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A review by apalershadeofwhite
Punk 57 by Penelope Douglas
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I have pretty mixed feelings about this book. The beginning was very slow and a bit unnecessary, to be honest. I felt like some of the information in the first few chapters could have been included later in the novel and bene much more effective. Douglas sets the reader up to be almost omniscient. Being given the information that we were in the beginning that the characters didn't know felt a bit like a rookie move. I think this could have been used against us and Douglas could have made us just as in-the-know as the characters and created tension, questions, and confusion within us.
I did have a lot of confusion despite this, though. Ryen; what is wrong with you, girl? The sexual attraction between the two main characters made sense to the reader as we knew their history, but taking away that knowledge makes the situation very questionable. You've got this guy who moves to a new school, called a girl a "c*nt", pointed scissors at her, and broke into her house (among other things), and yet she fancies him. Make it make sense. I was shocked at the first kissing scene and how quickly things progressed between the two! To use an over-used phrase, it went from nought to 100 so fast. One chapter they're saying how much they hate the other but two chapters later they're snogging in the back of a classroom and he's threatening to go down on her in front of everyone? No warning. From Ryen's point of view, knowing what she knows, that is so confusing and toxic; it doesn't make any sense! Very unhealthy. Ryen definitely needs therapy. Although, the spicy scene were definitely interesting; especially because most of them were exhibitionistic which made me chuckle lol. The smut is the most redeeming part of this novel, to be completely candid. However, the language was so vulgar, which sometimes made it feel like a teenage boy who had learned how things work from watching porn haha.
A lot of the characters are so unlikeable and unredeemable, which I'm sure is intentional, but it just added to the naivety of the narrative. I understand the characters are in high school, but they felt so cliche it hurt sometimes. (Although, it was satisfying to see Trey get what he deserved.) I was 100% on Misha's side in the beginning: Ryen felt so cringey, a stereotypical high school bitch. She didn't have friends growing up and was lonely, so she feels entitled to be a complete bitch when she's older? Nuh uh, missy.
One thing that made me very uncomfortable was the repeated use of the f-slur. This was mostly used towards the beginning of the book and it often took me out of my reading flow, so I was glad when it stopped showing up in the second half. However, when everyone at the end of the novel is suddenly deciding they don't want to follow the popular crowd anymore, Ryen uses the phrase "I don't want to come out of the closet until I'm ready". With this being a phrase that has previously been used to poke fun at how queer people had to hide who they were, I felt the use of it in this context - her not wanting to reveal that she is Punk - was in bad taste. Now, I don't know Penelope Douglas' sexual orientation, so I am unsure whether the use of the slur is a reclamation of the word, but the context in which it is used in the narrative is a little uncomfortable for me, personally. It felt unnecessary.
I think the playlist at the beginning was such a cool idea to set up the vibes of the book. Although the songs made sense while reading, some of the songs felt really literal and cliche. For example, when Ryen is driving to see Mason and she's listening to Sk8tr Boy or she found out a secret and is playing True Friends. Honestly, it reminded me of those old crap Instagram comedy videos were someone would be cheating on their partner and the lyrics 'these hoes ain't loyal' would play. It's not in bad taste, it's just bad haha. Also, why did it take me so long to realise the graphics were spray paint? I'm so dumb.
I did have a lot of confusion despite this, though. Ryen; what is wrong with you, girl? The sexual attraction between the two main characters made sense to the reader as we knew their history, but taking away that knowledge makes the situation very questionable. You've got this guy who moves to a new school, called a girl a "c*nt", pointed scissors at her, and broke into her house (among other things), and yet she fancies him. Make it make sense. I was shocked at the first kissing scene and how quickly things progressed between the two! To use an over-used phrase, it went from nought to 100 so fast. One chapter they're saying how much they hate the other but two chapters later they're snogging in the back of a classroom and he's threatening to go down on her in front of everyone? No warning. From Ryen's point of view, knowing what she knows, that is so confusing and toxic; it doesn't make any sense! Very unhealthy. Ryen definitely needs therapy. Although, the spicy scene were definitely interesting; especially because most of them were exhibitionistic which made me chuckle lol. The smut is the most redeeming part of this novel, to be completely candid. However, the language was so vulgar, which sometimes made it feel like a teenage boy who had learned how things work from watching porn haha.
A lot of the characters are so unlikeable and unredeemable, which I'm sure is intentional, but it just added to the naivety of the narrative. I understand the characters are in high school, but they felt so cliche it hurt sometimes. (Although, it was satisfying to see Trey get what he deserved.) I was 100% on Misha's side in the beginning: Ryen felt so cringey, a stereotypical high school bitch. She didn't have friends growing up and was lonely, so she feels entitled to be a complete bitch when she's older? Nuh uh, missy.
One thing that made me very uncomfortable was the repeated use of the f-slur. This was mostly used towards the beginning of the book and it often took me out of my reading flow, so I was glad when it stopped showing up in the second half. However, when everyone at the end of the novel is suddenly deciding they don't want to follow the popular crowd anymore, Ryen uses the phrase "I don't want to come out of the closet until I'm ready". With this being a phrase that has previously been used to poke fun at how queer people had to hide who they were, I felt the use of it in this context - her not wanting to reveal that she is Punk - was in bad taste. Now, I don't know Penelope Douglas' sexual orientation, so I am unsure whether the use of the slur is a reclamation of the word, but the context in which it is used in the narrative is a little uncomfortable for me, personally. It felt unnecessary.
I think the playlist at the beginning was such a cool idea to set up the vibes of the book. Although the songs made sense while reading, some of the songs felt really literal and cliche. For example, when Ryen is driving to see Mason and she's listening to Sk8tr Boy or she found out a secret and is playing True Friends. Honestly, it reminded me of those old crap Instagram comedy videos were someone would be cheating on their partner and the lyrics 'these hoes ain't loyal' would play. It's not in bad taste, it's just bad haha. Also, why did it take me so long to realise the graphics were spray paint? I'm so dumb.