Pieces of a Girl

by Stephanie Kuehnert

A raw and bold YA memoir about abuse and addiction, and the power of expression and community that helped author Stephanie Kuehnert survive and thrive.

Years before she would become a published author…years before she would find a voice and a home in the Riot Grrrl movement and emerging zine community, Stephanie Kuehnert struggled to find her place. Told in varied narrative styles, including journal entries, original illustration, and pages torn from her actual teenage diaries and zines, this is the story of Stephanie Kuehnert’s life as a struggling outsider who survived substance and relationship abuse to become a strong and powerful young woman after years trapped in a cycle that sometimes seemed to have no escape. From the author of Ballads of Suburbia and former Rookie contributor Stephanie Kuehnert, this bold and bare memoir about a life shaped by music and writing is unflinching and devastatingly honest.

Genres: Young Adult, Audiobook, Coming Of Age

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2024

About the author

STEPHANIE KUEHNERT got her start writing bad poetry about unrequited love and razor blades in eighth grade. In high school, she discovered punk rock and produced several D.I.Y. feminist 'zines. After short stints in Ohio and Wisconsin, Stephanie ultimately returned home and received her MFA in creative writing from Columbia College Chicago. She currently resides in Forest Park, IL.

Reviews

[Andrea Trenary · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5.
The first part the memoirist wasn’t super likable but I started to like her more as it went on. Def quotable. Also made me think too much about a past abusive relationship of my own.

[Victoria Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️ 3/5 - It wasn’t bad but I’m not really sure this person needed a memoir. She told her story in a creative way, but I expected to like this more or feel more intensity from her narratives.

[Amanda (spooky.octopus.reads) Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

🧩𝙋𝙞𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙂𝙞𝙧𝙡

Raw, real, and sometimes a bit uncomfortable…but goodness was this memoir a good one!!! Stephanie Kuehnert pulls all the pieces of her young life full of addiction and abuse into a beautiful story of flourishing survival.

I think this book resonates quite a bit with me because I grew up in the same time period as Kuehnert…there is so much 90s nostalgia amidst the heaviness of the story. Much of what she describes as her experience growing up as a teenage girl at this time was spot on. While I didn’t experience the immense trauma that she did, I could (sadly) 100% see some of the girls in my high school in this book.

And I didn’t even mention of the best aspect of this book…mixed media! The story isn’t just told as a “story,” but through poems and pictures and zine pages….so cool.

If you’re like me, and sometimes you like to venture off of your beaten path (horror and thrillers here), then this is totally something you need to pick up and read! Memoirs are fav of mine if they are raw and gritty and dark…this totally fits the bill.

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

*Thank you @stephaniekuehnert penguinteen #penguinteenpartner for this gifted copy!

[Pumkin pie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Books like "Pieces of a Girl" - deep books that really make you think about our society - are often not only difficult and depressing, but hard to explain how it made you feel. However, I don't feel that way with this book. "Pieces of a Girl" was so moving and contemplative, and while, yes, it was depressing at times and maddening at others, it balances it out with jokes and heartwarming moments scattered throughout.
Stephanie is a good girl, but she has trouble fitting in and finding her place. So, she turns to abuse relationships and substances to help. And even though she knows that it isn't good, she doesn't have a choice. This is simply the way it has to be. But she knows that she has to stop. So, even though the road to a healthy lifestyle is long and difficult, she'll try her best. Will she be able to do it?
I absolutely loved this book. It was stunning and beautifully written, with takes from her actual teenage diaries and zines. I recommend this book for people ages 13 and up, for sex, profanity, alcohol abuse, smoking, drugs, sexual and emotional abuse, and suicide.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actual rating: 4 1/2 stars.

I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone is without a doubt in my top 3 most influential books that I have ever read in my life. It made me the punker chick that I am today and so I pre-ordered Kuehnert's memoir ASAP. I was looking forward to reading about her creation of I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone but this memoir was about her childhood and only about that.

And her childhood was rough. The journal entries, comics, and zine pages included were a very nice touch. It helped remind adult readers that teenagehood is hard even if one didn't go through the problems that Kuenhert did, because it captured that frustration of being a teenager in which you feel like you should know better and be an adult but you are very much not.

Kuenhert's writing is excellent and while I do prefer it in her fiction, this is still an excellent book and one that I think, which is deemed increasingly rare in YA, that teenagers should go out and read.

[Wren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a good memoir for a teen girl who feels like a misfit, loves pop culture, and lives with the burden of abuse. This is a introspective, confessional, chaotic, multi-media tale of a young woman who has a lot to manage and strikes out in various directions to create a place for herself in the world. There are a lot of pop culture references to the 1990s, so I can see that women in their 30s would like to revisit these years through Kuehnert's eyes. I also think this is a good book for people to read (and not just social workers, counselors, and NA members) to gain empathy with people who had chaos in their lives as teens and as young adults.

This is listed as high school book, but parents at my public library in rural, central Utah would be very upset to have this shelved anywhere except in adult nonfiction.

It's a wild, creative ride!

