just for the smell of it

Jen Dixon has moved on from being an elementary school class mom, but when her son Max decides he wants to try wrestling, she finds out that she is now a mat mom. As a mat mom, she is responsible for a few snacks, some new equipment for Max, and laundry. Lots of laundry. So much laundry.

Along with that, she has the spin classes that she teaches, occasionally babysitting her granddaughter or her father, trying to keep her marriage interesting despite her waning interest in physical intimacy, and her adult daughters, who have decided to go into business together. Jen has a lot going on. But she’s also smart and organized and knows how to take on a busy schedule.

What she doesn’t know is how to watch Max in his early wrestling matches. This is his first season he’s had any interest in any sport, and while Ron is more than willing to jump in and help teach their son what he can, Max is small and not used to competitions. And when he gets pinned his first match, Jen’s heart breaks for him. She has to learn how to deal with her feelings, especially for the mat mom from a rival school named Mimi Melon. She is a legend, a mat mom for all four of her boys. And when one of them wins and is awarded a pin, she makes a big spectacle about having him pin it to the back of her coat. Jen hates this immediately.

And when one of Jen’s riders in spin class stops showing up and she finds out that he had actually died, she is stunned and realizes that she doesn’t know all that much about the people taking her classes and is determined to get to know them better. A series of juices after classes with some of her riders leads to some misunderstandings, some friendships, a new commercial real estate agent, a way to help her sluggish libido, and a mild stalker.

The upcoming end of the wrestling season gives Jen something to look forward to, until her fellow mat moms let her know that there is a city league that they all join, so the middle schoolers who were wrestling against each other will all be wrestling together against other leagues. So her laundry journey is not yet over, and that thing she smells is not going away just yet. But as a fundraiser for the City League, the mat moms wrestle each other, and when Jen is challenged by none other than Mimi Melon herself, she feels like she has to accept.

But when a family tragedy stops her cold, Jen lets her emotions get the best of her and she doesn’t know if she’ll be able to undo the damage she does in a vulnerable moment. Will her family be able to forgive her? Will she be able to forgive herself? And will Jen be able to get her groove back in time to wrestle, or will she have to forfeit and let all the mat moms down?

Smells Like Tween Spirit is the fourth book about Jen Dixon, her family, and her hard work writing snarky emails about her kids. Author Laurie Gelman brings her understanding of family life and her good spirited humor back in this new adventure of getting older and finding yourself of caring for kids and parents. As usual, Jen gets some things right and other things wrong, but at the end of the day, it’s always about her family.

I have been a big fan of these books since Class Mom first introduced Jen and her family to the world, and I was so on board for Smells Like Tween Spirit. And once again, Gelman brought it. This book is filled with so much heart and humor, so much family love, that it warms my Midwestern heart to read it. There is also plenty of conflict and drama, and all of it comes together in the perfect ending. I love this part of Jen’s journey in parenting, and I can’t wait for what’s next for her.

Egalleys for Smells Like Tween Spirit were provided by Henry Holt & Company through NetGalley, with many thanks.