Reviews with content warning for Death - Punk 57: Indigo Exclusive Cover

“They were perfect together. Until they met.”

I've been eager to dive into "Punk 57" for some time now, as Penelope Douglas has become my go-to author for comfort reads, pulling me out of reading slumps with her captivating narratives. Her adeptness at crafting stories within the realm of bully romances and enemies-to-lovers dynamics is truly remarkable, making her books an indulgence for fans of this genre, me included.

I’ve enjoyed getting to know both of the main characters in “Punk 57”. Although written from a dual point of view, “Punk 57” is primarily through Ryen’s POV whose depth and evolution throughout the book are expertly portrayed. Ryen’s character is portrayed in two different ways – one as a nerdy, geek-chic girl who is “one of the good ones” and helps the underdogs of the world. The other is the persona she adopts and shows to the outside world. Due to her own personal trauma and bullying as a child, she became one herself as a way to cope with the pressures of being accepted. Alongside Ryen is Misha, a character whose emo charm and tortured soul captivated me from the start. His descent into revenge adds a layer of intensity to this storyline. This could potentially be discomforting for some readers due to its portrayal of intense bullying.

It is hard to root for Ryen as she is not your typical hero. She does some pretty awful things in this book that go along with the underlying theme of acceptance and peer pressure. Ultimately, we would see Ryen’s evolution into the kind person she would like to be, regardless of outside opinions and influences. With Misha, you just want him to make better choices, but grief is a tricky thing, and he also must learn forgiveness and self-acceptance.

Although "Punk 57" didn't quite top my list of favorite Penelope Douglas books, it served its purpose as a refreshing palette cleanser. If you have read the Fall Away series already, this might disappoint in comparison. I couldn’t connect with Ryen and Misha on the same level I did with Tate and Jared. Nonetheless, this was an easy and quick read for me. I would recommend that readers check the trigger warnings as this does include intense bullying and sexual content.

3/5 Overall
3.5/5 Spice

Content Warnings:
- Heart Attack
- Depression
- Self-Hate
- Vandalism
- Bullying

Content Warnings

hannah_lilli's review against another edition

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lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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samantha914's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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clareasday's review against another edition

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tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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jasfieldx's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Punk 57… what can I say, this book has been on my TBR for at least 2 years and after mixed reviews and putting it off I finally bit the bullet and jumped in.

This book takes you on all sorts of twists and turns that really aren’t expected! There is a lot of suspense and tension built up within this book and a lot of wtaf moments that, tbh I’m not entirely sure were very relevant to the story line and the book may have flowed slightly better without so many paths that the characters went down

The spice in this book was good, it wasn’t too cringe and didn’t happen on every single page so when if did happen, it was creating a moment between Ryen and Misha that made their relationship feel special and created depth between them.

3 stars because it’s a good, fast paced book with a good storyline, likeable FMC but the book has some flaws like the MMC romanticises fairly toxic behaviours from the start that don’t really improve until the end of the book, the bullying across the board just isn’t really needed and the ending is just a bit flat but, I’d still recommend this book because I did enjoy reading it and will be reading more from Penelope Douglas soon

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charliebites's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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lancy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

The book was good loved the character development but most sense made me tense up a bit or were to uncomfortable scene that made me realize how much I hated men but overall it was a Good book donnot recommend for kids under the age of 13 -15 ...yeath the scenes are too graphic

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