Class Mom is a quick, witty read that feels designed for the transition from summer to back to school. Parents of young children will appreciate the exaggerated take on school politics and the all too familiar e-mail exchanges that ensue between the parents of young children. Gelman is at her best with these quick exchanges and eclectic personalities. Unfortunately, much of the plot is predictable and overly focused on the flirtations of the adults (mostly, but not all, married). Still, this is a funny and satisfying debut novel.

CLASS MOM by Laurie Gelman makes every mom who volunteered in a kindergarten classroom feel like they have a partner in crime, especially those of us that didn't have kiddos early in life. This book makes you laugh and has enough mystery to keep you reading and wondering a bit until the end. The funniest part of the book to me were the eggs and it makes sense to anyone that has every tried to herd parents to volunteer for class activities. There were a few things that irritated me while reading this book but they were far outweighed by the humor and the female friendships in this story. A quick chic lit book for those that enjoy the genre!

I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Laugh Out Loud Funny!!!

Class Mom by Laurie Gelman is a hilarious, entertaining, and refreshing read! I didn't want to put this book down - I was laughing from beginning to end!

Jen Dixon has 2 daughters in college, fathered by rock stars from her wild and crazy days, and a son who is starting kindergarten, who she had with her husband, Ron. Jen has been asked to be "Class Mom" for her son Max's kindergarten class, this isn't her first time having this coveted title, but she sure would rather be doing something else. Does Jen take the duties of "Class Mom" seriously? I'm not too sure about that - you decide! She knows most of the moms with kids in the class are new to the school system, to break the ice and lighten everyone up, she decides to make all her emails witty, sarcastic, and full of humor. After all, it's not high school. BUT, some parents just can't take a joke! Really!? Can Jen win over all the young moms by the end of the school year? Jen definitely says what we are all thinking - she doesn't hold back with these drama-filled moms.

Class Mom shows us the struggles of being a mom, growing older, class mom duties, forgotten crushes, and friendship. I found the moms in this book to be very accurate to the moms I've encountered in the school pickup lines. If you are looking for a fun, hilarious, and entertaining read then this is the book for you! Highly Recommend.

*I want to thank NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for the ARC.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

I love hearing stories about snarky moms, especially ones that have to deal with classroom settings because I am the mother of a kindergartner-going-into-first-grader and I do not have the mental wherewithal to deal with the politics and such that go along with the PTA and its members. Jennifer sounded like she was going to be a blast because her humor sounded like it would be my cup of tea, especially when going up against the other moms such as those described in the summary.

One of the main reasons I'm rating this 3 stars is that I thought there was a problem with balance in Jennifer and her personality. I definitely appreciated and laughed at her emails in the beginning, emails to the other parents in her son Max's class that called them out on response times, volunteer excursions, etc., but the amount of snark and sass felt like it was crammed into the first half of the novel with a severe drop in the second half. This isn't to say that there was none, but I definitely felt the difference and being inundated at the beginning with something of a drought at the end made the book suffer for me.

Another of the reasons is something of the racist comments that Jennifer makes. Very early on in the book she makes a comment in an email to the class parents about one of the parents' people's "need for power". This instance gets called out later on, thankfully, but both the parent in question and is in fact one of the reasons that Jennifer temporarily loses her job as class mom. While she does apologize to Asami, I'm not sure how sincere it was because when she was confronted by the principal she was very vehement about it being a joke.

There are also other occasions when Jennifer makes a comment about "going native": once in regard to her friend Nina, who I think was African-American, saying she was going to take her afro "native" and another time when Jennifer herself was talking about her personal female grooming and how it had "gone native" down there. In opposition to the comment she made regarding Asami, these are never addressed on the page and made it feel like they were being condoned, since Jennifer was never caught using them.

Jennifer's character become a bit more problematic for me when she was making horrible comments (again, never confronted because she "luckily" never said them aloud) about a couple of the parents: the wife she viewed as not attractive while the husband was a "total hunk". This coupling didn't fit in with her view and she made snide internal comments about how "hot goes with hot, average goes with average", how the wife must have money for it to be possible, and how she is determined to find proof that the husband married her for a green card. These moments gave me serious WTF vibes.

If it weren't for these moments, I think I would've liked the book a bit more. Unbalanced humor aside, the characters were tabloid types that you might expect to see in chick lit. I liked Jennifer's husband, Ron, and his bonding with his son. While I could see him trying really hard to get Max into sports and things that he liked, he never got super strict and demanded that his son like these things. He tried a lot and found things they could enjoy together, rather than forcing him into something Max would resent him for later on.

Now that the school year is over for Jennifer and Max is going on to the first grade, I have to wonder what next year's batch of emails to going to be like.

Laughing out loud funny, I loved this book!

Jen has two college age daughters and, with her marriage, little Max who is starting kindergarten. She’s been through the class mom thing with her other two and has no desire to revisit that role. However, her best friend is the PTA president and pushes her into it. At the beginning, she decides she not having the parental power struggle that comes with the positions and sends the most hilarious communication to the other parents, some of whom can’t take a joke.

