Punk 57 by Penelope Douglas on December 5, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Coming of Age, Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / New Adult
Pages: 416
Format: eBook
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“You don’t have to be afraid or embarrassed. No one does you better than you. You can’t be replaced. Not everyone will see that, but only you need to.”
In fifth grade, Misha’s teacher set him and his classmates up with pen pals from a different school. For the next seven years, Ryen was his everything. She kept Misha on track and accepted him as he is. They only had three rules: No social media, no phone numbers, no pictures. There was no reason to ruin the good thing they had going…until Misha runs across a photo of a girl online named Ryen. He knows he has to meet her. But he didn’t expect to hate what he finds. Ryen has gone three months without a letter from Misha. Did he die? Get arrested? Knowing Misha like she does, neither would be a stretch. She needs to know someone is listening to her. But really, Ryen knows this is her own fault. She should’ve gotten his phone number, or picture, or something. As a mysterious vandal leaves messages in Ryen’s school, she’s possessed by the handsome new student who knows just how to hurt and heal her. But she can’t stop thinking of Misha. He could be gone forever. Or right under her nose, and she wouldn’t even know it…
I am a new fan, this is only my second book by Douglas and I am a kid with her first bag of cotton candy!! I LOVE this author and both books I’ve read by her are ones that will stick with me now that I’ve finished…those are the best kind. Punk 57 was not about what I thought it was going to be about. Yes, it had SOME of the elements the description gave but oh there was so much more. One of the “ah-ha” moments in the book was such a shocker and I was mad that I didn’t see it coming. I’d thought up every other scenario BUT that one for the why of something going on throughout the book and I’m kicking myself! I love the way Misha and Ryen connect. It’s hard not to fall in love with them both, to flashback to your own high school days when all you want to do is scream under the weight of what other people demand of you, and how it feels to find and embrace freedom. It’s a perfect albeit exaggerated capture of teen rebellion, first and ultimately true love, and the power of confrontation.
I gave this book 4.5 stars. I loved the overall story and as is the norm for these amazing stories lately, I gobbled it up in less than a day and this includes working, momming and sleeping to boot! This story is going on my favs shelf without question. I am happy to report that this author has depth and drama, smut and pain…