Subject: Aidan Baker's review of 13 by Mary Lou Zeitoun

Dear Editor, 

This is just a reply about the review that Aidan Baker gave for 13, by Mary Lou Zeitoun.

Baker may have misunderstood Marnie a little.  Marnie was not all about being a punk or even necessarily liking punk music.  There were mentions of punk music and of course John Lennon and Pink Floyd, but music in 13 was a means of describing the era of the 80s.  Along with the sluttish girls and everything else part of high school life and being 13.  It was all setting description and background observation that made up part of Marnie.

The only part punk had in the novel was that Zeitoun was trying to get across the notion that Marnie was punk.  Maybe not the Sex Pistols type punk with all the safety pins and mohawks, but punk isn't all about looking the part. 

It's all about the punk attitude.  Punk is not at all about hating, it's about being free, which is all Marnie thought she had ever wanted. 

Crissandra Ayroso