This is a great book. I love the humor and the storyline in general. Two thumbs up! 🙂

I would describe this book as possessing all the zaniness of a Maria Semple or Marian Keyes novel, but without Semple's signature acerbic wit and Keyes's lovable characters.

Gelman's writing style, much like the plot, is long and unwieldy. I felt that a lot of her paragraphs could have been cut in half with a more concise writing style. Likewise, the plot was all over the place. Half the time I didn't know where it was going.

The climax was disappointing on several levels. Jen's building flirtation with Don took up much of the book, yet the confrontation between her and Don and Ron felt brushed under the rug and not a big deal, as though Gelman had taken the easy way out. Similarly, all the buildup to her big mud race led to a very disappointing, uneventful description squeezed in at the very end of the book.

I had high hopes for this one, because I love women's fiction and domestic fiction. The books in those genres often relate to my life and I feel a close connection with the characters because they have similar thoughts, feelings, or actions as me. But CLASS MOM felt more like a satire or a comedy of errors that went just a step too far in the slapstick direction that made it hard for me to connect with Jen on a personal level.

Enjoy your summer — August is right around the corner and you’ll want to grab this one to help you keep your sense of humor as you send your babies back to school.
We’d like you to be our Class Mom. For many of us, these words inspire a low-wave vibration below our feet. We’ve been there. Poised with a big smile and an open mind, we expected it to be a cakewalk, or, rather, we thought we were merely coordinating one. Thinking our role would keep us closer to our children and make a positive impact on learning experiences, we sent emails and notes home in backpacks. We did our best to keep our fellow parents engaged on whatever level they could. Many responded and others required us to use a nightscope and full-on surveillance to make contact. Some responded in excess and others did their best to send a piddly box of store-bought cookies for snack time. We chased down the parents who were always working or and marked off the ones that were never at work and incommunicado. We tolerated the disinterested, the rebels, and the innovators. We were diplomats and peacemakers. We begged and pleaded and patched holes in the volunteer schedules. And, after doing all that, we had the pleasure of creating unique teacher gifts — handmade, not store bought, if you please.
Our tour of duty taught us that opinions are like . . . shoulders. Everyone has at least one.
The class mom experience isn’t new to Laurie’s main character. Jenny Dixon served her time with older children. She’s acutely aware of the joys and landmines involved. Jenny’s best friend assigns her the dreaded role and she responds by modernizing and streamlining class parent processes. She refuses to split hairs about seemingly simple decisions. Not only does Jenny charter new waters as a class mom, but, like most parents, she heaps more on her schedule. Jenny trains for a mud marathon, wearing her vulnerability as a badge of honor as she attempts to rebuild her body.
Jenny’s satire may be wasted on the tiger mothers and helicopter parents in her son’s kindergarten class, but it’s priceless for Gelman’s readers. One must wonder if these Pinterest-inspired, time-sucking expectations aren’t inspired by the teachers or schools, but by the parents, themselves? Even as some characters attempt to drown the swimmers in front of their kids to own an edge in the race, we see what motivated them: They love their children.

One needs only to see Gelman’s Twitter profile pic to get a taste of Laurie’s satirical style. Her debut balances generous helpings of humor with a heartfelt message about the trials parents confront as human beings, whether ignited by the challenges of marriage, career, school, family, or friendships. At the close of the day, we’re all doing the best we can with what we know.
Laurie Gelman A+

Jen, former groupie and single mother has embarked on a new life as wife and class mother for her youngest son. To survive she sends snarky emails to the intense kindergarten parents. She gains friends, enemies, a trainer, and a chance to flirt with a high school crush. In the end it is a story of growing up and deciding what is truly important.

My first thought after reading this novel - is this really a debut? The author writes like a seasoned pro! One that knows exactly what her readers want in a women's fiction novel! WOW! I truly enjoyed this clever little number. And, seeing as I hardly ever read women's fiction novels (they all tend to follow the same tropes) I was extremely pleased and surprised to find this one. The only downfall is, now I have to wait for the author to write another book! Sigh. I guess this is a good thing though because an author that can impress me this much with a debut deserves an award!

Overall, I highly recommend this read. I can't wait for others to read it too!!!

** Full review to be posted online come release week **

This book was a hoot from start to finish! I loved Gelman's writing style and Jen's character. I really wanted to be friends with her. Thanks for a not-so-typical domestic adventure novel. Will be recommending this to fellow teachers and book clubbers.

There’s nothing like the first day of school: perfect bag, perfect hair, perfect outfit. And the kiddos look good too. School isn’t the same as it was when you or I went (I don’t even remember my mom ever going to school, save a concert,) and the behind the scenes jockeying for position is precarious. Judgy Mom sniping and snarking is only the beginning. Such is the life that every parent navigates in some form and is perfectly depicted in Class Mom by Laurie Gelman. Jen Dixon is the subject title character and the person you want to lead you in the intricacies of chaperoning class field trips and scheduling parent-teacher conferences.
Having done time as a ranking member of the PTA and class mom (we prefer room parent, cuz we’re so PC - and a dad complained), I can attest to the accuracies of all that goes down in the pickup line. I only wished I had JD sized balls to echo her chutzpah. Her biting wit and sauciness make Class Mom a hilarious read that perfectly captures life on the inside.

