"When I was a baby, my father sang me to sleep with old blues songs. I took my first steps to the Beatles and learned to dance to the Clash. But the first time I realized I could claim the energy that blasted from the stereo as mine, possess it, be, it was when Regan and I blackmailed Marissa into taking us to our first show at River's Edge."
These are the words of Emily Black, a girl born to be a punk rock princess. I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone, by Stephanie Kuehnert, is the captivating story about a girl's passion for music and her insatiable drive to use her talent to bring her mother back.
The title of this book course alludes to the legendary Ramones, and it is also the title of a song by Sleater-Kinney. Emily and her best friend, Regan, get their start as lovers and players of punk at their small town's only gem: an abandoned warehouse that has been transformed into a club. The girls spend many nights there and dream of one day being on stage. The girls eventually form their own band and rise to stardom.
As with many musicians, success comes at a price, and Emily struggles with men, drugs, and coming to terms with the real reason her mother left her as a baby. Emily's unspoken hope is that by making her own punk music, she will lead her mother home again.
Though there is some adult content, I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone is a great selection for teens, especially for those who love music and rebellion. Emily Black comes of age (literally) as author Stephanie Kuehnert takes readers from Emily's teens to her early twenties. Kuehnert shows the many layers of of Emily Black's psyche, from the thrill she gets when performing to the tough lessons she must learn when the music stops.
I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone is not only character-driven, it has many twists and turns in the plot and a dramatic conclusion. By the end of the novel you'll feel a part of Emily Black's band.
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