Shared SHelves

This summer I started on a mission. I am reading some of the titles that fill my daughter's teen aged shelves. While this came about as a result of my buying and her reading a book that was likely, just slightly, a bit old for her - and her reading it around friends who thought "wow that looks good" before I realized that it was likely too old for her "sigh"
So now I am reading a sampling of her books.
While I started this venture in order to keep a handle on the materials ingested, I am finding that I am enjoying the books too; and, i am really enjoying our conversations about the shared titles. (I found out after I started that a friend of mine shares books with her sixteen year old daughter too - love it)
I am currently reading/listening to the Georgia Nicholson series on my way home from work. I have now listened to more of them than my daughter has read (They are quite entertaining to hear). THere are times when I find myself laughing out loud, really, at Georgia and her mates. The book is likely British teen aged humor at its finest, though I would be interested to know how well it does in England.
part of what I love about Georgia is that she is a teen aged girl. The group of girls spends time working through just what the lad meant when he said "see you later." I don't know that teen aged boys say that in the United States, but I know that teen aged girls and adult women spend time analyzing and re-analyzing what males say and what they "mean" by what they say.
As Georgia works through her relationships and discovers the things she enjoys, what turns her legs to jell-o, and those things she doesn't like about herself, I remember what it is to be a teen aged girl. I am gaining a bit of insight into my daughter who, despite my looking very closely, is nothing like Georgia. My daughter is a teen aged girl but without a lot of the drama. While we don't have conversations about her nose or not being able to find anything to wear or boring family trips that pull her away from her mates, we do discuss the growing awareness of boys and girls of one another. She has identified how "not" to treat boys and how difficult it is to talk with one that doesn't share a class. She is working through the power of eye contact and how uneasy people can be when another looks at them and truly sees them.
I am learning things I didn't know when I was her age - or maybe I am learning them because I am seeing them through adult eyes and with the advantage of a close relationship with my daughter.
The guys at work warn me about having a teen aged girl, but really, I am enjoying her perspective, her attitude, her maturity and yet her playful nature… I am learning so much from her these days and i love sharing her life.
Okay, I also love sharing her book shelf. Who really knew that young adult fiction could be this good!