Most romance novels rely on a linear narrative. Punk 57 interweaves the present-tense bullying with flashback chapters consisting entirely of the letters Misha and Ryen wrote to each other as children.
This structure serves a vital purpose. Just as Misha is hating the "mean girl" standing in front of him, the reader is reminded of the innocent, brilliant girl from the letters. It creates cognitive dissonance. You root for Misha to expose her, but you also root for her to survive the exposure. Without these letter chapters, Misha would look like a psychopath. With them, he looks like a wounded romantic. punk.57 book
is the archetype of the tortured artist, but with a dangerous edge. He is intense, possessive, and angry. When he enters Ryen’s school posing as a student, he does so with the intent to toy with her, to show her that he knows who she really is—a "fake." Yet, Misha is arguably the biggest hypocrite in the story. He judges Ryen for the mask she wears, all while hiding his own identity behind a new name and a vendetta. It is this hypocrisy that makes his redemption arc so satisfying. He has to learn that the person he fell in love with through letters is the same person standing in front of him, even if she is buried under layers of social conditioning. Most romance novels rely on a linear narrative