The debut novel from Akashic's new imprint, Punk Planet Books. Also check out the smash hits How the Hula Girl Sings, Tender as Hellfire, and The Boy Detective Fails

Signed copies available via PayPal link above! Click here to read Chapter 1.

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Hairstyles of the Damned has been selected for the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers program (Nov. 2004-Jan. 2005 season).

"This book is hella good. Joe Meno manages to sink into the teenage-outcast experience, challenge segregation, and provide step-by-step instructions on dyeing hair pink in this realistic account of finding your identity. After reading Hairstyles of the Damned, I'm glad I'm not in high school anymore."
--Amy Schroeder, Venus magazine

"Hairstyles of the Damned is observational comedy of the best kind, each glittering small detail offering up a wave of memories for anyone alive in the latter part of the previous century. Did you imagine you had forgotten the smell of arcades, the allure of muscle cars, the dress codes and emotional rebellions, the cringing horror of adolescence? Beware: Joe Meno can make you remember."
--Bee Lavender, HipMama magazine

"Joe Meno knows Chicago's south side the way Jane Goodall knew chimps and apes--which is to say, he really knows it. He also knows about the early '90s, punk rock, and awkward adolescence. Best of all, he knows the value of entertainment. Hairstyles of the Damned is proof positive."
--John McNally, author of The Book of Ralph

"Joe Meno writes with the energy, honesty, and emotional impact of the best punk rock. From the opening sentence to the very last word, Hairstyles of the Damned held me in his grip."
--Jim DeRogatis, pop music critic, Chicago Sun-Times

Hairstyles of the Damned is an honest, true-life depiction of growing up punk on Chicago's south side: a study in the demons of racial intolerance, Catholic school conformism, and class repression. It is the story of the riotous exploits of Brian, a high school burnout, and his best friend, Gretchen, a punk rock girl fond of brawling. Based on the actual events surrounding a Chicago high school's segregated prom, this work of fiction unflinchingly pursues the truth in discovering what it means to be your own person.

JOE MENO is a fiction writer and playwright who lives in Chicago. His novels are Tender As Hellfire and How the Hula Girl Sings. His online fictional serial, The Secret Hand, is published through Playboy Magazine, at playboy.com. His short fiction has been published in TriQuarterly, Bridge, Other Voices, Washington Square, Gulf Coast, Alaska Quarterly Review, and broadcast on National Public Radio. He is the winner of the 2003 Nelson Algren Literary Award and he is a columnist for Punk Planet magazine.