“Punk 57” by Penelope Douglas

“Punk 57” was a novel I spontaneously decided to read. I knew nothing too specific about the story, but still expected a certain vibe from it. “Punk 57” had everything: mind-blowing course of action, acid replies, and an amazing dynamic. Most of all, I admired the author’s risk on designing an unusual female protagonist, one which might’ve ended up being misunderstood or judged harshly. I was never a fan of the “hate-love” relationships. But “Punk 57”?! It convinced me!

Title: “Punk 57”

Author: Penelope Douglas

Genre: Romance

Trope: pen pals – childhood best friends – enemies – lovers

Recommended Age: +16-17

Star Rating: 4.7/5 ⭐

“Punk 57” is a dual perspective story, narrating parallelly from Misha’s point of view and Ryen’s. It is a teen romance, approaching a love-hate relationship between the protagonists. The trope is pretty complex: pen pals to childhood best friends, to enemies, to lovers.

Trigger warnings

1. heart attack
2. depression
3. self-hate
4. vandalism

Punk

My forever favorite details in the story were certainly the moments that formed the book title. A flawless appearance and mean words hid Ryen’s need for throwing away the mask and speaking her mind out. Her reason for becoming “Punk” was somehow innocent and poetic. She simply felt the walls were the best place to write her thoughts. Misha and the lyrics used to be her way of coping, but needing an alternative, she made do.

A difficult character to design

At the beginning of the review, I’ve said that Ryen was quite a difficult character to create. As the author mentioned at the end of the novel, readers are generally used to easy-to-be loved female protagonists. A better version of the modern girl/woman, beautiful, smart and the main interest during a whole book. Ryen was the total opposite of that. She lied, bullied and damaged some feelings for sure.

She was real, having flaws and qualities, making huge mistakes, as well. Ryen tried so hard to fix her mistakes and repair what was already broken. She was surprised on her worst, having a constant character development through her interactions with Misha, the male protagonist. Ryen did what seemed the best for her at the moment in order to “survive”. She was extremely selfish, I do agree, but her evolvement was incredible. Ryen started her “journey” from so down low and succeeded getting above waterline.

The bullying aspect

In contrast to the forgivable mistakes, I completely discourage her bullying! It is a sensitive topic, affecting many lives in unimaginable ways. I appreciated the author’s intention in transforming this social phenomenon in a life lesson through her book. Even though Ryen used to witness and contribute to bullying the gothic kid, she ended up being on his side and regretting her past actions. In this way, through meaning and talent, Penelope succeeded transforming a detail from the protagonist’s life in an anti-bullying clear message.

57

57 referred to the song Misha had been writing for years. I think it was actually the essence of their story. And I cherished the concept so, so much! It represented the moral of their story, through bad and worse, it’s them against the world. They always found the way to each other, no matter the lies, the problems or the circumstances. They were both so talented, each in their own way. While Ryen had her words, he had his music. I LOVED THAT!

This song, for me, was their happy ending. Something that encapsulated parts of them and their memories, remaining forever in the world’s bigger overview. It was unique and made my reading experience absolutely amazing!

“𝐅𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐲-𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥

𝐅𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐲-𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝,

𝐅𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐲-𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝.”

“Punk 57”, Penelope Douglas

The cheerleader

This was the deepest aspect of the book! Period! Ryen felt alone and insecure, like she was an intruder in everyone’s life. Due to her need of being validated and “improve”, as she said, her friend group, she transformed herself. She decided stomping on throats was better than nothing. Ryen surrounded herself with fake friends, who would only improve her social status. But what was the price for that? She had actually no one real in her life now.

Ryen was proud of her social status and might have actually felt good being mean. If she had been the hunter, she couldn’t have been also the prey. The cheerleader was a monster, a popular mean girl who was too afraid of being alone or facing her own actions. I see no point in doing harm to others in order to feel satisfaction and a little better about yourself!

“… 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬, 𝐬𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰? 𝐈 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.”

“Punk 57”, Penelope Douglas

Beside, it was fascinating to keep up with the contrasts between Ryen and the cheerleader. I completely played myself thinking there might’ve been a bully-bullied relationship between them. Her speaking about herself on the 3rd person was unexpected. Playing with the readers’ minds that well was stunning!

A life inspiration

During the whole book, Misha proved to be wise and really inspiring. You can actually annotate some of his good replies and you’ll have your daily inspiration! I love more than anything else finding great and life relatable quotes in my books! I know it’s a fictional story, but can’t we also have some amazing facts about life? Having Ryen’s situation as an example, there were the most perfect circumstances for the self confidence boost we all needed.

I know Ryen’s personality was not the best, but this book was able to highlight her development so well that she became a great character! I think it’s even more difficult to design a great and flawless (as building up) character when it is initially shown as an antagonist. The good parts need to be even better and surprising to compensate the flaws.

“𝐍𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨.”

“Punk 57”, Penelope Douglas

The trope

The story line might’ve been a bit more difficult to follow, but it was all worth it! The quality of this story is excellent, a novel I would always recommend! There was a rush of different information, which had to be followed saintly to understand the events.

It was pretty dear to me how the things turned out in the end, feeling constantly the presence of the unknown element. Even though the protagonists kind of HAD TO end up together, I started not feeling so sure about that:) The tension was irreproachable and really made my imagination play freely:) Even if I knew they would actually end up together, I didn’t know when or in which way exactly. Truly stunning to find nothing predictable in a story and actually be able to enjoy it as it comes.

“𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐔𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐰𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐭.”

“Punk 57”, Penelope Douglas

Unfortunately, I feel like I have to give this novel only 4,7/5 stars, because I was not that happy of the course of events related to Misha’s mother. I felt like the action was a little bit rushed, just another side detail in the overview. It would’ve been pretty fine if there hadn’t been that strong accent put on the traumas she made her children go through.

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Q&A with the readers

• Misha Lare’s real name is Misha Lare Grayson

Misha is the grandson of Senator Grayson and the cousin of Will Grayson the 3rd- main character of “Nightfall” (4th volume of “Devil’s Night” series”. He adopted his middle name, Lare, as a surname on his 18th birthday.

• Misha Lare and Ryen Trevarrow are the protagonists of “Punk 57” by Penelope Douglas

• Misha and Ryen met due to their middle school teachers that made them pen pals out of mistake.

• Misha becomes mean to Ryen because she proved to have lied to him about who she really was as personality. He felt betrayed.

• Misha called Ryen “rocks” as an insult. I hate to spoil it, but it came from the expression “dumb as a box of rocks”:) He was pretty talented in using words.

• Misha and Ryen are about 18 years old, being seniors in high-school

• You can find – here – Penelope Douglas’s official website

• You can read – here – the reviews of the “Devil’s Night” series volumes. Misha and Ryen also appear in “Conclave” (#3.5) and “Nightfall” (#4)

• If you like Penelope Douglas’s books and now want to read something else, you should try “Juliette’s Touch” series by Tahereh Mafi (science-fiction + romance), “Lux” series by Jennifer L. Armentrout (science fiction + romance), any book written by Elle Kennedy or L. J. Shen

• “Punk 57” is not about girls, but about the complex “pen pals – childhood best friends – enemies – lovers” relationship. Misha Lare and Ryen Trevarrow are the main characters of the book, which is a stand-alone.

• I wouldn’t say “Punk 57” is a dark romance, even if it’s pretty spicy. The protagonists are darker in personality and their relationship is pretty eventful. That’s all:)