The Punk Factor

This Beats Perfect #3

by Rebecca Denton

' THE PUNK FACTOR is a kick ass story that will grab your heart in a fierce punk rock grip and not let go. I loved it!' Jennifer Mathieu, author of MOXIE

Seventeen-year-old Frankie is obsessed with what everyone else is thinking. She can keep up with the chat - from feminism to tattoos - but when it comes to her own ideas, it's not so easy to hide her lack of confidence. But there is one personal obsession she can't deny - her art student drop-out ex boyfriend Doc.

With the help of her best friend, Haruna, Frankie forms a punk rock girl band to attract his attention. She's got it all sorted; the Instagram page is live, the handmade posters are everywhere, and the band even has a first gig lined up (even if they are playing to a handful of retired bingo fans). But in her efforts to make the band a success and get Doc to notice her, Frankie starts to care less about what Doc thinks and more about how much she loves making very loud music. She finally feels a glimpse of who she can be, independent of anyone else. Then one day, Doc decides he is going to win her back . . .

Punk is nothing without the freedom to be exactly who you want. But what if you're not sure who that is yet? Can you make your own noise when everyone else seems so much louder than you?

'Punk rock is just another word for freedom' - Patti Smith

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction, Music

286 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 6, 2018

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full Disclosure I'm Interning at the literary agency who reps Rebecca, so i received this copy because I asked nicely for it.

This was my first Denton book and I loved it. It was fresh and funny and very original.

As I read a lot, perk of the job, I can usually see where a plot is going, but instead I got caught by surprise repeatedly. Even though it was bit rough at times (a perfectly acceptable amount), overall it was an really positive and uplifting story, feminist in the best way and it fucking rocks hard.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flipping brilliant writing and story again from an author whose getting better and better. I think any of her books would make a great but gritty teen flick. I loved that the main character was difficult. I identified with her a lot!

[Nicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the words of Patti Smith and according to Frankie Punk Rock IS just another word for freedom. That's exactly what she's doing - expressing HER views, HER thoughts, HER freedoms. She's frickin awesome! I think so many teenagers could relate to her - she's so goddam realistic it's not funny. We all know someone like Frankie. Especially the swag, the over compensating to overcome the lack of confidence, the need to impress, the bulldozing through life, the blagging and fibbing. I LOVE HER. And I love the relationship she has with Haruna, her BFF - and that they pull this Punk thing off together. Read it. Immediately. And the author clearly knows her stuff when it comes to music - such an impressive punk soundtrack.

[Atlas · Rating 3 out of 5]

"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.

Read more of my reviews of my blog: http://atlasrisingbooks.wordpress.com...

[Kayleigh | Welsh Book Fairy · Rating 2 out of 5]

— 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 —

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: The Punk Factor
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: Book 3 of This Beats Perfect
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫(𝐬): Rebecca Denton
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: YA
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 6th September 2018
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 1.5/5

"'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. 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. As this is a series, perhaps the other books in the series are a lot better.

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

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[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

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!

[Falynn - the TyGrammarSaurus Rex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first 80 pages of this a while ago - early October maybe? - and then put it down on the side-table and never bothered picking it back up again.

Yesterday, I thought I'd better finally finish it or put it away. Two hours later, I'd finished and loved every minute of it. I guess I must have just been in the wrong headspace for it when I first tried it.

Although the blurb talks about Frankie's emotional journey, the main heart of the book (for me) was the other POV character, her best friend Haruna, and everything she goes through - escaping her (emotionally) abusive step-father and learning how to stand on her own two feet.

My only disappointment is that I can't go to a SEVEN gig!

[Lola · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favourite of the serie so far, how music can give you hope in dark times and literally change your life
And once again, a super playlist

[Kirsty · Rating 2 out of 5]

a case of it's me not the book I think. I didn't like the main character at all which meant I didn't get on with the story like I had the previous two novels. Ultimately not a bad read storywise and I did like the cameos from characters from previous novels.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel as though this book held up a mirror and took me back to my teenage self. Although not quite as gobby and slick with the deal-making, I could completely relate to the character of Frankie, and I'm sure plenty of girls will recognise themselves in her. It's almost a rite of passage (for girls who engage in f/m relationships at least), where you find yourself trying to be someone completely different in order to impress someone who ultimately proves to be totally not worth it. It was brilliantly told without ever falling into the trap of being judgemental. This is the age where we make these mistakes, and that's okay so long as we learn from them. Haruna's arc was a completely different story. All my maternal instincts came out in force. I just wanted to sweep her up, make her a cheese toastie and a cup of tea, and tell her could stay in our spare room as long as she wanted. It was a great read and I'll be going back to read the first two in the series.

[Supinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in the second person narrative from both protagonists, Frankie and Huruna, POV; the plot is predictable delivering easy pay offs with obvious signposts. The story is believable with actions and events one would associate with London drug taking teenagers, however, there is little empathy built for the characters. I did not care for their rates or really understood the motivations for their actions. A plot device thrown in at the latter part of the book has the reveal that Huruna's father if From Japan - this reads as an awkward afterthought in the author's plotting of the story.
A reasonable but unremarkable read that gives an authentic insight into the lives of London teenagers.

[Chelsey with a y · Rating 1 out of 5]

I remember really enjoying the first book in this series so downloaded the audiobook for the second two. The second book was ok but this book I really struggled with. I ended up listening to it faster than I normally would just to get to the end faster and not waste as much time

[Jodie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Frankie was a little annoying to start with but soon began to grow on me
Wish we had a little more of Aimee's character

[Ana · Rating 2 out of 5]

cliché i'm not like other girls book but with a poser who wants to form a band to get back with her ex