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A review by lobrarian
Punkzilla by Adam Rapp
4.0
Life for fourteen-year-old Jamie, better known as “Punkzilla”, has been pretty rough. His parents had shipped him off to military school because of his bad behavior; his dad is a retired military man and his mom is a quiet sometimes pushed around woman. He did not last long at the military school, and he ran away to Portland, Oregon to try and find something better. Once in Portland, he makes friends with the wrong crowd and gets into all kinds of bad situations: drugs, stealing, and odd sexual encounters.
Now, Punkzilla is making a trip across the country to reach Memphis, Tennessee where his sick gay brother is living. Peter knows a little about what Jamie has been going through, he too was ostracized from his family after coming out to them. Jamie’s story is told through a series of letters written to Peter giving the full details of not only the journey he’s on, but the ones that he had experienced before deciding to go and see his brother.
Along the way, Punkzilla meets all kinds of people and learns a lot about what it takes to grow up and how much he is willing to change. It is obvious that the life Jamie had been living was not easy; being fourteen and living free of parents comes at a cost. The letters are a vivid, no holds barred look into what Jamie-Punkzilla had been going through, and there is no doubt that some of the situations are hard to read.
Adam Rapp has written a raw story with Punkzilla. As the reader learns more about what Jamie has gone through, and how it has made him into the person who is writing the letters, it is hard to not hope that finally something will work out for him. That he will make it to Tennessee before his brother passes, that he will meet up with his family and fix things, that he will finally make a smart choice in how to live his life. As an outsider, I felt like he wanted to make good choices and do the right thing, but it was not an easy choice for him.
Overall, I liked this book. I felt that at times the language was a little jarring, but it would have taken away from Jamie’s overall voice if it were not written in the way it was. The reader should definitely be ready for gritty and raw language before starting this book. I think that a lot of boys will be able to connect with Punkzilla’s story and I personally would use it as a recommendation for teen boys.
Awards: Printz Honor (2010).
Characters: Jamie/Punkzilla, Peter.
Genre: General fiction, Guys read.
Subjects/Themes: Drugs, Letters, Growing up, Teens living on their own.
Now, Punkzilla is making a trip across the country to reach Memphis, Tennessee where his sick gay brother is living. Peter knows a little about what Jamie has been going through, he too was ostracized from his family after coming out to them. Jamie’s story is told through a series of letters written to Peter giving the full details of not only the journey he’s on, but the ones that he had experienced before deciding to go and see his brother.
Along the way, Punkzilla meets all kinds of people and learns a lot about what it takes to grow up and how much he is willing to change. It is obvious that the life Jamie had been living was not easy; being fourteen and living free of parents comes at a cost. The letters are a vivid, no holds barred look into what Jamie-Punkzilla had been going through, and there is no doubt that some of the situations are hard to read.
Adam Rapp has written a raw story with Punkzilla. As the reader learns more about what Jamie has gone through, and how it has made him into the person who is writing the letters, it is hard to not hope that finally something will work out for him. That he will make it to Tennessee before his brother passes, that he will meet up with his family and fix things, that he will finally make a smart choice in how to live his life. As an outsider, I felt like he wanted to make good choices and do the right thing, but it was not an easy choice for him.
Overall, I liked this book. I felt that at times the language was a little jarring, but it would have taken away from Jamie’s overall voice if it were not written in the way it was. The reader should definitely be ready for gritty and raw language before starting this book. I think that a lot of boys will be able to connect with Punkzilla’s story and I personally would use it as a recommendation for teen boys.
Awards: Printz Honor (2010).
Characters: Jamie/Punkzilla, Peter.
Genre: General fiction, Guys read.
Subjects/Themes: Drugs, Letters, Growing up, Teens living on their own.