Recipe for Hate

October 9, 2017
Adult author Kinsella (Fight the Right) sets this riveting murder mystery in Portland, Maine, in the late 1970s. After the gruesome slaying of two of their friends, teenage punk musicians called the X gang are targeted by an unknown enemy and by “anti-punk hysteria” in their community. The group is named after its enigmatic leader, X, best friend to Kurt Lank, who narrates Kinsella’s novel with a hard edge that befits its overall brutality (“For me, punk rock opened up this fucking huge range of creative possibilities—for my art, for my photography, for my music—and it did not give one shit, not one, if I was gay”). Compelled to defend their underground culture and frustrated by the police’s inability to solve the murders, the X gang begins its own investigations, uncovering a neo-Nazi religious movement seeking to destroy punks and other undesirables; simultaneously, Kurt and the others try to discern which adults they can trust. Tension starts high and stays there in this unflinching page-turner, which offers a fascinating glimpse into the early punk scene and a moving testament to the power of friendship. Ages 14–up.

November 1, 2017

Gr 10 Up-With a title ripped from a Bad Religion song, this book does not try to hide its punk flair. X and Kurt Blank are best friends in Portland, Maine at the beginning of the punk rock movement. Kurt acts as a Nick Carraway figure to X's Gatsby, narrating his story. Fueled by anger, music, and misfit solidarity, the boys are devastated when one of their own is crucified behind the local bar that hosts punk shows. With police who seem less than fully committed to finding the murderers, X throws himself into figuring out what is going on and uncovers a twisted plot of Nazi ideals. At times, it becomes unrealistic just how much Kurt has found out to retell this story. There are simply details that are just too specific for this trope to feel true. However, the narration plays a small enough part that the story compels readers forward through the doubts. The novel's unpolished aspect, which in another book might be off-putting, adds a layer of punk rock attitude. Supposedly based on true events, it was difficult to find any information about what those events may be. That aside, it is a story analogous to modern times and will find a home in activist hands. The violence makes it more suitable for older teens. VERDICT A compelling and jagged read, buy for the anarchists and misfits in your library.-Kathryn Kania, Pelham Public Library, NH

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2018
Grades 10-1 With the sudden murder of punk rocker Jimmy Cleary, fellow punks Kurt Blank and his best friend, X, are thrust into a conflict with a rising neo-Nazi presence in 1970s Portland, Maine. Joining them are other down-and-out teens who share a love of punk and the dingy biker bar they all call home. As X and Kurt piece together the mystery of Jimmy's death, they discover how deep the neo-Nazis have infiltrated their community. Part murder mystery, part memoir, part antiestablishment manifesto, Kinsella's book explodes off the page from the start. His descriptions of 1970s Portland, with its punk versus biker history, are captivating, as are the odd reportage-style asides that take the reader out of the narrator's head and into the lives of side characters, providing context for their roles. This is a harrowing book for sure. While there is only a small bit of graphic description, the book can be intense and includes violent scenes. Readers who can handle it, though, will find a dark and engrossing tale of punk-rock heroes fighting for justice.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)