My Teenage Werewolf: A Mother, a Daughter, a Journey Through the Thicket of Adolescence

Kessler, the author of five narrative nonfiction books, explores the mother/daughter relationship at a particularly vulnerable point—the cusp of her daughter’s entry into adolescence. At 12, Lizzie is often at odds with her author mom, who describes her “chilly” relationship with her own mother. Not wanting to repeat a distant and dissatisfying relationship with her offspring, Kessler decides to dive into her daughter’s world. She embeds herself in middle school, following Lizzie from class to class, probing her peer relationships, online pastimes and cyberfriends, athletic and summer camp life. She also immerses herself in current literature on the mother/daughter relationship and interviews a number of experts, including a female shaman/teen educator and a mental health counselor who plays on a roller derby team. While Lizzie goes along with her mother’s role as a “cultural anthropologist,” she is often prone to hostility and “random acts of meanness.” But as Kessler digs deeper and begins to recognize her daughter’s need for power over her own life and choices, this mother/daughter relationship ripens with compassion and mutual understanding. The author (also the mother of two boys) downplays the conflicts between mothers and teen males, convinced that the steps to the mother/daughter tango are far more complicated. Mothers of girls in particular will be alternately amused, horrified, and entertained as they view the turmoil and triumphs of adolescence from Kessler’s insightful perspective. (Aug.)