The Teenage Brain

If you educate, coach, manage, or live with a teenager or young adult, you need to read The Teenage Brain by Frances Jensen. The reason for much of young people’s behavior that has mystified you will become understandable. Teens and young adults should read this book to better understand and manage themselves. Jensen is a neuroscientist who provides clear and science-backed explanations of teen behavior. She explains how much of that behavior is a result of the brain’s development process during the teenage years. Jensen covers a long list of important topics as they relate to teen development—learning, sleep, risk-taking, smoking, alcohol, drugs, stress, mental illness, use of digital devices, gender differences, sports, crime, and more. Throughout the book, Jensen provides recommendations for interacting with teens more effectively and ways to help them to develop into functional adults. The writing is clear and many examples are provided to illustrate points made. A valuable contribution to the literature on adolescent development written for the lay reader.