I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone [Paperback]

Stephanie Kuehnert (Author)

Book Description

Release date: July 8, 2008

A raw, edgy, emotional novel about growing up punk and living to tell.

The Clash. Social Distortion. Dead Kennedys. Patti Smith. The Ramones.

Punk rock is in Emily Black's blood. Her mother, Louisa, hit the road to follow the incendiary music scene when Emily was four months old and never came back. Now Emily's all grown up with a punk band of her own, determined to find the tune that will bring her mother home. Because if Louisa really is following the music, shouldn't it lead her right back to Emily?

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Punk rocker Emily Black’s daddy is a guitar player, but he set his music aside to raise her on his own after her mother disappeared. Emily grew up reasonably together and rebellious in a small Wisconsin farming town notable for its outlaw music venue, River’s Edge, where she and her best friend graduate from sleeping with potential “rock gods” to starting a band of their own. Their rapid success is the standard-issue rock-and-roll dream, but debut novelist Kuehnert makes it new by marshaling tonic energy and 100-proof candor to create a high-speed, switchback tale. Although the plotline about Emily’s miserable mother and die-hard father is almost too over-the-top, it adds dimension to Emily’s rocketing rise and painful plummet. And Kuehnert is acidly incisive and full-out entertaining as she tells a classic tale of an artist coming into her own, revels in raw punk-rock power, dramatizes just how difficult it is for women musicians to be taken seriously, and reveals that the scariest thing isn’t getting up on stage but lowering your guard and falling in love. --Donna Seaman

Review

"Kuehnert's love of music is apparent on every page in this powerful and moving story. Her fresh voice makes this novel stand out in the genre, and she writes as authentically about coming of age as she does punk rock." -- Charles R. Cross, New York Times bestselling author of Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain

"Teeth. Punk. Combat boots. Attitude. Feminism. Family. Girls with guitars. Relationships that jack you up. Sharp things of the not-good kind. Friendships. Love.... It's all here; it's all pure and real." -- Melissa Marr, New York Times bestselling author of Ink Exchange

"A fierce and wild ride." -- Laura Wiess, author of Such a Pretty Girl

"A wonderfully written andevocative story of a mother and daughter parted by circumstance and joined by music. I heartily recommend it." -- Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: MTV Books; Original edition (July 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416562699
• ISBN-13: 978-1416562696
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.9 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,343,260 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

STEPHANIE KUEHNERT got her start writing bad poetry about unrequited love and razor blades in eighth grade. In high school, she discovered punk rock and produced several D.I.Y. feminist 'zines. After short stints in Ohio and Wisconsin, Stephanie ultimately returned home and received her MFA in creative writing from Columbia College Chicago. She currently resides in Forest Park, IL. I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE is her first novel. Visit her website at www.stephaniekuehnert.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Book Review Maniac bookreviewmaniac.blogspot.com August 26, 2008

By Book Review Maniac

Format:Paperback

When Emily Black was just four months old her mother left her and her dad to follow punk rock. Now Emily is in High School and she is starting a punk rock band of her own with her best friend Regan. She sings and writes the songs with Regan, who is the drummer, and Tom the bass player. They finally get to play at River's Edge, the place where punk rock lovers hang out while watching small town bands rock the stage and also the same stage that Louisa, Emily's mom, saw Emily's dad play for the first time. Everyone loves her lyrics and sound but they don't know the real reason that is behind the word that Emily sings. She hopes that one day her mother will follow the music right back to her and her dad.

This was one cool book. I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone is probably on of the most down-to-earth books I have ever read. It isn't full of fairytales and other. Stephanie did a great job of making the book very realistic. The plot was also great, sometimes something would happen that I never suspected but then there were times when something would happen that I knew was going to happen. Which in some books I don't' like figuring out what is going to happen but I didn't mind it at all in this book. The characters in this book were stupendous; they all had their flaws, which is great because in life everyone has flaws. I also enjoyed how big of a part music plays in the story. Which is probably because I am a big fan of rock but I think every one who reads this book will be able to envision Emily rocking out on the stage, like I did. I also introduced to some great rock bands while reading the wonderful story. I recommend this book to every teen out there, especially if you like listening to rock bands. Also some adults might enjoy the story too.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Rocked My World!! June 27, 2008

By The Book Muncher VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

For Emily Black, music is everything. It's what made her parents fall in love way back when. It's what her mother Louisa was following when she left baby Emily. It's what Emily has to stay in control of her life. Music draws her from her dreary life in Carlisle, Wisconsin to River's Edge, an abandoned warehouse where rock bands play. River's Edge is where Emily got her fill of sex, drinking, and rock `n' roll, and where her dreams of being a punk rock goddess began. So she and her best friend Regan form a punk band named She Laughs, and Emily can't help but hope that by playing music, she'll bring her mother home.

Soon, her band is swept up in the dangerous world of rock music. Her band has a lot of talent, but so many ups and downs in Emily's life lead her away from the music. There are the bad boyfriends, the death of her grandparents, the involvement with drugs and self-medication, and a year wasted searching for her mother. But eventually Emily finds her way back on track, and her friends are still waiting for her to come back and pick up her guitar. And so she does, because music is all she has.

I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone is a beautiful coming-of-age story that I will never forget. Reading along from both Emily's and Louisa's points-of-views was heartbreaking at times, because they've both experienced so much pain in their lives. The story that Stephanie Kuehnert has woven has lessons on everything from friendship, family, love, drugs, and learning to love, or at least accept, the person you are. The story is filled with so much raw emotion, and I nearly cried at the ending because I didn't want the story to be over.

I have to admit that I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone is like no other book I've ever read, and that is definitely a good thing. I've learned so much from this novel that I never would've expected from first glance. It made me want to find my inner punk rocker and scream along to deafening punk music. I promise you won't regret picking up this unforgettable novel. I definitely look forward to more amazing novels from Stephanie Kuehnert.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Liv's Book Reviews August 22, 2008

By Liv's Book Reviews

Format:Paperback

I don't even know where to begin. Nothing I could say would do this book justice. It's one of the most raw, heartbreaking, and touching novels I've read. Ever. Yikes. The thing I admire the most is that I think the author really wrote from her heart. You can tell just by the way the story is told that she cared deeply about what she was writing about which is the key to any good book; an author who is connected to her story. What's amazing is that this is Stephanie Kuehnert's first novel. How someone can write something this fantastic on her first attempt in the published world is...can I use the word amazing again? The characters are deep, detailed, and flawed. The plot is twisting and you flip the pages to find out what comes next. This book really takes you away into the trying, yet exhilirating world of rock and roll. You feel as if you're going through all of Emily's triumphs and trials with her and rooting for her as she alternately makes it big and falls hard. I think I'm running out of superlatives here. Or maybe I've uses so many that they don't have any meaning any more. But they are all deserved. So let me use a few more here; this book is really amazingly fantastic and you all need to go pick up a copy quickly. Really. :P