Why Moms Are Weird

by Pamela Ribon

From the acclaimed author of Why Girls are Weird comes a second hilarious and surprising novel about love and family and the weirdo inside us all.

Belinda "Benny" Bernstein doesn't brag about her life in Los Angeles, but she is proud of her independence. She's got a job and a place to live, and she even goes out on dates now and again. But when Benny's mother and sister get into a car accident, she drops everything to fly across the country and help her injured, unemployed mom. The only problem? She wasn't exactly invited -- and back in Virginia she finds herself confronting every issue her family has avoided for years, including her mom's thriving sex life and her sister's wild nightlife.

Benny sets about fixing everything she thinks is broken at home, including mounds of clutter and the personal lives of the women she loves. But she soon stumbles upon a stack of letters that may reveal her mother's darkest secret. Benny only begins to understand her mom when she finds herself in a similar dilemma -- torn between someone she can't have and someone she thinks she shouldn't have. If Benny doesn't sort things out before she's sucked into the family vortex of dysfunction, there's no telling when she'll be able to go home again . . . unless this is home, after all.

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Novels, Adult Fiction, Humor

285 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2006

About the author

Pamela Ribon is a screenwriter (Moana, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Bears), performer, TV writer, comic book writer, best-selling novelist, and a Film Independent Directing Lab Fellow.

She is currently adapting her original comic book series SLAM! — co-created with Veronica Fish — as an animated half-hour with Rooster Teeth and Minnow Mountain for HBO Max. She is attached to direct (with Paul Franklin) her live-action feature adaptation of her critically-acclaimed graphic novel My Boyfriend is a Bear (co-created with Cat Farris). She is also adapting her comedic memoir NOTES TO BOYS (AND OTHER THINGS I SHOULDN’T SHARE IN PUBLIC) as an animated series for FX’s CAKE.

Pamela was a flagship contributor to Television Without Pity, and is known as a pioneer in the blogging world with pamie.com, where she launched such viral essays as “How I Might Have Just Become the Newest Urban Legend” and “Barbie Fucks it Up Again,” the latter of which led to #FeministHackerBarbie, a revamp of Mattel’s products and marketing for Barbie, and the creation of Game Developer Barbie as “Career of the Year.” Pamela’s stage work has been showcased at the HBO US Comedy Arts Festival and she created the accidental international scandal known as Call Us Crazy: The Anne Heche Monologues.

A former Austinite with a BFA in Acting from the University of Texas, Pamela has been entered into the Oxford English Dictionary under “muffin top.” That is not a joke. @pamelaribon | she/her

Reviews

[Suad Shamma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I put off reading this book for months after I bought it. When I first came across this book, it was through amazon, and the title caught my attention, then the positive reviews caught my interest. I went looking for it at bookstores around me and couldn't find it anywhere, so I ended up ordering it online. When I first received the book, I admit I didn't like the look of it. I was worried that I have been duped by amazon reviews, the way I was with "The Hating Game" (worst.book.EVER.), so I put it aside and figured I'd get to it eventually. Months later, it was still lying there on my bedside table, I picked it up and couldn't even remember why I wanted to read it in the first place or what it was about.

The minute I started reading it, I realized how wrong I was to have put it off for this long. I knew I was in for a treat, and I was. Pamela Ribon is an incredibly talented writer, and I've come to understand that she started off with her own blog, which then transferred to books. That must be why you could relate so much to her writing style, because it is very personable, it almost feels like every section is just another blog post. Absolutely wonderful. I like the fact that there aren't chapters, but more like moments. The whole book works that way, in moments. Each section describes a moment in Benny's life and when you put all these moments together you get the entire story, and you see Benny and all the other characters progressing in such a natural way.

Yes, I'll admit, as a chick-lit, it has its predictable twists and turns, and its typical happy ending, but Ribon does it in such a way that it seems more natural than other chick-lits. You relate to all the characters in this story, her mom's strange ways and how each layer is slowly uncovered throughout the story so we really understand why she is the way she is and why she acts the way she does. It's endearing in a way, and her methods of moving on are things I can definitely associate with. Jami's rebellion - although quite extreme - are also things you relate with. We all wanted to experience that kind of liberation at one point, the sort where you just didn't want to give a shit about anything.

I was a little disconcerted with Mickey and Benny's relationship, it moved a bit too fast in my opinion, but then again, there were several passages that took place between them where Pamela Ribon just nails a certain emotion or situation, and I marked them all.

All in all, my first for Ribon, but definitely not my last. Can't wait to read more.

