bookshelf

I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE

Name: I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE
Author: Stephanie Kuehnert
ISBN: 978-1-4165-6269-6

by Stephanie Kuehnert ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2008

bookshelf

Proud, headstrong and slutty, aspiring punk Emily Black longs to start her own band and find her mother, who disappeared when she was only four. The saga of her rise, fall and re-rise to punk-rock stardom could very well deserve its own series. Here, however, it’s crammed into a fat but tight volume where the pages are packed so densely with melodrama readers will need to flip back and forth to keep track of the plot. The first half feels much more distilled than the latter: Kuehnert’s language is slick. The punk references bite with genuine angst and hunger, and Emily’s tough, sardonic attitude, as revealed through chunky, poetic language, is feverishly tempting. After page 200, however, the timing between plot points quickly becomes compressed: Hearts are broken and then put back together again in one page. Lengthy scenes of Emily’s mom hooking, drinking, shooting up and feeling empty make the obvious point that their lives are parallel, but the device neglects the principle that in the world of YA fiction, less is usually more. (Fiction. YA)

Pub Date: July 1, 2008

ISBN: 978-1-4165-6269-6

Page Count: 352

Publisher: MTV Books/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2008

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
PIECES OF A GIRL
by Stephanie Kuehnert ; illustrated by Suzy Exposito

bookshelf

THE BIG NOTHING

From the Neighborhood series , Vol. 3

by Adrian Fogelin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2004

bookshelf

Big brother Duane is off in boot camp, and Justin is left trying to hold the parental units together. Fat, acne-ridden, and missing his best friend Ben, who’s in the throes of his first boy-girl relationship with Cass, Justin’s world is dreary. It gets worse when he realizes that all of his mother’s suspicions about his father are probably true, and that Dad may not return from his latest business trip. Surprisingly ultra-cool Jemmie, who is also missing her best friend, Cass, actually recognizes his existence and her grandmother invites Justin to use their piano in the afternoons when Jemmie’s at cross-country practice. The “big nothing” place, where Justin retreats in time of trouble, is a rhythmic world and soon begins to include melody and provide Justin with a place to express himself. Practice and discipline accompany this gradual exploration of his talent. The impending war in Iraq gives this story a definite place in time, and its distinct characters make it satisfying and surprisingly realistic. Misfit finds fit. (Fiction. YA)