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A review by lauraborkpower
The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist's Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults by Amy Ellis Nutt, Frances E. Jensen
3.0
Jensen's book is a fascinating and oddly suspenseful look at the biology of the teenage brain. It answers questions like, "Why did my smart teenage son/daughter/niece do such a dumb thing?" and "Why, when I was a teenager, did I think that was a totally fine idea?"
I'd recommend this for everyone who has a kid of any age and for everyone who spends a lot of time with adolescents (specifically: teachers). I hope to have more patience with my students (especially my male students, whose brains take longer to cook) when they act like dummies.
It's also a good book for anyone who might be thinking about having kids; those kids will grow up to be teenagers, and this is definitely material to prepare you for how you can react when your kid acts like an idiot. Because it's going to happen.
Finally, it's a must read for anyone who has decided to not have kids, because it will absolutely, positively solidify your decision. Teenagers are scary as shit.
The science is specific enough to answer questions, but accessible enough to still be considered 'popular science.' Jensen is a reliable writer because of her credentials as a neuroscientist and as a mother of two boys who (apparently) have grown up to be successful young men.
A word of warning, though: the narrator, Tavia Gilbert, has a robotic narration style. Her delivery is stiff and automated, and some of her pronunciation is off (she puts a hard emphasis on "DI" in "diagnose" and this drove me crazy).
I'd recommend this for everyone who has a kid of any age and for everyone who spends a lot of time with adolescents (specifically: teachers). I hope to have more patience with my students (especially my male students, whose brains take longer to cook) when they act like dummies.
It's also a good book for anyone who might be thinking about having kids; those kids will grow up to be teenagers, and this is definitely material to prepare you for how you can react when your kid acts like an idiot. Because it's going to happen.
Finally, it's a must read for anyone who has decided to not have kids, because it will absolutely, positively solidify your decision. Teenagers are scary as shit.
The science is specific enough to answer questions, but accessible enough to still be considered 'popular science.' Jensen is a reliable writer because of her credentials as a neuroscientist and as a mother of two boys who (apparently) have grown up to be successful young men.
A word of warning, though: the narrator, Tavia Gilbert, has a robotic narration style. Her delivery is stiff and automated, and some of her pronunciation is off (she puts a hard emphasis on "DI" in "diagnose" and this drove me crazy).