Punk Like Me

A queer coming-of-age story, about best friends, first love, family conflicts, and following your heart

It’s the 1980s and punk rock is blowing up in New York City. Young people from all five boroughs flock to CBGBs in Greenwich Village to see the latest band and be a part of the scene. On Staten Island, just a ferry ride away, sixteen-year-old Nina Boyd is into punk rock and comic books. She plays guitar, is a straight-A student, a champion swimmer, and is in love with her best friend.

But her best friend Kerri is a girl, and Nina knows her family would never approve. They’ve sent her to a conservative Catholic high school and they’re already suspicious of any of her friends who aren’t straight enough. As Nina’s crush grows stronger, she must choose between her family’s dreams for her and her own.

A powerful, emotional queer graphic novel about navigating rejection from family while figuring out your dreams.

JD Glass is a first-generation Latina author, an artist, a musician, and a recipient of the Stonewall Honor from the American Library Association as well as a Lambda Literary Award. JD lives on Staten Island in New York City with their partner, Kris Dresen and their two dogs.

Kris Dresen is an accomplished comics artist who has been recognized with Eisner and Ignatz Award nominations, and a Xeric Grant. Kris’s work has been included in the Lambda Literary Award-winning anthology No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics. Kris also works as a book designer and an art director, and lives with her partner JD Glass in Staten Island, New York.