Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

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.) ( )

The writing is solid but I think I expected a different story. This one is an epic tale of love and loss. Not exactly YA either. ( )

I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone reaches out to my not-anymore-13-year-old girl soul and pushes me headlong into the world of punk rock as loved by Emily Black. She lives in Carlisle, Wisconsin, by an underground music mecca known as River's Edge. It is here where people flock to play to their hearts' content and listen to others play to their hearts' content. It is here where Emily worships the rock god wannabes and dreams of being a rock goddess.

I think the most interesting aspect of I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone is that we also get occasional glimpses of Emily's mother Louisa - what she has been up to and what drove her to leave her family. While it may not be obvious to Emily herself who longs to find her mother and Louisa who longs to come home but cannot, the reader will see the uncanny similarities between mother and daughter. ( )

A great read for anyone who grew up in a small town and found their freedom through music.

This is a great coming-of-age novel about music, friendships, destructive relationships and how music gets you through. ( )

Emily Black is a punk rock goddess. As she works her way through a series of drunken one-night stands, playing punk music is the only thing that balances her and keeps her sane. Plus, how else is she ever going to find her mom who ran out on her when she was a baby to chase the punk music scene across the country?

I really dug the parts of this book that were about music and Emily's band, but I never really clicked with Emily as a narrator. The story's told through the lens of an adult looking back at her punk rock years which created a distance between the reader and the story. ( )