Sometimes you have to break the rules to find your voice.
Sixteen-year-old Alya Singh is many things: the top student, the perfect daughter, and the girl everyone thinks has it all figured out. But when heartbreak, an accident, and the weight of impossible expectations send her spiralling, she begins to question everything—her friendships, her future, and the fierce love she once had for music and a certain someone else.
As Chandigarh’s rumour mill churns and her past threatens to eclipse her dreams, Alya must navigate the chaos of teenage rebellion, parental disappointment, and high school politics. But rockstars aren’t born from playing it safe. And as her old band gears up for a national music competition, she faces a choice: fade into silence or risk everything for the music—and the girl—she used to be.
Raw, funny, and fiercely feminist, A Punjabi Gal’s Guide to Rock is a coming-of-age story for every brown girl who’s ever been told she’s “too much.” It’s about healing, growing, and finding the courage to be unapologetically loud in a world that wants you quiet.