This novel will probably hit people with certain hateful beliefs like a seven-hundred-page philosophy textbook to the testicles (😉), and I am HERE FOR IT. I think it succeeds brilliantly, too.

The title is a reference to both the subject of the story—Hope’s punk music—and to the genre of the novel. As a genre, hopepunk is about people working together to make positive social changes, and that’s exactly what happens in this book. Hope is angry about how Faith and Danny are treated because they are queer, and she channels that rage into fighting back against the people expressing homophobia and hate. That’s the genesis for Hope and Danny’s band, Hope Cassidy and the Sundance Kids, whose music is all about love and self-acceptance in answer to the new direction taken by Danny’s former band, renamed Alt-Rite. It’s not just Hope and the band who are standing up against the bullies around them, though. Throughout the story, Hope finds other people who help her in big ways and small because they also want the world to be a better, kinder place. Sometimes that support is completely unexpected, as when Hope’s mother agrees to take Danny in when his family kicks him out. That reflects the other major theme of the novel—the possibility that people can redeem themselves when they do something wrong and receive forgiveness as an act of healing and love.

Norton’s message of hope really resonated with me. The book explicitly calls out many of the problems plaguing the United States today, like hatred of change and an embrace of prejudice—the kind of thing that led to Norton’s previous book being challenged by a parent in a St. Louis school district in 2021. This novel is an excellent reminder that those of us who do want change can’t give in to despair, even when it feels like hate is winning. We too can fight back with H/hope. And we can make a difference, just like the people who decided to keep his book on the shelves in that district. (Woot!)

Hope is the heart of the story, and she’s absolutely terrific. Hope’s often a total mess, but as Danny says, she’s “gleefully, recklessly, one hundred percent” herself, which made me like her a lot. She can be over the top in her reactions (typical for the author’s characters), but she just feels things so hard that she almost explodes with it. I couldn’t help but root for her to succeed in changing the hearts and minds of the people in her community.

Preston Norton’s books tend toward the comic and slightly zany, and the story has plenty of funny moments to balance out the hate. (Sometimes when you least expect them, like when a certain philosophy textbook comes into play . . .) Hope herself is sarcastic and so, so hilariously awkward that she kept me laughing. Plus, between each chapter of Hope’s story is an excerpt from a lesbian sci-fi romance between alien and her android girlfriend. How can that not be fun? And yes, it’s also a hopepunk story.

This book is my first five-star read of 2022, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone except the kind of folks who go around challenging books in schools and libraries. They’re going to hate it. 😊

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

I’m still kind of processing this... I’m not even sure what to say. I can tell you that I was crying at the end. I can tell you that this was an uncomfortable read at times, but was ultimately hopeful. Wow.

I'll be honest, I couldn't put this one down! I was so excited to get this and I was not disappointed. This is a wonderful book filled with humor and heart. It reminds us that we can choose our family and that love truly binds us all.

Hopepunk is a lot like a traditional English trifle: there are so many layers it’s difficult to get all of the layers in one bite, but my oh my, isn’t it delicious when it does happen!

Hopepunk follows teenager Hope Cassidy, who’s had a hard time growing up in her conservative Christian household. She’s spent her entire life being told that the devil hides in rock and punk music, but that’s nothing compared to her sister Faith, who has to hide her dating a girl. When their youngest sister catches Faith and tells their mother, there’s nowhere for Faith to escape her mother’s judgement.

When Faith disappears before she can be shipped off to the conversion center, Hope’s family is broken up. While everyone finds their own way of dealing with the grief and guilt, Hope feels the innate need to rebel. She gets a tattoo, tries singing through the hurt at a karaoke place with her voice that’s been compared to Janis Joplin but that she’s always been ridiculed for. But when her long-time crush Danny is kicked out of his home after coming out, Hope can’t stand by and let history repeat itself—no one else should have to fear home like her sister Faith did. Inviting Danny to crash with her family leads to Hope and Danny building a friendship that could withstand almost anything—even the endless battle to dethrone the Alt-Rite hate-fuelled band that’s spearheaded by none other than Danny’s twin brother. Together, they’ll try to show the world that hope for a better future is the best resistance there is.

