Book Love: Class Mom by Laurie Gelman

What do you do when you are the "wisest" (oldest) parent in your son's kindergarten class and your best friend, the PTA president, puts you in charge as class mom?  A lot sarcastic e-mails, being open to bribes for better conference times, trying to publicly (e-mail) shame parents into volunteering.  Jennifer Dixon already has two daughters in college from her earlier "wild" days and now has a 5 year old boy just starting school.   And a lot of these younger parents don't see her the humor in her pleas for help in the classroom.

Even as someone who has never dealt with class moms or school politics or anything of the sort, I was great entertained and enjoyed this novel.  Often this can happen because of barely getting through the book I read before (a large reason I think I enjoyed Mindy Kaling's second book so much, it was a much needed break from the potty training book I was reading at the time, which did prove to be helpful in the end.).

Looking at this through Jen's brain, understanding her jokes and trying to get people to respond, it was easy to see the humor in the situation.  She just needs people to bring in snacks and cups.  Response times will be noted for the idea conference times and easiest items to bring in for the class parties.  It's a selfless job but somebody has to do it.  Even if they start doing it begrudgingly and end up, kinda, sorta, enjoying it by the end (or at least the power it gives). 

Along the way Jen was training for a mud run, watching her best friend go through a personal crisis, making new friends with other parents in her son's class, and reconnecting with an old crush from high school (not in a gross way).  There's an side investigation into a possible fake parent on the e-mail list, with a student nobody has ever seen.  There's the annoying other parents who act more important than everyone else.  There's her college-age daughters having their own romantic entanglements and surprising run-ins.


This isn't great literature but every book doesn't need to be.  Some times you just want something fun, enjoyable, and that might bring a few laughs.  Or at least surprised horror that school might be worse for the parents?  Strangely, it helps me dread the big K a little less next year, even just reading a fictionalized version of what it might be like.

Maybe this was a slightly dramatized version of what might happen in some classrooms.  Maybe this was understated and the politics are actually worse (Are they????)   I really don't care either way (until I have to deal with them next year) but it sure made for an entertaining novel.  Perfect for this fall season as schools are in full swing.  I enjoyed this one.

Goodreads | Amazon

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission.  Thanks for helping support this blog!