Pure comedy! Laughed all the way. Very relatable. Was able to discuss this in depth with my book club. Really loved it

This was a lovely read, easy, light hearted, laugh out loud funny. It was a funny read about a fundraising situation , that should have been easy but that ran into so many hiccups. It was really enjoyable and lead to me absolutely loving Maggie. For anyone who wants to be cheered up and who wishes to forget about lifes mundanities for a while, I'd highly recommend this book.

This was a very fun read, with a humor reminiscent of Where'd You Go, Bernadette. However, unlike Maria Semple's book this one had a conclusion that, even though it fit the tone of the story and had been foreshadowed, left me disappointed. It also had one glaring plot hole that I could not ignore and that still nags me days after I finished it.

I would give this 3.5 stars, so I’ll round up to 4.

This book was an unexpected delight! I was looking for a light popcorn read while I traveled, and it delivered. I loved the characters, the inner conflict of Maggie, and even the (admittedly out there) ending. This is the perfect back to school read, or if you’re looking for a more light-hearted palette cleanser.

“The Very Principled Maggie Mayfield” follows Maggie Mayfield, the principal at an elementary school in California. Maggie’s school faces the same problem that every public school has: funding. The school budget is tight, and the school worries they will lose some valuable teachers and programs. When the opportunity to participate in a beta test of a new mathematics software arises, it seems almost too good to be true. Soon Maggie finds herself in a major moral and personal dilemma.

My mom and mother-in-law work(ed) in education, and I have to say that Kathy Cooperman paints the reader a realistic picture of the public school system and its priorities. The plot was engrossing, and I found myself torn right alongside Maggie - does she do what’s best for her school, or education as a whole? I felt compelled to keep reading just to see if everything worked out in the end.

While the plot and writing were delights, this book’s greatest strength was its characters. I LOVED Maggie - she was so relatable, and I enjoyed her interactions with her students. Her friendship with Diane also warmed my heart, and was an actual realistic portrayal of friendship between women instead of something cheesy. The reader is also treated to little sprinkles of other characters, like art teacher Miss Pearl and Lucy Wong the third grader, that broke up the story some and gave fun little side stories. Also, I’m just saying, I would read a spinoff book featuring Diane and Hank.

The only reason I gave this 3.5 stars instead of a full 4 is that the ending felt out there, with a rushed and unrealistic feeling. Obviously this is chick lit so I should suspend my disbelief to an extent, but it still had me scratching my head. This was still very much an enjoyable read, and I devoured it on my plane ride.

Super fun summer read. Perfect for the beach. I just loved the friendship between Maggie and Diane. It was written exactly how female friendships are in 'real' life. I just loved their banter. And I loved how they solved the problem together. I did kind of hope for a different ending, but it just couldn't happen. Loved the friendship between Lucy and Rachel as well.

I was quite entertained by the quirky characters and goings on in this novel. Kathy Cooperman writes with humor and her dialogue is first rate. There were some over the top moments, but I thought they added to my overall enjoyment of The Very Principled Maggie Mayfield. If you like a book that makes you think a little, has a romance, makes you laugh and moves along quickly, I'd recommend this one.
3.5
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

Maggie Mayfield is an elementary school principal in a prestigious community. Maybe they aren’t on the same level as Silicon Valley schools, but Maggie Mayfield is a fighter, and she will do everything for her students. When the opportunity to test new educational program presents itself, together with the much-needed financial support, Maggie cannot refuse.

The Author tried to create witty and quirky characters that fell victims of embarrassing situations and came marching out with their heads held high. Instead, it felt bland, boring and the humor went above my head.

«The Very Principled Maggie Mayfield» had some positive sides. Especially, Maggie’s struggles as the school principal, trying to look out for her kids and teachers, while also juggling the funding.

Maggie is shown as that fierce protector of her school, and we get to respect her for this. I was led to believe in Maggie, to see her as this strong woman, who overcame the divorce and unusual situations that led to it.

But then Danny shows up and it all goes downhill from there. Maggie becomes stupid. She acts without thinking, she says silly things and at that point, I’ve lost all interest in continuing reading this book.

The humor that the Kathy Cooperman poured in this book, couldn’t hide its flaws. Although, I did appreciate the «Game of Thrones» reference: They give people rides in the clouds.” By now, Maggie had totally Disneyfied the Khaleesi's dragons.

Maggie is a determined lady who loves her school very much! I felt that this head teacher was quite adventerous in comparison to most teachers I know, she felt driven to improve her school despite a lack of funding, so she enrolled her school into a maths tech teaching pilot programme.
Maggie soon realised that corporate business is very different from education, money and profit was a huge motivator for the tech company, which didn't sit well with Maggie.
As a result, Maggie finds herself in a variety of dilemmas, some involving her own love life, some that force her to do some rather crazy things.
This was an enjoyable read, the main character being the most gripping, the storyline was a little far fetched but nevertheless, it is worth a look.

I received an ARC of this from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It was light, funny, and very entertaining. It's the reason that I need my occasional dose of chick lit. This book had me quite literally laughing out loud, especially with the garage incident. I loved the characters and their relationships to one another.

Really good read and I will definitely be checking out more books by this author. Great start to my year

An enjoyable read, albeit a bit ridiculous in places, but sometimes that's exactly what you need in a book. This is a good escapist read though, and a bit of fun.

Unusual and interesting setting, an elementary school. Maggie was a very effective principal. Loved the ending.

Clever, cute, humorous, to some extent an expose, political at times, sexy at other, more sleaze than necessary. Schools are undoubtedly facing many of the issues that Cooperman turned into comic depictions, but it is hard to believe that there could be such an incredible level of naivete. That is not to say that I found much of the book unbelievable unfortunately many of the caricatures were spot-on.

