’s pizza, and worships her iPhone. What are the chances?

F*ck it. I need to meet her.

I just don’t expect to hate what I find.

Ryen

He hasn’t written in three months. Something’s wrong. Did he die? Get arrested? Knowing Misha, neither would be a stretch.

Without him around, I’m going crazy. I need to know someone is listening. It’s my own fault. I should’ve gotten his number or picture or something.

He could be gone forever.

Or right under my nose, and I wouldn’t even know it.


Penelope Douglas is the queen of angst. If you've read her Fall Away series, then you know what I'm talking about. With so much emotion, teenage drama, and heartbreaking romance, Punk 57 gave me everything I love in a Penelope Douglas book and more. 

When Ryen and Misha are paired as pen pals in elementary school, it's a mistake. But the pair soon finds themselves writing about anything and everything and to one another. Keeping each other sane through the ups and downs in life, Ryen and Misha learn that they really need each other, so they decide they must only stay pen pals and nothing more to avoid risking their friendship. One day, though, Misha accidentally stumbles upon Ryen and finds a girl far from the one he's been writing to for years. When Misha stops writing, Ryen is devastated and finds herself losing grasp on the person she's always wanted to be and falls further into the person she hates being. Little does she know, Misha is much closer than she thinks…

My heart. Oh wow this book. I absolutely loved Ryen as a main character. She is just so realistic and so flawed, which made this book refreshing. Ryen is not a good person at all, but she proves that she's that way because she's just trying to survive the cutthroat world of high school. She hates who she is, but she's too far in to change that. When Misha finds Ryen, it's no surprise he doesn't like the selfish, angry girl he finds. The chemistry between them, though, is through the roof and it's so hard for Misha to love and hate Ryen at the same time. Enter angst. Seriously, these characters are so damaged and have no clue how to just be happy. 

Did I mention the chemistry between Misha and Ryen? Because it was INSANE. While this book centers around two high school seniors, this is definitely more in the new adult genre with the relationship between our main characters. Ryen is at a time in her life where she doesn't know who she is and doesn't know how to be who she wants to be. She relied so much on Misha and it was interesting to see how she adjusted when he wasn't writing and when he was actually in her life. 

I was so addicted to this story and I'm upset that it's already over. I flew through this book in two days and wish I had savored my time more with Ryen and Misha. With flawed characters, serious emotions, and too many secrets to count, you have to pick up Punk 57!



2 comments:

  1. Oooh the feels I bet this would make me feel! D:

    ReplyDelete
  2. after watching your vlogs, i really wanted to read punk 57, actually i did, right away and all I can say is yeah. it is really good book, I cried a lot.

    ReplyDelete

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