A Lazy Reader's Review of "Punk 57" by Penelope Douglas
Synopsis
"We were perfect together. Until we met."
Misha
I can't help but smile at the words in her letter. She misses me.
In fifth grade, my teacher set us up with pen pals from a different school. Thinking I was a girl, with a name like Misha, the other teacher paired me up with her student, Ryen. My teacher, believing Ryen was a boy like me, agreed.
It didn't take long for us to figure out the mistake. And in no time at all, we were arguing about everything. The best take-out pizza. Android vs iPhone. Whether or not Eminem is the greatest rapper ever . . .
And that was the start. For the next seven years, it was us.
Her letters are always on black paper with silver writing. Sometimes there's one a week or three in a day, but I need them. She's the only one who keeps me on track, talks me down, and accepts everything I am.
We only had three rules. No social media, no phone numbers, no pictures. We had a good thing going. Why ruin it?
Until I run across a photo of a girl online. Name's Ryen, loves Gallo's pizza, and worships her iPhone. What are the chances?
F*ck it. I need to meet her.
I just don't expect to hate what I find.
Ryen
He hasn't written in three months. Something's wrong. Did he die? Get arrested? Knowing Misha, neither would be a stretch.
Without him around, I'm going crazy. I need to know something is listening. It's my own fault. I should've gotten his number or picture or something.
He could be gone forever.
Or right under my nose, and I wouldn't even know it.
Review
Okay, before I get into the meat of this review, why the fuck was that synopsis so long.
This book was recommended to be by BookTok and it is the last time I listen to them. I hate when books are dubbed to be the 'best read ever' or 'game changing', because they almost never are. I hate when bitches lie.
I'm the type of person that, when I'm reading a series, I need breaks in between books. I won't burn through a series at once. That would kill me. So, after I finished reading Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, I decided to pick up a romance book. I'm a sucker for a good romance book, sue me (please don't).
I was on TikTok, as I normally am, looking for a romance recommendation under the #BookTok tag. All of the videos that I was scrolling past seemed uninteresting and any recommendations for romance books were for themes that didn't suit my tastes such as mafia or CEO. Then, I came across a video recommending Punk 57 by Penelope Douglas. I thought the premise of the plot was really interesting. I mean, what are the odds that two kids who are accidentally paired as pen pals because their teachers mistook the other for being the opposite gender which then ensues a long friendship between the two that would eventually turn into something more. I thought it was cute. And, I will admit, I am, at times, susceptible to being intrigued by the "bad-boy" archetype. What can I say? I am who I am.
So, geeked up on the promise of an interesting plot I began to read this book. It followed the typical flow of a young adult contemporary romance book, which is not unappreciated. Douglas also put her own little quirks to it by making Misha essentially homeless. Which, if memory serves me correct, was his choice. Hm. Interesting.
I thought the characters were pretty standard. There was nothing that was exceptionally good about the characters. And, honestly, it was a little bit disappointed. With the way that it was hyped up on BookTok, I thought that this book was going to redefine the genre. Silly me. After this revelation that only took me about 20 pages to figure out, I decided that I was going to treat this book as a kind of palette cleanser. You know when you watch an incredible movie, and I'm talking "5 stars give this a grammy type" of movie, you can't just jump into another incredible movie. You need a buffer movie right after. Something that you don't need to take too serious. Punk 57 was my buffer and I honestly think that mindset is what saved this book from receiving 2 or even 1 star.
Continuing on the topic of characters, I was decently surprised to find that Ryen was a pretty fleshed out character with some depth considering that, in many romance books, most female main characters tend to be one dimensional. However, her fatal flaw is what really did it for me. This girl cannot, for the life of her, stand up for herself. There's a scene where her so-called "friend" is embarrassing her in their school's cafeteria, in front of other students mind you, and what does Ryen do you might ask. Absolutely nothing. No trying to defend herself. No talking back. She did nothing. When I read this scene I let out the biggest sigh of disappointment because, in previous chapters, Ryen wasn't like this. She wasn't a meek character who would allow other to walk all over her. So, I struggled to figure out why there was a sudden switch. Misha's character was alright. Typical bad boy stuff. Can't really complain. Actually, no, I can complain. As I stated previously, I'm into the bad boy archetpye. Or, at least, I was. Not so much anymore after this book. And, now, I'm not going to sit here and blame this book for me no longer liking those types of characters, rather, I think I just realized that my tastes have changed as I've gotten older. It was this book that also made me realize that I am no longer interested in reading romances that take place in high school. Nowadays I'd prefer to read romance if it was in a college setting or a postgrad setting.
Overall, the book was fine. Nothing big to rave about but, also nothing great to point out. It had its moments and it was a fun read. But that's all.
Favorite Quote: "You want to be loved without risking consequence, so you reach out to get the attention you need while enjoying the luxury of taking no responsibility for those words."
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