Meet Jen, our Class Mom for the kindergarten class of the upcoming school year. What you need to know about her is that this is not a new gig for her; she's been there, done that, as they say. Most of the mom's that have kids in this kindergarten class are newbies to the whole school process. Some couldn't even part with their precious children for two-hour preschool, so Jen knows she's going to get lots of questions and more hysterical moms than kids. It's virtually or literally, guaranteed. So confusing, but there'll be both for sure. Jen starts off with funny emails, well she thinks they're funny; lots of snarky humor, a sprinkle of sarcasm, just to keep it fun.
Well, half the mom's don't get it, what's their problem anyway?! Jen meets every type of mom you can imagine, she has two college age daughters from, we'll say previous relationships, but she's happily married now with Ron and 5 yr. old son Max. The Book is marvelous fun and laugh-out-loud hilarious as Jen deals with every mom and Miss Webb, the class's very interesting teacher. Highly recommend! Definitely take to beach or pool.

I didn't finish this. It seemed to be trying really hard to be funny, but it wasn't.

For parents and non-parents alike, this was a super fun book with a lot of humour that I loved reading.

Our main character, Jen, was absolutely hilarious, and while I can see why other parents were not terribly entertained by her emails, I thought they were an absolute riot. It was so sweet to see her interacting with her daughters in college next to her son starting kindergarten, and I loved her general optimism.

It seems that kindergarten moms are basically their own world of cliques and catfights, which made for a lot of drama and intrigue as they tried to appear responsible in front of the kids. I really got to know each of the fifteen or so parents in the class and was really interested in the ways that they would change throughout the book.

I loved her flirting and her ultimate realization about what it is to be a women getting older. The ultimate scenario was absolutely hilarious and I read it laughing while hiding my face in my hands. A mystery thrown in was rather strange, but easy to read and kept a little interest.

This was a lovely happy-go-luck book that I immensely enjoyed reading and recommend to parents or fans of women's fiction.

Good god the main character seemed like someone I would hate

Class Mom
Laurie Gelman
Available: August 1, 2017
Thank you to NetGalley.com for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
What a debut novel! Its adorable for those of us who are in the golden years of our children’s school lives and good prep for those who are just entering the world of class moms. There are some unusual situations in the story but its definitely not like all of the other class mom books out there.
What I loved: Jen is me – snarky, acts without always speaking, brutally blunt. Except for the whole INXS/slutty rock star kind of girl thing (I’m more of a Dave Gahan from Depeche Mode kind of girl); Jen is how I went through my daughter’s elementary school experience – bitter, sarcastic, and not always liked in the beginning.
What I didn’t love: While the major conflict is pretty true to life, its also pretty preditable so it falls into the ugh column.
What I learned: I am so glad those years are behind me!
Overall Grade: B

www.FluffSmutandMurder.com

Thank you to Net Galley and Henry Holt and Co for an ARC of this title. I had been reading some heavy thrillers, so thought this might be a good change of pace. It was laugh out loud funny. If you've ever been the class mom, or any volunteer coordinator, this is #truth. I have lived this stuff. The story has some interesting twists that I didn't expect, and I enjoyed, making me keep reading to figure out what would happen. I also enjoyed the emails put into the novel...a current favorite trend of mine. I wondered when I saw Gelman's last name, whether she was the wife of Michael Gelman (I believe a producer for The View.) I believe that's correct, since she thanked him :) at the end. Sometimes, if a wife of someone well known writes a book, I shake my head...in this case, I am anxiously looking forward to her next effort. Good debut.

Laurie Gelman has managed to write one of the funniest books of the year while encapsulating the denizens who inhabit schools. The story of Jennifer Dixon, former groupie, now snarky class mother is a truly delightful expose of the archetypes that teachers/parents will meet in today's schools.

Yes, everyone who enters a school will meet the "two mommies," the mother of the seriously allergic child, the mother who is always trying to pick your pocket, along with so many others. This compendium of neurosis might seem an exaggeration, but for those of us who work in some more pretentious schools, we will recognize all the characters.

Gelman manages to bring them to life, make us laugh, while bringing us amazing insights into a population that we probably find in every "elite" school. Her school is in an upscale suburb of Kansas City, but believe me, these moms and dads are in schools all over the country.

Do enjoy this book, but remember Gelman has done a better job of describing parental interaction than that done in PRIMATES OF PARK AVENUE. I cannot begin to express how much fun I had reading this book and pairing them up with all the real life parents who embody the parents portrayed in this book.

Hilariously funny! Any classroom Mom knows this is true. Not to be missed!
Loved it because I live in KC too.