I wish I could go into depth about all the topics that somehow seamlessly interweave within this phenomenal novel. If you’re like me, you pick this book up thinking it’s going to be about Cassidy dealing with the disappearance of her sister and the resentment she feels toward her parents for casting out her sister for loving someone they don’t approve of. And yes, that’s very much part of this novel and the red thread that weaves through the tale but it’s also about so much more. It’s about Cassidy’s quest to make her mark on the world while her own is very much crumbling. It’s about standing up for the things and people you believe in, about fighting against prejudice and oppression, about what it means to be a good friend and even what it means to be a good sibling. It’s about finding music that speaks to your soul and the indescribable feeling of when you find the perfect song that makes every struggle, every obstacle in life worth it. It’s about forgiveness, reconciliation and unspoken feelings and riots and rage, rejection and rampant thoughts and hope being an act of resistance.

So while I’m not going to spoil anything, I’ll just point out a few things that made this the unforgettable read it was. One element, of course, is Hope Cassidy. Hope has such a distinct voice (no pun intended). She’s complicated, messy and hurting and most of all, relatable as hell. Watching her grow into her own, making painful mistakes and trusting the wrong people, losing loved ones and gaining new friends is such a whirlwind. Her powerful voice and sarcastic attitude made me fall in love with her from the very first chapter.

Second, my favourite by far was the way Norton approaches (unlikely) friendships in Hopepunk. While I don’t want to spoil too much about this story, I swear I had (platonic) heart-eyes every single time Cassidy and Danny had a scene together. How Norton managed to create this visceral bond between Cassidy’s crush who’s been kicked out by his family and taken in by Hope’s I’ll never know. But I teared up multiple times because it all felt too real. Danny’s ordeal so perfectly mirrored what Faith must have gone through prior to the novel starting and watching Hope try to redeem herself by being there for Danny because she couldn’t be for Faith will absolutely devastate readers, I’m sure.

That being said, this novel also deals with forgiveness and redemption and how unspoken goodbyes may just be the worst thing to ever happen when you lose someone. Don’t get me wrong, this book is a tour-de-force, at times funny and enchanting, but at the end it’s a gritty story about pain and what you can turn it into.

And lastly, of course, is the way Norton manages to tackle all these topics and make them fit like puzzle pieces. Despite being an atheist—or maybe because of it—I am often floored by depictions of religion in fiction, especially when it comes to oppressive ones. And even beyond religion, there is also so much discussion about prejudice and privilege and not being able to tell who’s a friend and who’s a foe in Hopepunk that was just…magnificent. Honestly, some of the twists in regard to these topics will haunt me forever.

So, whether you pick this up because of the premise, your love for music history or the badass cover, just know that what you see is not always what you get – and in this case, it’s a good thing, a brilliant one. Because Hopepunk will leave a mark on you, that much I can guarantee.

Hopepunk delivers a nuanced, thought-provoking story about a girl trying to find her place in the world as her own is crumbling around her. With a fiercely sarcastic protagonist, an unlikely friendship that will make you tear up and a love for music that transcends space and time, Hopepunk is an act of resistance you need on your shelves!

Preston Nortons latest book is more serious and heavy-handed than books I've read from him previously. Hopepunk covers so many current issues that are hard to handle on your own and this book felt like a friend that was there to help guide you through all of your complicated feelings regarding topics that are bigger than ourselves.
That being said, I also felt like the book tried to cover too much and therefor often felt unfocused. There were too many story arcs happening and that led to some falling by the wayside and loosing the attention and resolution they deserved. Especially when Hope's band members were introduced and a story that started with a path that was mostly family oriented suddenly flipped and we didn't hear about Hope's parents for the rest of the book. Astrid and Angus were so close in name and unimportance to the story itself that I could not keep them straight. I think a heavier focus on the family would have done the story better.
I still enjoyed this story very much, it felt like someone venting all of their problems and thoughts over the last few years into a novel, which led to Hope's pain and emotions feeling very raw and real

Hopepunk has a unique format with dual storylines. One is of the present day and one is a sci-fi novella. Eventually, this format makes sense, but it made the book confusing and took me some time to get comfortable with. In addition to this, the characters in the story came across a lot younger than their stated ages. This really impacted how I connected with each of them and their journeys. Despite these issues, I did enjoy the novel. Norton, the author, tackles the issue of conservative Christian households and their relationship with the LGBTQ+ community. Hopepunk is a story of love overcoming hate which is something that I felt inspired by.