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?
Published July 8, 2008 by MTV Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
Available now from your favorite indie bookstore, Amazon, or Barnes and Noble.
Visit the publisher’s page for a reading guide and more.
Here’s what people are saying about I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE:
“…an empowering new twist on a girl’s coming of age…” – Los Angeles Time
“…irresistible…” and “…acidly incisive and full-out entertaining…” – Booklist
“Debut author Kuehnert keeps the story raw and gritty… the intensity of the characters’ emotions and experiences will beguile many teen readers.” – Publisher’s Weekly
“Car won’t start? Don’t call AAA. Just grab a copy of Stephanie Kuehnert’s I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone, hook it up to a pair of jumper cables, connect the other end to the car battery–and stand back. The power surge emanating from the 28-year-old’s first novel will be more than enough to get the engine going. Her book… is a jumpy, pumped-up, nervy valentine to loud music and late-teen angst.” – Chicago Tribune
“…a rich, muscular story…” – Bust Magazine
“I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone is a manifesto for defiant high school girls, as well as a refresher course for the goddesses they turn into.” – Venus Zine
“Some books play at trying to be “edgy”; some books try to hit the right notes; but Kuehnert’s prose doesn’t notice labels. It just is–which is the purest kinda edge. 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. I loved it.”- Melissa Marr, New York Times bestselling author of Wicked Lovely
“A wonderfully written and evocative story of a mother and daughter parted by circumstance and joined by music. I heartily recommend it.” – Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting
“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. She’s titled the book after a great song by Sleater-Kinney, and both that band, and the iconic Joey Ramone, would be proud of this effort.” Charles R. Cross, New York Times bestselling author of Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain
