THE STORY
London in the year 1976, a place and a time desperate for change. Chris, a 17 year old expat American Air Force brat is shoved into the alien world of a British private (public) school. A gifted classical cellist, Chris struggles to reconcile the focus on form, control and technique with being increasingly drawn into the vortex of raw, rebellious energy that is the punk movement. It allows him to let out pain that has been held in too long. He meets Johnny Rotten and is inspired to start his own band. When Chris is drawn into a deadly conflict with an abusive teacher, his only weapon is his music. He used to think music changed nothing, but now he discovers that music changes everything.
The book contains over 160 Black and white illustrations
ADVANCED PRAISE
"Chris Valentine will rip your heart out. Between every line of this novel, the pulsing rhythm of punk rock blasts down the streets of London. This is a story of the power of art and the courage of one person to wield that power so that justice is won."
KATHI APPELT - National Book Award Finalist
"Private School Punk is riotous and wise, the writing as sharp as Johnny Rotten's dead hedgehog hairdo. It's a mad, punk-drunk pogo dance, hilarious and deeply moving when it counts. It's also a pitch-perfect musical history, in all its chaotic splendor. I loved it!"
TIM WYNNE-JONES
- Two-time Boston Globe Horn Book Award winner
ALSO AVAILABLE: THE FULL-CAST AUDIOBOOK
- 28 actors from 10 countries bring the story to life, with music and effects.
THE ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK
- 16 original songs, available on Bandcamp and on snot-green vinyl at privateschoolpunk.com