[Jennifer Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been a long time reader of the author, Pamela Ribon's blog- Pamie.com and so of course I was very excited to see that she was going to be published. Pamie has a way to make you laugh out loud one second and feel heartbreak the next. When she published her first book, Why Girls are Weird I bought it the first day I could find it in the stores. It was great, and if I had to rate it now I'd probably give it an enjoyable 7/10.

So, needless to say, I was quite excited to see the author was releasing a new novel, Why Moms are Weird- which feature totally different characters... but they went with the "Weird theme in the title again.

The book follows Benny "Boobs" Bernstein, who is living in LA and just as her life starts going in a great direction, she needs to go home to Virginia to take care of her mother, who's been injured in car accident. When Benny arrives home she discovers a her mother's life is not quite what she remembered- and as she tried to sort out the pieces she's also forced to face her own realty and how her decisions effect those around her and herself.

The premise of the story was great- but somewhere along the lines I got lost. This novel isn't the "light" fun the last book was. This one goes to a dark place at times- as the character is forced to face her family and demons she fights with her self confidence. I don't shy away from a novel that goes to "dark places" but at the same time I feel like this one kind of switched from "medium" to "dark" rather quickly and I think it damages the message the author is going for. I didn't always agree with Benny's analysis of the events going on around her and while the author tries to keep us sympathetic to all the characters, I was confused by their actions and couldn't sympathize.

I really wanted to like this book- because I really like Pamie...even though I'm only her creepy internet stalker that reads her blog. The truth is, I didn't really enjoy this book the way I thought I would. There are some parts which were funny- and made me smile, but a lot of the time I kept thinking "WHAT!?"- trying to be on the same page as the author. I'm giving the book a 4/10- it's not bad, and well written, I just feel like it didn't add up the way it could have. Yes, I will read Ribon's next book if she decided to put it out- but I won't put this one on my "must read" recommendation list either.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me laugh out loud. I thought the author was pretty funny. Sometimes the characters made me mad, but at the same time I think that's a good reflection on the author because she made them real. It's in interesting story about a woman and her mom and sister. They have a funny dynamic that's kinda lovable. I wouldn't say it's for everyone but at the same time I really liked it. There were times I didn't want to put it down.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was not even that great of a story but it was a great book somehow! There were a few times were I actually LOL’d.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Random book for vacation. Ended up liking this character and watching her try to navigate her quirky family and their dysfunction.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unexpected. This protagonist is a pain at first but worth hanging in with.

[Ashley Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious!
If you want to relax, have a good time, and never stop laughing-read this book.

[Shauna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a woman named Belinda “Benny” Bernstein. She lives in Los Angeles and works as a travel agent. She seems to be kind of lost in her life, like she doesn’t know where she needs to be. She’s in and out of relationships and is kind of lonely and not too happy either. Her mother and sister live all the across the country in Virginia. Benny chose to leave Virginia to follow her “actor” boyfriend to Los Angeles. She ended up staying there even after their break up. Anyway, Benny’s mother is kind of “out there.” She has an active sex life, which she does not mind talking to Benny about. However, Benny is totally grossed out when thinking of her mom having sex. Benny ends up flying back to Virginia after her mom and sister are in a car accident which leaves her mom with a broken leg and unemployed. She comes back to find out her mom is a hoarder and her sister is still rebellious and chooses the worst relationships for herself. Benny sets out to fix everything for everyone until she realizes that she needs to be fixed as well.

I thought this book was funny and interesting. Benny talked about her weight a lot which got kind of annoying, but in real life most women constantly think/talk about their weight. This book does have the f-bomb in it a good bit, so if you aren’t into reading books with cussing then don’t pick this one up. My favorite character was the mom. She was open-minded and crazy. When I first started reading this book, I thought Benny was pretty normal and her mother and sister needed therapy. After reading it, I realized that Benny was just as messed up as they were and needed their help just as much as they needed her’s.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an easy read and a good laugh.

[lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

i put off reading this when it first came out because, if i'm being totally honest, i didn't like the title and i didn't like the cover and i didn't think i'd be able to relate to it as well as i did with pamie's other books. that skepticism held on probably until about page 20.

my biggest problem with chick lit (in general) is that it so often is about Getting A Man. i do not give the tiniest fuck about some neurotic woman trying to trick someone into marrying her. i am really really interested in reading about neurotic women trying to figure out their lives though, which is why i love pam's books so much. there's romance and girl-meets-boy and blah blah blah, but there's also family and friends and coming to terms with who you are and what you want out of life. pamela ribon does better coming of age stories than any non-ya author i have ever read.

anyway, this is why i loved this book so much. i think i loved it even more than why girls are weird and going in circles, which is seriously high praise coming from me. but i mean, i spent a good portion of my saturday reading it when i will have 8 hours of paid reading time on monday, so you know it must be good.

[Damecatoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the end of this book, there is a little Q & A with the author. She explains that she struggled with the difference between story and voice while working on this novel. But I think she’s got it. Why Moms Are Weird is not the same story as Why Girls Are Weird, but it projects from the same voice. (Jennifer Crusie novels, I cannot say the same thing about you.)

Reading pamie.com off and on, I know some parts of the book that have their beginning in her Real Life and that’s sort of fun, because you don’t usually get that with authors. On the flip side, it made me feel more connected to the characters and at one point I had to put the book down or I was going to start crying. Which is, of course, not a bad review.

There is growth in the characters, too, and I always appreciate ending a book on that. Maybe it was being in therapy, but I really dislike it when characters remain stuck in their psychoses. I deal with enough dogs that won’t be learning any new tricks; I want to experience canines willing to grow and change.

The end of the book also mentions that Pamie started a GeoCities page back in 1998 which led to pamie.com and that without the influence of that site in her life, she’d be in a different job, live somewhere else, probably be married to someone else. And while the same is not true for me, I also started a GeoCities page in 1998. Fun little coincidence.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not like Why Moms are Weird nearly as much as Ribon's other two novels. The story is about Benny, a girl who has moved across the country from her family to California. She returns back East to help take care of her mother after she is injured in an automobile accident. Her sister lives with her mother, but is too unreliable to take care of their mom. Upon arriving she discovers that her mother and sister have become hoarders, so she attempts to help clean up the house and put their lives back together. The book is a lot about their history and their relationships as well as Benny's relationships with a boy she met a week before leaving California and the man she hires to help clean up the house. I started out enjoying the book quite a bit, but eventually grew annoyed by the characters and felt like the relationships between the protagonist and her two male suitors were not realistic. They both seemed to happen too fast and I couldn't figure out why the feelings were supposedly so deep after barely knowing each other.

[Kimberly K · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so funny I found myself smirking, giggling, telling people the funny parts (yes, I'm one of those) and letting out hoots of laughter during my daily activities when remembering some of the funny lines. I was concerned when I started this book that others would not share my enthusiasm do to the seemingly random tangents the author goes off on. It suited me just fine since I think, and I'm sure talk that way at times anyway. :P It does settle into a nice story line (with a bit of a sit-com feel) and although it's humorous deals with serious issues of having adult romantic relationships, coming to terms with her childhood (she was an over-weight child) and maintaining relationships with her family.
Supermarket DJ, Red cars, and the scene at the bank had me in stitches!

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had it all - there were parts where I was laughing out loud, crying, and thinking about my own life. I did not want to put it down. It is one of those books where you just want to HELP the characters improve their lives, very similar to wanting to help your friends/family improve their lives and not being able to. It's a good reminder that people do things differently, and everyone helps him/herself when they are ready to. Telling them to shape up and change does not motivate someone to do it ~ they need to figure that out when they are ready to.

All in all - hilarious. I was cringing at some of the things in the book, like the cluttered house with all the STUFF (I wanted to clean it myself), or the party the daughter threw for her sister...just wonderful.

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, this book is so bad, in so many ways. First, the main character is yet-another twenty-something who hates her job, but has a fabulous apartment in Hollywood. (It's usually in Manhattan, but same diff.) Second, she finds herself in one-too-many sitcom situations that just don't happen in real life. For example, she and her boyfriend meet cute in the grocery store and bond over both having names that are song titles. Then she does what every chick lit chick does: she refuses to commit and plays games with said boyfriend, for fear of getting hurt. Bleh. Finally, this author has a total potty-mouth. She is not just crude; she's downright vulgar. If I could give this zero stars, I would have. Not recommended to anyone.

[Susan Bazzett-Griffith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was funny, but hit on several more serious themes that I found interesting and satisfying. For the first 1/3 of the book, I was not thoroughly convinced that I wanted to finish it because though it was funny/silly, I thought it may completely lack substance; HOWEVER, the story really picked up as Pamela Ribon explored the minor characters and the intricacies of their relationships with her protagonist more. The descriptions of her mother's relationships with men when parallelled by her own with Mickey and Zach drew me back in, and left me really enjoying this novel more than I anticipated when I first started. Almost four stars, but the beginning was a bit weak, so solid three, maybe 3.25.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I blame my weird mother.

