Laurie Gelman’s clever debut novel about a year in the life of a kindergarten class mom–a brilliant send-up of the petty and surprisingly cutthroat terrain of parent politics.Jen Dixon is not your typical Kansas City kindergarten class mom–or mom in general. Jen already has two college-age daughters by two different (probably) musicians, and it’s her second time around the class mom block with … class mom block with five-year-old Max–this time with a husband and father by her side. Though her best friend and PTA President sees her as the “wisest” candidate for the job (or oldest), not all of the other parents agree.
From recording parents’ response times to her emails about helping in the classroom, to requesting contributions of “special” brownies for curriculum night, not all of Jen’s methods win approval from the other moms. Throw in an old flame from Jen’s past, a hyper-sensitive “allergy mom,” a surprisingly sexy kindergarten teacher, and an impossible-to-please Real Housewife-wannabe, causing problems at every turn, and the job really becomes much more than she signed up for.
Relatable, irreverent, and hilarious in the spirit of Maria Semple this is a fresh, welcome voice in fiction–the kind of novel that real moms clamor for, and a vicarious thrill-read for all mothers, who will be laughing as they are liberated by Gelman’s acerbic truths.
more
Funniest book I read all year! Okay, I lied. Maybe it’s the funniest book I read in two years 🙂 It was snarky but relatable, and oh so realistic.
This was a laugh-out-loud book that I read because I wanted a break from thrillers. I absolutely recommend it to anyone who has been a mom, a teacher, or been a part of class/school groups. It is humorous, filled with craziness, and a great break from most of the reads today. Grab it today!
Snarky, witty, and funny “take” on the experiences/trials/and often obscured “joys” of serving as Class Mom to everyone’s special offspring, aka “our little darlings”—during the preschool and kindergarten years. The quirky input, activities, and communications from the parents is all too familiar to anyone who has served in this “enviable” role! This Class Mom has been around the block a couple of times already in prior years, so she is not going into this as a “newbie”, albeit she IS going into it unwillingly. This time around, she is prepared to handle the craziness and is planning to snap the parents into high gear—–or, maybe not!! Her approach was “way different” to the norm! I loved this book, especially, of course, her emails to the parents who were taken unawares by them. I liked it every bit as much as Where’d You Go, Bernadette, ( which it has been compared to)—and perhaps even more!!
Laurie Gelman explores the world of parenthood through humor. When Jen becomes the Kindergarten class mother, she realizes her wit and sarcasm is not caught or understood by all which leads to some conflict. I wish there had been some more sensitivity to a child’s food allergy because that should not be taken lightly. Overall I found myself chuckling at some of the antics.
A delight in every way possible! I listened to the audiobook at work and made the most ridiculous sounds throughout this book, as I laughed so hard I couldn’t hold it in. Jen Dixon is such a refreshing, witty character, with an extreme lack of filter that will keep you on your toes throughout the entire story, guessing what wild and zany thing she’s going to say or do next. I’m looking forward to more of this series!
Hilarious!
I loved it!
Any parent, teacher, kid who has grown up ;will remember that one year with their “crazy” class mom!
This book is an all to true story of what every class mom would want to say or write.
Kudos to Laurie Gelman for this terrific book!
Such a fun read!
I’m not sure how I came across this book. It showed up in my email as an available book I put on hold with my e-library. I’m so glad I read it. It was the perfect book for a holiday weekend. Plenty of laughs.
Jen is hilarious in the emails she sends to the class parents. Coming from the educator side and the parent side it is so frustrating when the same parents volunteer and some parents are pretty much invisible.
There is a sequel to Class Mom and I’m thinking I will see what it is about.
Can’t wait for her next book!
I enjoyed this light read, but it really should have been a short story. The protagonist was kind of a pain in the ass and there wasn’t much of a story arc.
I truly enjoyed this book by Laurie Gelman.
I think it was one of the ones I didn’t like the language on. Could be wrong. Forgive me if so. But personally, I don’t like the f-bomb. If I see it Several times at beginning of book, I delete the book.
Why the reviews of this book emphasized how funny this was is beyond me. Still entertaining but no interest is reading this writer again.
Very good book. I wish I’d of had a book like this when my kids were little. I can’t wait to read the next one.
I enjoyed this book. It was a fun light read. However, I find it hard to believe that any spouse would be so forgiving if their spouse had a long flirty texting history with their high school crush
Great look at what goes on behind the scenes in school politics.
Quick read. Mildly amusing. I found the character to be unrelatable and I felt the story didn’t ring true. But I was entertained for a few hours.