I have mixed feelings on both Penelope Douglas as an author and this title in particular. Her books overall are somewhat hit and miss. Yes, I’ve really enjoyed some of them. Some of them weren’t it for me at all.

Punk 57 falls somewhere in the middle. I found it incredibly readable and was able to get through it super quickly. I didn’t love either of the main characters though.

In a simplified and brief overview: Our main characters are pen pals as kids, they share their innermost personas and care a great deal for each other. In their lives at school they’re complete opposites, he’s a loner and she’s the bitchy popular girl. When they eventually meet in person they don’t get on. He, being something of a misfit, is not the kind of person she’d associate with and he’s repulsed by her careless treatment of people. Misunderstandings ensue.

Honestly though, the conflict/misunderstanding that creates the initial tension doesn’t feel super believable to me. Off of that the “bully” aspect of their relationship felt unwarranted. Really, it would have been an EASY conversation to clear the air and for me the unnecessary drama kind of outweighed the good moments, and there were some! I also just found the twists and subverted expectations element of the plot line predictable 🤷‍♀️ oh well.

So all around this book was certainly not bad, but not a recommendation from me. I personally thought it was just OK. If you’re super intrigued by the premise give it a go, you probably won’t hate it and maybe unlike me you’ll be blown away!