Class Mom

Books | Fiction / Women

3.9

(267)

Laurie Gelman

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 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, Class Mom 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.

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More Details:

Author

Laurie Gelman

Pages

336

Publisher

Henry Holt and Company

Published Date

2017-08-01

ISBN

1250124700 9781250124708

Ratings

Google: 5

Community ReviewsSee all

"Bad Moms in book form. I thought it was a hilariously extreme take on the elementary school trials of an older mom. It isn't realistic. It isn't aiming to be "true to life". But, it has the hints of personality that you can identify in many parent groups and it is so extreme, you feel safe that you would never be as bad as the main character at your job as Class Mom. :) It may have been where I was in my life at the time, but I thought it was a hilarious take on being the older mom of an elementary school kid."

Sue Peterson

"So hilarious. Easy read!"

Jess LeeAnn

"It’s really funny and I really enjoyed the sequel too. Light Mom entertainment!"

"This book was hilarious and similar in style to Where’d You Go Bernadette or Big Little Lies. The best parts were the emails and everyone’s reaction to them. There really is nothing better to read about than the politics between all of the class parents."

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"Fun, quick read. I don’t have kids so wasn’t sure I’d be a fit for me and was surprised how fun it was. Worth a read if you have an open weekend!"

A T

Anna Turk

"A perfect blend of comedy, romance and teeny bit of mystery. "

K S

Katie Stoltenberg

"I never thought about what the parents perspective when being a teacher. This story is hilarious with all the sarcastic emails from the class mom! I can only imagine what would happen if I tried to write an email like this! But also the teacher (Miss Ward) was a nut case! What teacher doesn’t want to know the details about an upcoming event in the classroom! You can tell this is fictional or else that teacher would have been fired a month into the school year!"