Review Starlight
by Akira B.
Published by Viking | Penguin Random House
High spirited and vibrant, Punk Rock Karaoke by Bianca Xunise feels like an authentic love letter to the black, queer, punk rock community. Much like punk music’s fast paced energy, this story is about a 19-year-old high school graduate named Ariel Grace Jones, who thinks she and her best friends Michele and Gael will be the next big hit coming out of high school. However, their band Baby Hares, a name delightfully seeped into black culture, becomes rocky as the reality of post graduation sets in.
When their punk ideologies clash with supporting their families, jobs, and figuring out what they want to do with their futures, everything for Ariel feels like it's beginning to fall apart. Much like any coming of age story, this group of friends experience first time love and heartbreak; the struggle of balancing family life and friendships; and something closer to the black and brown music scene: the exploitation of talent.
The story Bianca weaves is an ethos of punk: being true to yourself, building community, and creating art that’s true to you. There's an authenticity that I enjoy with its nods to the black community such as naming the band Baby Hares or even scenes with Ariel or Michele being supported by their family or simply bonding with them.
What catches my eye the most, that really encompasses the punk theme stylistically, is the artistic and aesthetic flair Bianca gives the book. It embodies the 70s zine scene that boomed in the era when punk was a subculture as much as it was a genre of music. With its cut and pasted title design, intentional “imperfect” coloring and inking, and varying loose inking techniques, it’s an homage to the fun and liveliness of creating DIY zines and punk show posters. There’s even a fun back matter of a DIY zine in the world of the story.
And a book about what it means to be punk, would not be complete without all of the references to the genre. When not mentioned in dialogue, it becomes a highlight to see the mixtape introduced with each chapter or the song that coexisted with a specific scene. With eleven tracks and a bonus, on a cassette tape, it’s a full album to really bring this coming of age story together through both the music and culture.
Overall it’s a book about community and self expression that reminds everyone that whether you decide to follow the mainstream or go against it, what matters is that you’re doing what you want to do and doing it for you.
(*) - These illustrations were posted to this review with permission from the copyright owner. WildStar Press does not own the rights to these illustrations. Contact the copyright holder for more details.
We’ll see you in the next one.
Akira B.
Comentários