This novel, with a 12 year old narrator, is obviously aimed at middle school readers or late elementary readers, since it deals with the preoccupations of that age group; however, teachers should approach it with care because it does treat a pre-teen’s horror at her the thought of her parents having sex. (The issue is dealt with tastefully in connection with Laura’s mother’s pregnancy. It is a realistic concern, and treated with affection, even humor--but preteens and teens wouldn’t see the humor!) Laura Stephan’s parents are particularly embarrassing to her because they are so different. Her mother is a beautiful, ex-model sculptor who is a bohemian airhead. Everyone loves her, but Laura sees her as vaguely awful, until she announces she is expecting a baby. Laura’s unhappiness with her mother changes to downright horror. Of course, in time, Laura comes to terms with her parents’ difference from the norm and realizes how much she loves her mother. Positive.
A Mother to Embarrass Me is a cute peek inside a small Utah town where a preteen, named Laura, struggles with life. Unfortunately for Laura, her mother is a former model and the belle of the town. This causes grown men to fawn over her, which is quite embarrassing for Laura. In addition, her mother is fairly bad at domestic activities, which inspires Laura to create a massive list of things to change about her mother. The crushing blow, however, is that Laura's mother is pregnant. This means tha
What do You think about A Mother To Embarrass Me (2008)?
- I think I'm a little old for this book. I probably would have appreciated it more when I was twelve.- Laura is really whiny, and she is SO mean to her mother. I can't believe some of things she says and thinks. I just wanted to smack her!- I can see why Laura thought a couple things her mom did were embarrassing. The loud music and the dancing in front of her friends would turn my face red too. - The ending was lame. There wasn't really any conclusion. Laura and her mom didn't reconcile anything. There wasn't really a point to the story.
—Kami
