Funny, warm, endearing. I’m 30 but still enjoy youth and YA reads, and why not when they’re as well written as this one?!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

The Life Of Ciara....
Ciara, a wife and a mother. But does she have a life? When private thoughts become public Ciara runs off to New York, her own Mother’s ashes in hand. Mixed feelings but a generally amusing read with some prevalent points.

I can tell that this book is well worn and would appeal to a particular audience but it just wasn’t for me. I couldn’t engage with characters or the narrative. I wonder whether it just didn’t have enough hooks for me, perhaps because of my age or life stage. I loved the idea and the synopsis and I hope the book does well.

I could identify with so much of this. My kids might have reached their 20s but it is all still so vivid. And the menopause details. I had my head in my hands when the blog came out. Such a human, real life character in Ciara. I loved her adventures in New York - just amazing, I am in awe. A real story of our time. #ImJustATeenagePunchbag #netgalley

Absolutely loved this book! This is not just the ranting and raving of a menopausal mother of three teenagers its much more than that! Ciara married to Martin and mother of three, spends her days meeting her families needs and taken for granted, her needs,wants and desires are sidelined as she deals with the daily monotomy of family life, this all changes one day when her family find out they are the source of her online blog!so taking her mums ashes she leaves them all and heads to the states! What follows is a voyage of self discovery as ciara finds herself and in doing so becomes a happier more fulfilled person.A fantastic read for any women of a certain age with teenagers!
Thank you net galley for this early read

Really good read. Would recommend to friends and family. I could sympathise with characters (important for any fiction novel!) and looked forward to picking it up and reading the next few chapters! Interesting plot line and a good ending. Will look out for more novels by the author. Thank you.

My thanks to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for a copy of “ I’m Just A Teenage Punchbag” for an honest review.
I’ve been a fan of Jackie Clune since her standup days and loved “ Extreme Motherhood” .
This book , written from the perspective of a woman of the same age as me , with the same sorts of life trials ,had me laughing and nodding in agreement from the start.I expected the story to carry on in the same lighthearted vein but it progressed in a way that I wasn’t expecting and I found parts very moving.
.I found this such a satisfying read and life affirming and I can’t wait to recommend it to my friends

This book resonated with me. Having 'ungrateful, demanding teenagers',, I completely 'get it'. Ciara's loss of self, who she is and what she wants. Writing what others think but are too afraid to say. A drastic but, life affirming outcome - you can resign!!

I really wanted to love this book - it sounded fantastic, but it didn't really work for me. I just couldn't seem to get into the novel, I really wanted to like Ciara, and I loved the idea of the blog, but it was all a bit... meh. It could have been super funny, but I honestly thought it just fell flat for me.

It was a good idea, but it just didn't catch on for me, although I'm sure it will find its readership.

What a harrowing and depressing read! I was hoping for something entertaining, but as I slogged through this catalogue of misery I began to wonder why I'd been expecting to laugh. So it was a surprise to check back on this site and find the book described as 'the comic novel for a generation.'
My basic problem was that I didn't like, or care about, any of the characters, or find them particularly believable. The observations about married life and teenagers were trite, and although strong language doesn't usually bother me, but here it felt like a way of trying for an easy laugh.
As a mother of recently-teenage children, I'm probably the target demographic for this book, but I'm afraid it just didn't work for me.

Well, this book turned out to be a surprise. I t stated as a book of a mother of teenager's with issues that I can relate to. I thought it would continue in a slummy mummy style for the rest of the story. But, no, it didn't. Without giving too much away, it turned on it's head completely and delivered a sort of Shirley Valentine re-awakening. I loved the story and it was not as I expected.

Ciara is a fifty-something, menopausal, and unappreciated wife and mother to three entitled teenage children. Feeling dissatisfied with her lot, and reflecting on her role in life following the death of her mother, Ciara starts to blog about her family. When a drunken evening leads her to publish the posts, her secret outlet becomes not-so-secret, eventually leading her to heading off to New York as much to escape from her family as to fulfil a promise to her late mother.

This was very much a story of two halves for me. There obviously needed to be a certain amount of setting up of Ciara’s story, with tales of her horrible teenage children and steady (but boring) husband. While there were humorous moments in this, and while as a mother I can definitely relate to the thankless, “Groundhog Day”-ness of monotonous tasks, I did feel as though the story smacked a little of “poor me” (which sapped my empathy for her somewhat), until Ciara headed off to New York. That’s when the story really came alive... I loved Ciara’s experiences there, which felt very real, and her relationship with the wonderfully drawn Gina.

I also loved some of the subplots, especially Ciara’s relationship with Debbie, and the chats Ciara had with her mother. I’m also pleased that the ending wasn’t what I expected… I’ll certainly be looking out for more from this author in future.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the arc to review.

I’m Just a Teenage Punchbag is the story of Ciara. Wife of Martin and Mum to daughter Amelie and twin boys Lorcan and Paddy.....
Menopausal, unappreciated, feeling unattractive and grieving for her Mum who passed away a year ago Ciara has had enough.
What started out as musings on a private website becomes a public blog post after a drunken evening. Her family are furious so she runs away....taking the urn of her Mother’s ashes with her to New York to sprinkle them from the top of the Empire State Building
Alone in New York Ciara is forced to evaluate her life and figure out what she really wants...

This book gets a bit of a mixed reaction from me. I am a menopausal Mum to a teenage boy and whilst there are situations I can identify with that made me smile I am nothing like Ciara (thankfully) That said I did feel for her so identified with a small part of her life. The only person she feels listens to her is her dead Mum, during daily conversations with her ashes that she kept in her wardrobe.
I loved her relationship with Gina and I was thankful she found a true friend in her. Gina definitely gave Ciara the confidence to figure out what she wanted in life.

Overall this book was a painful look at family life, heartbreaking but funny in parts and worth a read if you have teenage kids as I guarantee there will be parts you can sympathise with Ciara

Thank you to the Author, Publisher and NetGalley for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.