PUNK 57

by Penelope Douglas

Star Rating 4/5

I really wanted to dislike this book. After reading mixed reviews I was really unsure what to do. At one point, I was even going to send it back but in the end, I thought “lets give it a go” and to be honest, I am so glad I did, as it was (surprisingly) a good read. I really enjoyed it.

Again another romance book about two high school teens falling in love. For 7 years, they have written letters to each other but when Misha (the boy) bumps into Ryen (the girl) she’s not what he’s imagined nor what his letter portrayed her as. In fact, she’s a bit of a shallow, mean girl!

I quite liked how the characters grew. Misha was quick witted and confident, where underneath the tough exterior Ryen was the complete opposite. I did like that about the book. I always think that if there is a good storyline and likeable characters, then a book is worth your time. And this did. Some of the plot was quite predictable and I had already worked out the ending well before. But it was nice, getting up to that point and following their journey through.

I’m not a fast reader and I have ‘life’ things to do but I flew through this book in 3 days. That is how easy a read it was. Not a hard read at all.

I sure what made me reluctant initially was that it was a YA book and I’m in my 40s so not my usual genre but after checking out some great reviews on You Tube and loads of people saying Penelope’s books are worth a read! As mentioned, I’m so glad I’ve read it. I don’t think it would be in the my top 5 this year but it was surprisingly a quite enjoyable read. I’ve even downloaded another of Penelope’s books – Birthday Girl – to read which I will also be reviewing in the future.