First Rule of Punk

The First Rule of Punk
Celia C. Perez
Viking, 2017 336 pages
Grades 4-7
Realistic Fiction

Malu is uprooted from her home and beloved father to move with her mother across the country to Chicago. Malu is an avid punk rock fan, thanks to her record store owner father, and enjoys making zines, a pastime from the 90's also picked up from Dad. As a biracial girl, she has never related to her Mexican side, much to the dismay of Mom, whom she refers to as "Super-Mexican”. At first hating school, Malu makes some unexpected friends, as well as a few enemies. Together with her new band of misfits the crew decides to start jamming together by forming a punk band and then perform at the school's yearly talent show. After working hard on learning a few key songs, The Cocos are ready to audition, only the vice principal does not think that punk rock is the image that the school wishes to project. The Cocos must come up with "plan B" without letting the disappointment and pressure tear them apart. Malu learns some truths about herself, all while finally exploring her Mexican side and turning it, well, punk rock.

Perez offers a debut novel with a lot of heart and, certainly, plenty of spunk. Malu's passion and enthusiasm for her favorite kind of music and living life in general is infectious. Scrappy and tenacious, she marches to the beat of her own drummer and isn't afraid to present her true self to the world, which is very unusual for middle school. At 336 pages the book seems long, but much of it is the incorporated zines that Malu creates, reflecting the subject matter of the chapter previous. The zines are interesting and creative and work to keep pages turning quickly, all while, perhaps, inspiring other young people to develop their own zines. Being punk is being true to yourself and fearless and Malu and her buddies demonstrate that they have the grit to be truly punk, all while incorporating Malu's Mexican heritage, which she eventually learns to appreciate. All turns out satisfactorily in the end, if not unrealistically perfect, and the reader knows that the characters will be alright. Great for classroom use, book discussion and pleasure reading. It makes me want to haul my tired bones up to the attic to drag out my old Sex Pistols and Clash records, um I mean vinyl. Highly recommended and inspiring.