I have an overdeveloped sense of fairness, and what is right and wrong.

People in books, or on TV, that do things that are just plain wrong bother me on a deep level. I can't watch "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends" on CartoonNetwork because Blue is always doing things that are wrong.

This is a similar book. The people in this book do things that are consistently wrong, and occasionally malicious, and I just was never able to forgive them for their actions. I know I do nasty things too, but I don't buy books to see the worst of human nature.

[Tata Lapus · Rating 5 out of 5]

What drew me to the book was the title. I didn't know the author and I took the risk of purchasing the book. And sometimes, it is when we take risks that we are rewarded. I love how this story is so funny yet so real. I love that no matter how often a family argues and fights with one another, they will always love each other until the end.

I love Ribon's writing style but I believe this book should have been called "Why Daughters are Weird". Haha! Moms do crazy stuff only because they want their children to be better than them.

I recommend this book.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny book written by a comedian/writer (so you know you are going to get some laughs). Book is about this young woman living in LA when her mom and sister are in a car accident and she has to drop everything to go back east. It's all about how crazy her family is and how to all relate to one another. Funny family issues, dating drama, etc. All things you probably can relate to. Great book and I am definitly going to read Why Girls Are Weird her other book.

[Marjorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book. Pamela Ribon truly knows how to capture a reader and keep them interested in the characters and their emotions. This novel, in dealing with image issues, mother/daughter issues and love, really makes the reader think and perhaps reflect or critique their own learning experiences. Pamela Ribon does all this with humor and good grace and bluntness. I can't wait to read another book by this author! Write more please!

[Karschtl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now this is proof that Americans can indeed write nice chick-lit-ish books about young woman without turning it into a romance. And no repetitions or redundant sentences at all!

It was funny, entertaining, one could at some moments identify either with the role of the daughter or with that of the mother (or maybe both?).

Only thing I didn't like: the stupid German title that has so nothing to do with the story.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is nothing like the title would think. It did though at many times make me burst out laughing. hahahaha It's about a Mom and her 2 daughters. One comes home again without being invited. Such a good story. She comes to help, even though they think they don't need it. Relationships rekindled, new ones made, worthless ones lost. Great ending. Loved it! Loved ALL the characters. I miss them alreadY!!!

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book solely in support of the author Pamela Ribon without much regard for content. I have followed her blog on pamie.com for probably 6 or 7 years now and think she is an awesome funny lady. Luckily, and not too surprisingly, the book delivered several very funny parts and over all was an enjoyable read. I'd recommend it if you're okay with the concept of "chick lit".

[Pensieve Thoughts · Rating 2 out of 5]

I will not argue. Pamela Ribon is funny. I like her pun and gusto. I just didn't feel like I can continue reading the book. I was expecting it to focus on how topsy-turvy hilarious and frustrating being a mom can be. But never that heinous. The first page disturbed me.

I might miss the good parts the book can offer...but, I'll let this pass. Will read the Why Girls Are Weird, though.

[Cláudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very curious about this book as I really loved the other one I had read by Pamela Ribon, 'Why Girls are Weird'.
This book is less funny. It's a good story, good writing, keeps us interested but it just doesn't have the "it" the other book had. Or maybe I just had too high expectations. Anyway, a good book.

[Avia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit I know the author of this book. Still, that does not change the fact that the book is really well written and tremendously funny! I read the first half on a plane, and the lady next to me thought I was crazy because I kept laughing out loud.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my 2nd book that I have read of hers. I loved this book. I would have never picked up this book if I didn't see it on goodreads. I even read some it to my boyfriend. He got a kick out it as well.

[Faith Quick · Rating 3 out of 5]

the book started out really good and then it sort of slowed down for me and left me feeling a little cheated at the end. all in all a very good easy fast read. i love how honest her main character is, she makes me laugh.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

great chick lit. would like to read WHY GIRLS ARE WEIRD after seeing reviews. liked the references to music, although it will outdate the book soon enough. sometimes i too feel the gods are speaking to me by the songs i hear on the radio and in stores.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved this author's first book Why Girls Are Weird but was sadly disappointed in this one. Oh well. You can't hit a home run every time you're up at bat. I just wish I'd cared about any of the characters, but not a single one resonated with me. Sorry.

[Mich · Rating 3 out of 5]

not bad not bad.. i wasnt expecting much tho.. chicklit girl moves back home and tries to 'help' her mom and adult sister.
she does a lot of soul searching along the way and it is rather entertaining