Punkzilla

Adam Rapp

Mar 2010 · Candlewick Press

About this ebook

An award-winning writer and playwright hits the open road for a searing novel-in-letters about a street kid on a highstakes trek across America.

For a runaway boy who goes by the name "Punkzilla," kicking a meth habit and a life of petty crime in Portland, Oregon, is a prelude to a mission: reconnecting with his older brother, a gay man dying of cancer in Memphis. Against a backdrop of seedy motels, dicey bus stations, and hitched rides, the desperate fourteen-year-old meets a colorful, sometimes dangerous cast of characters. And in letters to his sibling, he catalogs them all -- from an abusive stranger and a ghostly girl to a kind transsexual and an old woman with an oozing eye. The language is raw and revealing, crackling with visceral details and dark humor, yet with each interstate exit Punkzilla’s journey grows more urgent: will he make it to Tennessee in time? This daring novel offers a narrative worthy of Kerouac and a keen insight into the power of chance encounters.

Ratings and reviews

I had started reading this book a long time ago but never go the chance to finish. Today, however, was the day I finished! It was wonderful, I felt like crying in some parts and made me feel sympathy towards Jamie.

I found this in my school library. I had never enjoyed reading a book untill i found this. Everyone should give it a chance. Marvelous book :)

That's the way to ruin a good book. Good Job Ningerbil.

About the author

Adam Rapp is the acclaimed author of several novels for young adults, including Under the Wolf, Under the Dog, a finalist for the L.A. Times Book Prize and winner of the American Library Association’s Schneider Family Book Award, and 33 Snowfish, an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults (Top Ten Pick). He is also an accomplished playwright and screenwriter. He lives in New York City.