A 2018 Pura Belpré Author Honor Book
The First Rule of Punk is a wry and heartfelt exploration of friendship, finding your place, and learning to rock out like no one’s watching.
There are no shortcuts to surviving your first day at a new school—you can’t fix it with duct tape like you would your Chuck Taylors. On Day One, twelve-year-old Malú (María Luisa, if you want to annoy her) inadvertently upsets Posada Middle School’s queen bee, violates the school’s dress code with her punk rock look, and disappoints her college-professor mom in the process. Her dad, who now lives a thousand miles away, says things will get better as long as she remembers the first rule of punk: be yourself.
The real Malú loves rock music, skateboarding, zines, and Soyrizo (hold the cilantro, please). And when she assembles a group of like-minded misfits at school and starts a band, Malú finally begins to feel at home. She'll do anything to preserve this, which includes standing up to an anti-punk school administration to fight for her right to express herself!
Black and white illustrations and collage art by award-winning author Celia C. Pérez are featured throughout.
"Malú rocks!"
—Victoria Jamieson, author and illustrator of the New York Times bestselling and Newbery Honor-winning Roller Girl
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A 2018 Pura Belpré Author Honor BookA 2018 ALSC Notable Children’s BookA 2018 Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award WinnerA 2017 ABA Indies Introduce TitleA Kids’ Indie Next List PickAn E.B. White Read-Aloud Middle Reader Award finalistA 2018 Boston Globe-Horn Book Fiction and Poetry Honor BookAn Amelia Bloomer List BookCCBC Choices 2018A 2018 Bank Street Best Children's Book of the YearA Junior Library Guild SelectionPublishers Weekly Flying StartNPR Best Books of 2017 Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction of 2017School Library Journal Best Books of 2017 ? "A charming debut about a thoughtful, creative preteen connecting to both halves of her identity.
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Kirkus Reviews, starred review