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YA Review: Punkzilla by Adam Rapp

12/3/2012

7 Comments

 
Punkzilla cover
Punkzilla
Author: Adam Rapp
Publication Date: 5/12/09
Publisher: Candlewick Press
[Goodreads|Amazon]

Blurb(GR):
 An award-winning writer and playwright hits the open road for a searing novel-in-letters about a street kid on a highstakes trek across America.

For a runaway boy who goes by the name "Punkzilla," kicking a meth habit and a life of petty crime in Portland, Oregon, is a prelude to a mission: reconnecting with his older brother, a gay man dying of cancer in Memphis. Against a backdrop of seedy motels, dicey bus stations, and hitched rides, the desperate fourteen-year-old meets a colorful, sometimes dangerous cast of characters. And in letters to his sibling, he catalogs them all — from an abusive stranger and a ghostly girl to a kind transsexual and an old woman with an oozing eye. The language is raw and revealing, crackling with visceral details and dark humor, yet with each interstate exit Punkzilla’s journey grows more urgent: will he make it to Tennessee in time? This daring novel offers a narrative worthy of Kerouac and a keen insight into the power of chance encounters.


Review:

I’d basically like to hold this up to all those people in camp “YA has abandoned boys” as an example of how YA has…you know…not abandoned boys.  Of course, that might be problematic because I’m pretty sure that that particular camp shares a lot of members with camp “YA is too dark.”  And this book is plenty o’ dark.  Or at least, it certainly contains the hallmarks of what those lovely campers like to label as “dark”.  This book contains drug use, violence, sex, parental abandonment, cancer, and a very realistic portrayal of what life is like for a runaway teen.  I honestly kept putting down my kindle every few chapters while reading this and thinking – is this really YA?  But yes, the silver embossed P on the front assures me that it is.  I think what astonished me the most about this book is how positive it is – even with all of those “dark” themes – this book feels hopeful and sweet.

Too often I find that books featuring “troubled boys” are not about troubled boys at all.  They’re about boys who are kind and gentle and good and oh, if the world could only see things from their point of view then they wouldn’t be so misunderstood and blah blah blah – it’s as if there’s this belief that genuinely violent, troubled boys are not deserving of sympathy.  I think it was incredibly brave of Adam Rapp to give us a boy who does live rough, use drugs, and who has (like pretty much all of us) not escaped his childhood without real scars.  He has been discarded by his parents, abused and misused, and he survives by committing acts of violence.  He is that boy that so many in our society would spare one glance to and summarily label completely beyond redemption. 

I was surprised by how attached I became to Jamie (Punkzilla to his friends).  On the surface he’s a fourteen year old uneducated, violent thug coming down from his first meth hit, on a greyhound bus trying to get to his older brother.  Perhaps he’s a bit of that under the surface as well.  But just like every uneducated, violent thug out there, he is more than just a collection of his worst attributes, and this book really challenges the reader to sympathize with him. And that is why this book is so powerful to me – it rings so true.  Maybe there are one or two people out there who are just one hundred percent evil with no redeeming qualities, but I think that most of us have layers.  Jamie is also insecure and intelligent and lonely and compassionate and a very loyal brother.

I also was really blown away by Adam Rapp’s writing.  It’s bright and messy and fluid.  He captures the voice of fourteen year old Jamie perfectly in letters – they’re cluttered and painfully honest, full of Jamie’s bravado in the face of terrifying circumstances and the fear and grief that he can’t quite cover up.  Through letters from Jamie, Jamie’s parents, his brother, friends, and military school teachers, Adam Rapp gives us a very panoramic view of Jamie’s life and circumstances.  I was held by this book from beginning to end.

Perfect Musical Pairing
The National – Bloodbuzz Ohio

This was actually one from Noelle’s playlist last month, and it’s also one of my favorite songs from The National.  (I’m still hoping there’s a zombie book that I can assign this one to someday!)  Maybe I’m interpreting the lyrics incorrectly, but to me this song is about drug-fueled nostalgia.  The speaker is taken back to memories of his hometown, but they aren’t happy ones: “I never thought about love when I thought about home.”

4/5 Stars
Readventurer C Signature
7 Comments
Maja
12/3/2012 05:24:26 am

This is a book about a boy WITH ISSUES? And he is troubled underneath the surface, and not just a misunderstood teddy bear? Surely that can't be true. Well, color me surprised.

This whole 'boys in YA' business is frustrating beyond belief. To be honest, I'd never even heard of this one before, despite it being a Printz Honor, probably because it doesn't have a girl in a dress on the cover.
It sounds wonderful, Catie.

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
12/3/2012 08:15:24 am

It was really great, Maja. I bought it on impulse (thanks to the bargains posted by the ladies over at YAA) and ended up reading it over a day. It's pretty short and it moves along quickly. And yes, the MC is not just a misunderstood nice boy. Definitely a wonderful read!

Reply
Noelle link
12/6/2012 03:56:56 am

Catie--I too fell for the $1.82 hardcover impulse purchase! I'm glad this turned out to be a good investment. I'll have to dust mine off my shelf soon!

Cassi Haggard link
12/3/2012 09:49:18 pm

This just sounds excellent and exactly like what I like to read. Like Maja, somehow I haven't heard about this book before either.

Reply
Heidi link
12/3/2012 11:12:57 pm

I love The National. That voice!! * Mesmerized*

All of those in the YA has abandoned boys camp aren't just not looking hard enough, they're not looking at all. They're only seeing what's put in front of them. Though yes, they're also often in the too dark camp. My jaw about hit the floor when my Grandmother, who was a LIBRARIAN said she thought Hunger Games sounded too dark for teens and that they shouldn't be reading it (she didn't read it herself, of course).

Anyway, freaking yay for a book with an actual troubled boy and not one who's just an introvert or some other mundane personality we as a society just can't seem to understand. I hadn't heard of this one before either.

Reply
VeganYANerds link
12/6/2012 06:49:08 pm

Wow, this sounds like a really intense read, Catie, but I am so happy to hear that it's realistic because this sounds like the story of so many people, in every country.

Wonderful review, I'm going to track a copy down.

Reply
Heidi link
12/8/2012 02:40:06 am

This is a fun idea. I will be interested to see how the reads turn out for you all. I see Maja recommended a Seanan Mcguirre ( Mira Grant) no surprise there but I am surprised she didn't recommend an Ann Aguirre. Happy Reading ladies!

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