I will not be giving feedback on this book as I couldn’t really get into it but I think others may enjoy it.

I found it an interesting read, but perhaps one that contains an unlikeable narrator. The character presents flaws many people have, but in a way she’s never given an opportunity to redeem herself from them; which will remove any sympathy for her.

"One, two, three, four." It was a goddamn mess - but it was beautiful

* * * 
3 / 5

The Punk Factor made me feel things. It made me hate the main character Frankie, for being so self-obsessed and lusting after her useless ex all the time, and it made me root for her. This is an angry book; for the content itself the book felt rather adult - casual drug usage, lots of drinking, sex, pregnancy, etc. - but the writing and school setting was classic YA. Definitely one for the older readers, I reckon.

"Frankie had hatched a plan, and Aimee was the poor mug who would be strong-armed into helping. This was how Frankie got things done"

Frankie forms a punk rock girl band for pretty much the sole purpose of attracting her musician, drug-smoking, good-for-nothing ex-boyfriend who none of her friends like. Frankie has never really stuck to anything, and she's crap at the guitar and bad at practicing. She's selfish and needy and wild and she felt like a real, rebellious teenage girl who doesn't really have much to rebel about - I feel like I've known a few Frankies and you probably have too.

Then there's her best friend, Haruna, a girl who doesn't know her real father and whose abusive step-father has got her mother caught up in a religious cult. She's tiptoeing around, trying to survive until graduation. Both girl's are pretty different - Haruna is definitely the more sympathetic character of the two and it's great that she gets some chapters of her own - but they are tied together by their growing love of music. As Frankie throws herself into the band it becomes less about her good-for-nothing-ex (so glad he gets thrown over) and more about freedom; as Haruna plays the drums it's about making noise and being heard. 

This is a very readable book but I reckon it will be a bit divisive. On the one hand, the cast feels very real, like real, wild, irresponsible and weirdly motivated teenage girls. On the other, Frankie comes off as brash, entitled, and mean. I liked her "arc" and I wasn't that fussed by the drinking and MDMA, but I think Haruna needed more support and more page-time. 

Also this book is part of a series but it read fine as a standalone. I have not read any other books in the trilogy. 

My thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

Thank you to both NetGalley and Littlebrownbookgroupuk for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my open, honest unbiased review.
This was an ok book. I wasn’t really that into it if I’m truthful. Sadly I didn’t enjoy it.

I received this book from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

This was... so so. The ending did improve it slightly, hence me giving it 2.5 stars, but the start was hard to get into. This is largely due to the fact that Frankie is a selfish, lazy, entitled little moron. She is not an endearing main character. At all. Her only saving grace is how good a friend she is to Ru, when she tries. She is otherwise useless. And as much as she “loves” punk, she clearly doesn’t really know what it’s about.

Ru however is lovely and needs approximately a billion hugs. I really felt for her. And her storyline for me needed more focus, and a little more support. She goes through something horrific and there’s not really much fall out shown from it other than a sudden personality change, an accident, and running away a bit. I feel that I wanted her to get the support she clearly needed. She deals with massive abuse, and just getting away from it isn’t the answer.

The punk music storyline was meh in places, but fun in others. I love music, and punk, so I did like feeling like I was at a gig somewhere, listening to good music in a little sweat box of a venue. But it’s hard to convey that whole kick ass, girls rock I punk vibe with Frankie in the lead. She’s just so entitled, even not really having any reason to be. She gets so much for free from basically having the gift of the gab. Even though later on, she is actually shown to be working on her playing, or dedicating herself to the band in various ways, so much of what she gets is on the coattails of others and she rarely seems to acknowledge that.

Overall, it’s not a terrible book, it’s not also not a great one. It’s a relatively easy read and if you can get over Frankie in the first third, you can probably handle the rest!



blog post will be live tomorrow.

1.5 ⭐
"'I used to be all snobbish about music, but then I realised everyone's just trying to do shit and putting yourself out there in any way at all should be applauded.'"

I had so many issues with this book's plot and main character that I couldn't bring myself to enjoy reading it, unfortunately. I think it idealizes damaging notions for the sake of the story, this book focuses on punk as it's main theme, but I think you can be 'punk' without the glamorizing of certain immoral life choices.

Plus, I don't think Frankie comes across as very punk, I think she comes across as a spoilt brat, to be blunt. A spoilt brat that's angry she has to put effort into her own life, and taking that anger out on everybody else except her ex-boyfriend. I mean, sure, have an attitude, but her pushy aggression was a bit over the top to look like anything except nasty and selfish.

I have so many issues with Frankie, the main character, that I can't even comprehend why the author created her in the first place. For example, at one point she is literally stalking her ex-boyfriend, I mean physically stood outside his building staring up at his bedroom and taking notes. That is not okay!
"Oh, she knew that technically she was stalking him, but since he had no idea, and no one was really being hurt, she preferred to call it stalking-lite. Or, a kind of semi-detailed staring. Really, she was just looking at his house. With notes."

If roles were reversed and it was a boy stalking a girl it would be intimidating not 'edgy', and semi-detailed staring? Really? With notes? Really? Don't glamorize and dismiss stalking like it's a normal and 'punk' thing to do.

Not only that, but at one point she goes on a date with her ex boyfriend, who, by the way, is a heroin addict, and narrates about taking an 'e' incredibly casually, then hypes up the buzz and states she would do it again. What was the author thinking. I understand that there are drugs in the music industry, but please don't romanticize them in a book for Young Adult's.

I mean, maybe I could be accused at mollycoddling YA's here, but the frustrating thing is that this book could have been so much better!

I think that Haruna was ten times more interesting. I wish she was the protagonist of this book instead; a conservative girl with oppressive parents and a heroic boyfriend she's not allowed to be with, rebelling and starting up an all girl punk band, would have been a hell of a lot more interesting and really embodied punk. Rather than the main character being a spoilt girl who gets everything handed to her by being intimidating and arrogant and calls it 'hustling' starting up a punk band because she's stalking her ex-boyfriend who is also in a band and she thinks that starting up her own band is the best way to get his attention. So tacky.

I feel like I'm ranting a lot about Frankie, but honestly, everything she stands for repulses me. She is a horrible character given 'swagger' that is supposed to endear the reader instead of making me want to burn my kindle in exasperation.

The main character and lackadaisical plot ruined this book for me, but the side characters are intriguing and their backstory's were a lot more compelling to me than what the book actually provided.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.