The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez

The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez is a remarkable novel about a girl called Malú. Malú’s mom is Mexican, and her dad is white. Malú’s dad is practically the opposite of her mom. Malú’s mom wants her to be more like a “señorita” and a “normal” Mexican girl, while her dad encourages her to express herself with her clothing or hair and be punk. Malú clearly chooses being able to show how she feels and not have to hide her true self behind a screen.

Malú spends the last day before she has to move to Chicago with her dad. since he is divorced with her mom and not coming with them. They go to his record shop, have pizza, and watch The Wizard of Oz together one last time. When they leave for Chicago the next morning, they say goodbye one more time and board the plane.

When they reach Chicago, Malú and her mom go to their house and try to enjoy the last days of summer, at least Malú’s mom does. Once school starts, Malú gets a lot busier and strives to beat Selena, a bully, in the talent show. Malú finds a group of people and decides that they should start a punk rock band in the talent show, however, when they audition, they get kicked out for being to loud, and not “Mexican enough”. Malú and her bandmates decide to make a plan to protest the unfairness of the year’s talent show.

I thought this was an awesome book because Pérez captured Malú’s emotions so well, it was as if there were actors standing in front of you acting out the novel. Another thing that was really unique was that at the end of almost every chapter, there was a zine, a little booklet expressing anything you want. The zine always emphasized the more important parts of the chapter that you may not have noticed without it. Overall, it was an incredible book, filled with lots of plot-twists that keep you on your toes.