The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Perez

How I Heard About It:  There are many books that are discussed on Twitter, but this one in particular has really been chatted about.  After seeing so many positive "tweets" I knew it was time to order the book.  I read it as my 19th book of my 21 Day/21 Book Challenge.  

What It Is About:  Malu has a lot on her plate.  She has just moved to Chicago from Florida with her mother.  Her musical father is back in Florida running his music store.  Malu takes after her dad and embraces her uniqueness and love of "punk" music.  She isn't so thrilled about celebrating her Mexican background on her mother's side.  On her first day of school, she ends up violating the school dress code and getting on the wrong side of the "popular" girl.  Malu refuses to compromise who she is.  She keeps hoping she will find her people.  It takes a bit of work, strength, and risk; but she finds three other students who are willing to share her love of music.  They audition for the school talent show, but are NOT accepted.  The group of musicians decide to form their own show on the side.  This comes with some positives, negatives, and a few consequences.  Malu keeps true to herself while navigating some new territory.  

What I Thought Of It:  I sat on my front porch on Friday and pretty much read this entire book.  I loved it.  No only was the strong great, but the "zines" that were included throughout the book were interesting and fun to look at.  Zines were not something I knew about so it was great to learn about them.  They may be something I try to incorporate into my own classroom.  Malu was an awesome character and such fun to read about.  Lots of great life-lessons and I'm all about those.  I can now see why so many readers are talking about this book.  This will be an important book for not only certain students, but all students.  

Who Should Read It:  I can see readers in third grade and above getting a "kick" out of this story.  There are so many elements that will appeal to the middle-grade reader:  awesome characters, fast plot, mean bullies, and so much more.  Not only would individual readers be great, but this would also make for a wonderful read aloud in grades three through six.  When we talk about needing diverse books in our classrooms, this one fits the bill.  Happy Reading!  

Rating:  4 STARS out of 5 Stars