In the 1980s, lots of attention was paid to the baby boomers, children of the 1960s, becoming parents, and the generation gap. The TV series Family Ties explored this gap with care and humor—the liberal, activist parents vs. the more conservative, traditional children. Once again a counterculture gap exists, this time between punks of the 1980s and their children of the 21st century. Two great recent books have dealt with these “punk rock parents.”
Gordon Korman’s Born to Rock(opens in a new window) features Leo, an uptight Young Republican who finds out that his “father” isn’t his father after all, but actually punk rock singer King Maggot of the band Purge. Through some fun but far-fetched plot devices, Leo ends up accompanying Purge on their reunion tour, and comes to discover lots more about himself, his real dad, and punk than he bargained for. Though the book includes some sex, drugs and rock and roll, it takes place off the page, and has serious consequences, making this book suitable for middle schoolers.
Cecil Castellucci’s Beige has a similar premise, if for an older audience and with a plot more grounded (somewhat anyway!) in reality. Here, Katy has always known her father was “The Rat” of the original punk rock band Suck. But her parents are estranged—her mother making a new life in Montreal, while The Rat continues his rocker ways in LA. When work takes her mother out of the country, Katy is forced to stay with her father and his edgy friends. Katy feels “beige” amid a sea of more colorful folks, but soon finds her own color. Since Katy is just 14, her transformation seems very believable, and the realism in this book extends to some sex and profanity, but high schoolers will find this adds texture and is to be expected of the characters.