Cover Image: Smells Like Tween Spirit

Smells Like Tween Spirit

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Member Reviews

Jenn Dixon is back and as acerbic as ever. In this book it's a match between middle-aged mom and middle-school life when her son decides to join the wrestling team. Jenn juggles PMS Mat Moms, the stench of wrestling gear, aging parents and managing adult children.

I connect with Jenn on so many levels. I am her age with adult children and aging parents, wrestling with knowledge that life is short now that I'm on the other side of the age mountain. In this installment, though, it was the accuracy of life as a wrestling mom that was spot on! Being a wrestling mom is a unique experience that turns mild-mannered, soft-spoken, nurturing mothers into rabid, blood-sport fans. Learning the lingo, ref signals and strategy of the sport is all part of it. I love how Gelman captured the experience and the realism of a middle-age mother's life.

Great choice if you are looking for a giggle, a character to connect with, or just need to know you are not alone in navigating mother and wife-hood in today's world.

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We've left the world of Class Mom, and are now deep in the ocean of Sports Mom.

Hilarious, witty, and so so accurate. I loved it.

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I enjoy these books especially since they’re set in my hometown. Jen sends inappropriate responses to emails sent by mothers and hopes that they understand her sense of humor. Enjoy the ride of her son starting in the wrestling team, her daughters going into business together and some secrets that go around.

Thank you #NetGalley for the advance copy

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Very well written book. Really enjoyed this author, would definitely read more by this author and recommend on my book IG

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Laurie Gelman writes such laugh out loud novels about an every day characters, that leave the reader with a big smile on their face and a better appreciation for their own crazy realities. Jen Dixon is living her life in the Midwest. Juggling multiple aspects of her daily life including aging parents, adult children entering into a new business, her 4 year old granddaughter, and her third born son who is now in middle school. The wit and humor that Dixon's character is written with makes this novel such an enjoyable experience.

For those who are unfamiliar with her previous works involving the Dixon family, you should start at the beginning with Class Mom, but this fourth installment is just as fabulous as the previous three.

Thank you to NetGalley and Holt & Co. for the opportunity to read this book.

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Jen Dixon is back with her snarky emails and dry wit. I have loved the entire series and this one did not disappoint. This year, her son joins the wrestling team, Jen faces the crisis of having adult parents who need her care, navigating having adult children, being a grandma and still being a volunteer mom in charge of snacks and parties. She is a fabulous character and this book will make you laugh out loud!

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I've read all the books in Gelman's Class Mom series, and I was so excited to see that she wrote a fourth - I thought she was done after the last! This was another hilarious read with a few deeper and more emotional moments. Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

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Laurie Gilman continues her humorous look at parenting with Smells Like Tween Spirit. Just the right balance of comedy and truth.

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Laurie Gelman is so funny! We are on the same level of sarcasm and jokes. I love reading her books. I’m usually not a fan of series of books, but each book is great! Moderate swearing. Mild sexual content. I hope she keeps going with Class Mom series.
P.S. I’ve listened to some of the other Class Mom books on audiobook and the author is the narrator. She is brilliant!

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This is a new to me author and I have to say I am looking forward to reading more by this author! I loved this book

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I look forward to Laurie Gelman's books because they are always so funny but conquer family drama. However, Laurie was able to show the main character embracing and dealing with her father's worsening dementia with a light heartedness that is sometimes what is needed to get through these trying times. It was her normal humor but she was able to add the concept of aging parents and handling it with grace. I have recommended this book to friends with aging parents and especially those with dementia. The author was able to capture how tough dealing with aging parents are, with grace.

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This was sadly a DNF for me as I didn't realize this was a book in a series. I will not be reviewing or posting elsewhere but think a lot of people would like this one it just wasn't for me.

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Given that our sons are the same age, I can easily relate to Jen and the events in her life. I love the honesty in dialogue and character development. These books are an easy read that I always enjoy.

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First, Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of Laurie Gelman's newest book! I loved her first 2, somehow missed the 3rd but quickly got caught up with the family in book 4! As a mom of a fellow 13 year old, there were parts of this book that really spoke to me. Also, as a former wrestling cheerleader, I loved that wrestling was a part of the book. It took me a while to get into this one but once I got half through I couldn't put it down.
I can't wait to read what happens next in Jen's life and might have to go back to read #3 now.

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I love this series so much! In Smells like Tween Spirit, we follow Jen as she transitions from PTA class mom to a wrestling mom at Pioneer Middle School. Although this can be read as a standalone, this is the fourth book in the Class Mom series and I'd recommend reading the others first.

This book was so hilarious, sarcastic, and relatable. I was actually laughing out loud at the hijinks that Jen got herself in while trying to manage her life. Jen is trying to balance it all. She has new adventures as her son is now in middle school. She also has an adult daughter and is trying to maintain a good relationship with her husband. Despite her sarcasm towards her frustrations in life, it is so clear how much Jen really loves her chaotic and crazy life.

I loved it so much and can't wait to see what this author will release next!

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Laurie Gelman has done it again! It felt like she was at my kitchen table recording actual life with a preteen boy. I laughed out loud at her wit and sarcasm with the PMS moms! I loved how she added some serious in there with her relationship with her parents and older children.

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I honestly don’t know if there’s a better mom series. If you are a mom you know these characters.

This series is so well written I just devour each book. I was so excited when I saw this latest installment (I thought Yoga Pant Nation was going to be the last one) and I hope there’s a ton more to come!!!

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Sometimes I just crave and need to read something light and funny, and a book written by Laurie Gelman is the perfect go to. I have read other books in this series and just adored them. I literally laughed out loud so many times, as well as cringed, groaned, and commiserated almost as many times. The communications among the Mat Moms and PMS were hysterical, I loved every time one came up. I also loved the references to my younger days, so fun! Picturing the characters was easy, and I have to admit, I would love to meet them, or at least watch a series about them - how delicious would that be to binge watch?! Super fun, silly, and easy - I highly recommend it (as well as the others in the series)!

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Book four of the Class Mom series and I liked this one the best. It’s still the fun you’d expect from Gelman and Jen Dixon, but also touches on tough topics like boundaries, death and grief, menopause and desire.

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Smells Like Tween Spirit is the fourth relatable and funny book in the Class Mom series by @lauriegelman and this one was my favorite probably since the first book.

I love a mom-com for a lighter read, and I have two middle-schoolers in the house, so I am the ideal audience for this book. I can relate to post-practice, windows-down, sweaty tween boys in the backseat carpool rides.

Jen Dixon, the main character, has adult daughters, a grandchild, aging parents (including a father with dementia), and a tween son who just joined the middle school wrestling team. Most women will relate to at least one of Jen’s care-taking roles.

I especially recommend this book to wrestling moms with a sense of humor.
“Do we all wish our boys chose another sport or is it just me?” is one of my favorite lines of Jen Dixon’s infamous emails.

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