MasileinDE wrote:
▹ Punk 57 (2016) by Penelope Douglas
read: 21.01. - 31.01. | ★★★★☆
Honestly, a fairly enjoyable read. We read it on the German VP Bookclub and though all of us anticipated something completely different based on the title, I think it was a fair hit.
Overall, I really enjoy how the characters show depth. The multi-view writing offers a lot of insight into the characters and their actions without always explaining everything in grand detail. You can take their actions and often conflicting feelings at face value or you can put in a little bit of interpretation work and think about why the characters may act like they do.
There is a lot of pain and emotional turmoil in the book and while I didn't particularly like the emotional journey the book put me through in regards to my own life and past in similar albeit completely different situations, I could appreciate seeing situations like these in a different light and understanding why people act like they do. Though I never specifically lashed out at someone just to make them hurt in the hope of this hurt alieviating my own pain, I understand why people may do it. I understand why people act wrongfully to situations when they feel like their life is spinning away from them and their little semblance of power they had is leaving them. I know how intoxicating it can feel to pretend like people like you and hang out with you for your own sake, meanwhile they're mocking you behind your back and just have you around to keep their source of entertainment close. I know the anger and frustration these situations create and how you're unable to be yourself, but also cannot be someone you're not.
I may have been reading too much into the whole book though. And that's fair too. Art isn't just what the artist wanted to create. Once it's out there and people interact with it, it also becomes part of them and their interpretation. And while it may not be the interpretation the artist had in mind, that does not take away from the agency of the viewers to see the world differently and with their own past, present and future in mind.
The sex was really badly written though. I know, they're just teenagers and probably only know about sex based on porn and similarly poorly written books. But goddamn, it's just bland, repetitive and really, there's just so many times you can laugh at a guy getting all hot and bothered by someone sitting in their lap and trying to hit on that person with the most idiotic pick-up lines ever. Also, I was not ready for the whole "he's an asshole, but gosh is he hot" and "she's so stupid, but damn that body" - this just isn't my jam. I feel like either most books have a crappy representation of sexual thought, or this is just the next step in my affirmation journey concerning my asexuality.
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