0 Book Review: My Teenage Werewolf

What’s more challenging in the life of a woman: being a teenager … or being the mother of a teenager?  Just yesterday she was a sweet-tempered, smiling little girl who thought Mommy was a saint and a genius, beautiful, beneficent, and all-knowing.  Now Mom is an enemy, a barrier—or at the very least the font of all things embarrassing and uncool.  And the erstwhile Miss Sweet Pea is … a werewolf?  Who is this new headstrong, mercurial, mascara-wand-waving girl?

What’s more challenging in the life of a woman: being a teenager … or being the mother of a teenager?  Just yesterday she was a sweet-tempered, smiling little girl who thought Mommy was a saint and a genius, beautiful, beneficent, and all-knowing.  Now Mom is an enemy, a barrier—or at the very least the font of all things embarrassing and uncool.  And the erstwhile Miss Sweet Pea is … a werewolf?  Who is this new headstrong, mercurial, mascara-wand-waving girl?  In MY TEENAGE WEREWOLF: A Mother, a Daughter, a Journey Through the Thicket of Adolescence (Penguin Books; On-sale Date: August 30, 2011; ISBN 978-0143119456; 256 pages; $15.00), award-winning author Lauren Kessler embeds herself in her about-to-be teenage daughter’s life and shares her story with the eye of a reporter, the curiosity of an anthropologist and the open—sometimes wounded—heart of a mother.

The road traveled by every mother of an about-to-be or full-fledged teen is both well trod and mysterious.  There is no relationship quite as primal, as vitally important, or as deeply conflicted as the one between mother and daughter.  And there is no time quite as challenging in that relationship as when the daughter passes from child to teen.  It is on the precipice of this transformation that best-selling journalist Lauren Kessler embarks on a journey to understand and strengthen her suddenly rocky relationship with Lizzie, her then 12-year-old daughter.

This book is definitely not one that I normally would pick up. Usually I'm nose down in a drama or my guilty pleasure, young adult novels. My Teenage Werewolf is complete non-fiction, with the author only changing the names of some of the parties involved. It is definitely not about actual werewolves. The werewolf is that teenager in your house that's mood swings can do a 180 so often, they seem like a different person at times.

From my mothering standpoint of a 12 year old boy and an 8 year old girl, I was elated to read this book. Surprisingly, my 12 year old is the easy going one, rarely giving me any problems. My 8 year old is a budding pre-teen who already has the eye roll, head swivel perfected, and says things like "you just don't understand".

While reading this book, I kept my own kids in mind, thinking about them saying those exact same things or how I'd handle some of those scenarios as a parent. Especially in the beginning of the book when the author's daughter Lizzie was being especially snotty and saying some hateful things toward her mother, it reminds me of moments between my own daughter and myself now....and she's only 8. I have to correct this, and pronto.

The author embedded herself into her 12 year old daughter Lizzie's life and that is amazing to me, especially with a middle schooler. I wonder how my own kids would act if I asked if they'd mind if I'd follow them around school. I'm quite sure my son would be mortified. I think my daughter would parade me around just because she loves the attention.  

This is no self-help, teach you how to parent, list of do's and don'ts type book. It is a journey through seventh and eighth grade , mapping out the daily struggles of parenting a budding teenager. I have to say that I really did enjoy the journey and especially like the dialogue between the author and her daughter. It took me a couple of weeks to get through it, where a typical fiction story might only take me a couple of days.  The reason for that is I kept on pausing to reflect as I was reading it. There were times where I thought the author went a little overboard with the analyzing and a lot of times where I try to run through scenarios in my head of what I'd say to my own children.

We all have our flaws and I like that the author is out and open about per personal triumphs and not so glorious moments. I know some of my own flaws also and there were some very good points in this book that put things into perspective for me....stuff to watch out and keep myself from doing. (Which include responding to the negative teenage attitude with my own attitude. I just fuels the fire for me) I keep those points in the back of my head each time I communicate (positive and negative) with my children. It is a work in-progress, but I really do feel inspired to be a more attentive and productive parent figure in my children's lives after reading this book.
You can buy it online at Amazon
Disclaimer: I was provided a sample of this product for review. No other compensation was provided. The opinions here are my own.