Even with the cutthroat days of being Class Mom behind her, as a freshly minted mat mom of the Pioneer Middle School (PMS) wrestling team, Jen Dixon cannot catch a break.
This year, as her son joins the ranks of the PMS wrestlers, Jen faces mystifying new social dynamics with her trademark combination of reluctance and resigned acceptance. The sights and smells of her son’s wrestling matches are more than enough for her to deal with, but Jen also finds herself fully immersed in sports-mom competitiveness. These parents all seem perfectly unassuming until their kids start to wrestle, and then some become raging momsters.
Jen steels herself for the indignities of middle school life, but she cannot quite fathom the extents to which some kids (and moms) will go for the sweet taste of victory. Add to this some truly bizarre encounters with students from her spin class and deeper challenges managing her parents, and Jen has more gum than she can chew...and even her riotously funny one-liners might not get her through it this time.

Laurie Gelman's profile page

Laurie Gelman was born and raised in the Great White North. She spent twenty-five years as a broadcaster in both Canada and the United States before trying her hand at writing novels. The author of Class Mom, You’ve Been Volunteered, and Yoga Pant Nation, Laurie has appeared on Live with Kelly and Ryan, Watch What Happens Live, and The Talk, among others. She lives in New York City with her husband, Michael Gelman, and two teenage daughters.

“Nobody captures modern-day parenting trials, tribulations and dynamics with more hilarious accuracy than Laurie Gelman does. Smells Like Tween Spirit is another simultaneously riotous and touching glimpse inside the head and life of Jen Dixon, whose acerbic wit and good intentions charm from the very first page of this perfect beach read.”
—Lauren Gershell, co-author of That’s What Frenemies Are For
“Laurie Gelman has hit it again out of the ballpark with her laugh-out-loud new book, Smells Like Tween Spirit. Although I am not personally a ‘mat mom’—I am a ‘baseball mom’—her new book had me in hysterics from page one till the very last page. This book is for every mom with a tween.”
—Lyss Stern, Founder of Divamoms.com and author of Motherhood Is A B#tch
“In Smells Like Tween Spirit, Laurie Gelman once again captures a certain corner of the world with great insight and copious good humor. And in the most breezy, entertaining way possible, she encompasses the whole messy human experience: children, parents, friendship, identity, and marriage. Jen Dixon, Gelman’s heroine of the Class Mom series, is one of a kind—colorful, brilliant and wonderfully sharp around the edges. In other words, a gem.”
—Jess Cagle, SiriusXM chief entertainment anchor and host of The Jess Cagle Show
“Gelman’s new Class Mom novel doesn’t disappoint: it will leave readers laughing out loud and desperate for the next installation in this hilarious, beloved series.”
—Library Journal, *starred*
“Readers will speed through this witty, pithy tale that brings back Jen’s lovable snark to delightful effect. This winning sequel lives up to its predecessors.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Fans of the series will be thrilled to see more of Jen and the family, and newcomers will want to learn more about this quirky family…Gelman’s storytelling is fun and engaging, and she promises she’s only just getting started.”
—Booklist