First Rule of Punk Summary
Celia C. Pérez

First Rule of Punk Overview

Malu is a 12-year-old, seventh grade girl who is struggling with her self identity. Her task is more difficult because she is confused about meshing her Mexican ethnicity with her love of punk rock.and its culture. When Malu and Magaly (her mother) move to Chicago, Malu takes drastic steps to be herself and simply hopes to find a place she belongs. When she recruits three friends to begin a punk band, she believes she has found her place. However, the group is not allowed to play at a festival because they do not fit in with the principal's idea of a traditional act. Rather than giving up, Malu and the others create an alternative festival, and Malu ends up with good friends and a new understanding of who she was all along. The novel's main themes are the generational clash between mothers and daughters, assimilation in new surroundings, coming of age, peer pressure, effects of role models, and understanding perspectives of others.