Book Review - Punk 57

Punk 57 by Penelope Douglas

They say not to judge a book by it's cover right?

Wrong

because we all do it. We don't want to but we do, and by this cover... it didn't look like something I would like. It's very pretty and eye appealing but not my style. But I gave it a change and I am damn well glad I did!!! Especially because after reading this book... the title and colors make SO much more sense and it makes me smile... like I know a secret no one else does!

Quick Summary

Ryen (who is a girl) and Misha (who is a boy) end up getting stuck together as pen pals in grade school. Throughout the years though they didn't lose touch and became each others closest friends. But now they are both at the end of high school and curiosity is getting the best of Misha, he wants to know what Ryen looks like. One night, Misha's band is performing and he stumbles across Ryen by accident but never reveals it to her. Instead, he is surprised by what he sees and ends up stopping the letters altogether.

This concerns Ryen and she starts to worry, but her worries get pushed aside when a new kid named Masen shows up to school and starts trying to rip her life apart. As you guessed, the new kid is Masen but he still never reveals his true name or intentions. Together they challenge each other to be the best self, cope with school drama, and end up falling for each other hard.

Characters

I loved all the characters, even the ones you're supposed to hate because Douglas did such a good job portraying their "character." Ryen was the most complicated character but in a good way. She lies everyday about who she is so she can get through the day and never feel the pain she did in grade school. But who she is pretending to be is a snotty brat who lets bullying slide, is mean herself, and doesn't care about people around her. Then Misha/Masen is such a carefree, "i don't give a rats ass" what you think, and cocky too. The way they describe him is a hot punk singer and while that usually doesn't interest me... it for sure did in this book!!

The other supporting characters were great too... especially in the end when things come apart but together for Ryen all at the same time.

Plot

There were A LOT of moving events in this book and while some were predictable... it was still good. I loved the idea of two pen pals meeting, family issues, school issues, and real life problems all falling together. I caught myself comparing my high school years to this, it makes you re think a lot of things.

Overall - this book surprised me to say the least but I was SO happy I read it. I didn't expect it to be as steamy as it was either... but it didn't overpower the book like other Erotic Romance novels. It was the perfect amount of hot, with other romantic feelings, and problems. It was more realistic to high school because lots of books act like kids never have sex when in fact it's a lot different than adults think.