[Loretta Larson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I relate to this weirdo… I did it all and more. Instead of people asking, “why are you still alive?”, I journaled, “saved for what?” after sticking the landing of the free fall that was my life. Unable to answer sufficiently, I eventually spun away again. I proved to myself I could endure a lot. Looking back, I wonder who I was trying to impress. I mostly see a waste of time and talent and beauty and youth. Running from childhood abuse, forced to dissociate. My brain’s way to cope allowed me to press on but rarely feeling “whole”. Holes? Yup. There’s a lot of those. Still struggle to try and fill them or choose that excruciatingly gnawing emptiness feeling that feels a lot like pain. I envy this girl and her successes. I didn’t hear any diagnosis. Maybe that’s the difference. Life is messy. One step at a time forward we march.

[Malissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this author's Ballads of Suburbia a LOT, so I bought this in two formats immediately. Then, I struggled to engage with this biography in the beginning. I think mostly because I'm 42 years old and not the teen she was or published for. I ended up really liking it, but there was still a part of me that just couldn't turn off my "mom brain" and relate as the teen I once was. But then my childhood and early adult experiences had their own stories, but those stories looked nothing like this. I do think a lot of teens would really like it, and a lot of adults who grew up with things like punk and zines and riot grrrl would also really relate to it, too. Definitely a solid read, and while the audio is well done, the print format with the illustrations is the real winner!

[Polly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a snapshot of a time and place; a creative, raw, and fierce story of teen exploration and survival. Kuehnert reflects on growing up as a strange artsy kid in the Midwest, looking for a community. The stories are interspersed with illustrations and pages from zines, adding the handmade DIY visuals that go so well with the stories of Riot Grrrl and music culture of the time. Kuehnert doesn't shy away from the tough parts of her story, including intimate partner violence and alcohol abuse, but there are also many moments of humor and beauty as she finds connection and creative expression through music and writing.

[Courtney Townill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vulnerable, and tough to read, but so important. The unbelievably true story of a girl who shatters her life and slowly gathers the pieces into something whole again. With writing that doesn’t condescend to its intended younger audience, Stephanie channels all of the riot grrrls that inspired her to tell her story of addiction, abuse, and survival. Punctuated with illustrations, and scans of her handmade zines, this is a story not to be forgotten and hopefully introduces newer generations to the power of riot grrrl and allowing yourself to feel it all.

Thank you, Edelweiss for the e-ARC.

[Megan Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read Stephanie’s previous books many years ago (actually found out about her from a Courtney Love message board), and knew this memoir would also be great. It’s relatable. It’s important. It’s empowering. It’s hopeful. I loved the deep connection to music weaved throughout and the zine style and the graphics added intimacy. It reminded me of reading the liner notes in cassettes and cd’s back in the day. I usually do a mix of audiobooks and e-books but definitely recommend the physical book for this one.

[Amber Hendon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully written look back at a troubled years of a girl's journey through the many different identities of her teen years. Drugs, smoking, drinking, abusive relationships, complicated friendships, problems with parents, dealing with the dissolution of their marriage, problems in college.... I was a few years older than Stephanie, but it is similar to my own story. It's about what we went through and how we got through it.

[Lys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Edelweiss+ for the eARC! This was super nostalgic for me, and I absolutely see this being a crowd pleaser for teens looking for a window into 90s girl-culture. The mixed media aspect really works for it. But be warned, it is very heavy. I had to put it down a few times and sit with my feelings.

[Shira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Edelweiss for the eARC!

Reading this was so hard. Seeing all of our similarities and where our paths diverged, but not the why we made different choices. Growing up is such a struggle and so many of us are not born from a cookie-cutter, shelf-ready. Pieces of a Girl gives hope that it is possible to pick yourself up again. It also answers the question of what and where is rock bottom.

This is the review I posted on Edelweiss:
Pieces of a Girl might have been set in the 90's, but the issues the author described are still present today. This book has a wide range of appeal for both the nostalgia aspect and the brutal honesty of teen life.

[mina!! · Rating 4 out of 5]

damm this girl done been through everything. the whole book is so well put together and written. im glad that she was able to pull herself out of the holes she was in. the parts where she talked about sh and suicide were the most compelling parts for me but even the huge themes of addiction were extremely relatable and told the story that needed to be told.

[Allie Frahm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing story to read. The author tells of her real life experience growing up and how she survived abuse, mental illness and addiction. I can tell Stephanie speaks from the heart as she shows us her zines along with her story. Quite a few times I felt like I was reading my own words

[Lindsey Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

such a raw and unfiltered look at the author’s past, showing resilience amongst what would seem like utter despair. the narration does jump all over the place, but i believe it adds to the unpredictability of the author’s life. please look up content warnings if you choose to read!!

[Nik's Nook · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s always hard to rate a memoir. I appreciated the honesty and 90s nostalgia vibes. Glad Stephanie was able to cure her demons through writing!

[Madelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super-relatable.

[Katharine Strange · Rating 5 out of 5]

One teen punk's coming-of-age story shines light on the exhilaration and heartbreaks of girlhood.

[Kiley Vieira · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO GOOD. My first memoir and did not disappoint

[Leah Clifford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily a 5 star! Review tk!

[Holly Vandiver Rector · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Imari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Difficult read at times, but a beautiful story of resilience

[Suzanne V · Rating 3 out of 5]

powerful

[KIM · Rating 2 out of 5]

IDK, I had a hard time with the timeline being all over the place. I was interested in the story of her youth. I just couldn't follow when she jumped around the timeline....

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a raw honest memoir. I find it hard to rate someone’s personal story. More on my IG soon.
@ladybug_shirls

Thanks to Penguin Teen for the gifted copy.