I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone
by Stephanie Kuehnert

    I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE by Stephanie Kuehnert
    Category:  Contemporary
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 9+
    Release Date:  7/8/08
    Publisher:  MTV Books
    Reviewed by:  Jaglvr
    Rating:  5 Stars


    Emily Black was born for rock and roll. Her father always told her stories about how her parents lived for the
    music. Music was what took her mother away from her. At least that’s what Emily has always been told.

    Emily has never needed her mother. That’s what she’s always told everyone else. But the music written by Emily
    tells a different story. Emily and her friend, Regan, have dreams of being rock goddesses. During their high school
    years they form a punk band. After a crazy escapade, they coerce Tom to join the band, as well. The group forms
    She Laughs, and the rest is history. Or it should be. But everything about Emily always goes back to her mother.
    And why she left.

    The angry, bitter songs Emily writes reflect her subconscious desire to mourn for her missing mom. Then, after a
    nasty break-up with her boyfriend, Johnny, Emily knows what she must do. She sets off on her own quest to find
    her mother, who has not wanted to be found for the past nineteen years. But Louisa Black has secrets of her own
    and will do anything she can to prevent anyone else from getting to close to her bad vibes.

    Told in a dark, woeful manner, Emily must come to terms with her real need for her mother. She’s always been the
    strong, confident one, telling all that she never missed not knowing her mother and that all she’s ever needed is her
    dad. But as Emily goes from adolescence to adulthood, the hidden desire to know her mother forces its way to the
    surface, leading Emily on a journey that reveals more about herself than she expected. And her journey may just
    bring her closer to her mother than she thought possible.

    I absolutely loved this story! Ms. Kuehnert writes a powerful story of a young woman trying to be her own person,
    but always having the specter of her mother’s past hovering over everything she does. Music is infused throughout
    the entire story and plays an important part in the character development of Emily. I could relate to the musical
    references in the story and could almost believe that Emily was a real musician, not a character created by the
    author. I was sad to come to the last page, wanting the story of Emily to go on forever.

    (Note of advice. The story tends to be a bit graphic with sex and drugs. This is definitely written for the older teen
    reader.)