Gordon Jack
Summary
Dr. Frances E. Jensen understands the teenage brain. Not only is she a professor of neurology at the University of Pennsylvania, but she has also raised two teenage boys. She uses both her professional studies and personal experience to explain what is happening in the teenage brain and the various environmental factors that can affect it. Each chapter discusses a different factor, including sleep, tobacco, alcohol, pot, stress, sports, and screen time, and how it impacts the growth and development of the adolescent brain.
Critical Evaluation
I would rate this book a 9 out of 10. What Jensen does exceptionally well here is make the complicated neuroscience of the teenage brain easy to understand, both with clear writing and charts. The adolescent brain works and responds to the world differently than the adult brain. It has some unique advantages related to learning and memory and some unique vulnerabilities, especially in the area of addiction. The book focuses mostly on these hazards and often uses frightening stories to make its point about how vulnerable teens are today. While these stories have an emotional impact, I would have liked some larger studies to assess the risk these environmental factors pose for teens.
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