Kathy Cooperman writes well but there are times when the dialog seems to take a left turn. Reading along, enjoying the story and writing and then suddenly “what is that about?” Amusing but uneven.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a copy.

This book was a funny light read. A tale of the principal losing her principles and the resulting chaos that ensues. For the most part I like this book and it was an entertaining take on the lengths that public schools have to go to get the funding they need. Maggie and her assistant Diane are entertaining characters and there is a great cast of supporting characters as well. However, some of the dialogue was just a little to cheesy for me - especially the scene with Maggie and her computer-whiz boyfriend in the bathroom, And some of the choices made in the end just seemed very far-fetched. But keeping that in mind, it was enjoyable.

A quirky and adorable romp, I am charmed and delighted by The Very Principled Maggie Mayfield. Grab yourself a box of your favorite chocolates and take the day off to read this one—you will be charmed by Maggie and the gang!! With a refreshing mix of social conscience some cuckoo twists, this one had me laughing along the whole way. I think readers will adore Maggie as much as I did!

About the Book

Maggie Mayfield is the principal of a San Diego elementary school. The community has recently fallen on some hard times, and many families are relying on Maggie’s school more than ever to help their kids learn and grow. When budget cuts loom, Maggie fears that she’ll have to lose some important teachers and classes in science, art, and P.E.

So when for-profit education firm Edutek offers Maggie enough funding to cover her STEAM budget needs for the next five years, in exchange for beta testing their new math curriculum software, Maggie feels the offer is too good to pass up. And it doesn’t hurt that the CEO Danny Z is hot hot hot, and could charm the smile off the school’s worm mascot!

But sometimes things seem to good to be true because they are, and Maggie soon finds out something about the MathPal software that makes her question whether she should have allowed her school to participate at all. Now Maggie and her fearless friend and colleague Diane will have to get a little bad to do some good. And it may involve breaking all of the rules!

Reflection

Kathy Cooperman starts this book off with a letter to the reader written by none other than best friend (and co-conspirator) Diane. In the letter, Diane pleads with the reader to not judge Maggie to harshly. She thought she was doing good, after all. I absolutely loved this opening to the book! It drew me right in and showed that level of humor that Cooperman excelled at throughout the book.

Maggie Mayfield is a hoot! She’s a mix of stern, loving, kooky, relatable, and fierce. She’s a woman who can fix a vomit stain on an evening gown, recover from a sex scandal, and wrangle a few curious kids away from a playground snake without batting an eye. Maggie is the sort of person that you can’t help but love. I wanted to be friends with her! And yes, at times I wanted to use that friendship to give her a loving smack on the head after some poor choices (but luckily we had Diane there to do that for us)!

And then we have some chapters narrated by Lucy Wong, a third grader at Maggie’s school who suffers from challenges making friends and living up to her mother’s academic expectations. Lucy is the smartest girl in her grade, but sometimes that means she has trouble relating to others. I found Lucy’s chapters charming, seeing how a third grader reacts to the social dynamics around her was adorable and made me think about how kids pick up on so much more than we give them credit for. Lucy’s story stole my heart!

The actual plot surrounding the educational software and the way for-profit education companies pray on not only the districts who want to help children, but the kids themselves—well it was a bit too real to laugh at. I worked in education research before this and you would be shocked by the number of companies that make money off of educational “research” on kids at school. Those schools are like a glorified rat lab with experiments deemed to have benefit to the kids skewing data to make theirs look like the technology or intervention that made the difference. I will get off of my soapbox before you all stop reading, but suffice it to say this book could completely happen in real life (and it does happen, at school districts all over our country).
Cooperman did a fantastic job with the plot here. I completely understood Maggie’s difficult position, and I empathized with her decisions. Maggie didn’t make a single decision in the book lightly. Those kids and their futures meant everything to Maggie!

And then we have the truth coming out. I can’t spoil it by suffice it to say the end of this book was wild, wacky, and positively delightful! It swung all the way out there for the grand finale, and it made me whoop with delight when I read it! There is no way going in I expected THAT ending, so let’s just say every moment until the very last page made this book completely worth it!

Thank you so much to the team at Amazon Publishing and Lake Union for my copy to review.

If Bridget Jones became a high school principal, we'd have this book. A fun, zany read.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author. All opinions are my own.

In The Very Principled Maggie Mayfield, Cooperman has created a cast of engaging, likable and wonderfully eccentric characters readers are destined to love and remember. Maggie is the principal you want at the school your kids attend, and she is the person you want as your best friend. The dialogue is funny, smart, and authentic. I laughed out loud more than once, and I regretted leaving this eclectic group when the book ended. Cooperman's writing is bright, sharp, and perceptive. Indeed, there is much to like about this novel.

There is only one flaw, and unfortunately, it is a big one. There is no discernible plot for at least half of the book. The reader can pick up a few crumbs, but with no assurance that it is part of the actual meal. New characters,. albeit well-drawn and delightful, are introduced late in the story. When the plot finally does gel, it is remarkably thin, and all of the loose ends are resolved so quickly that it undermines the depth of characterization so carefully established. .

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to read an E-ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Loved the drama, the laughs. I have spent my life raising children, then in education, the story line is very near and dear to me. So funny and spot on with descriptions and situations. Loved the time spent consuming this story. Thanks to the publisher, the author, and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

Maggie Mayfield the very naive principle of a school in the suburbs, she so much wants the best for her students.

I found Maggie and all the characters in this book delightful and interesting.

Diana, Maggie's assistant made me laugh with her weird and wonderful ways, especially her preppers blog.

Danny is the entrepreneur that Maggie lusts over it's not love, just an infatuation.

Lucy, Rachel, and Connor are just a few of her pupils that make up the story.

This book had me laughing out loud at times, and found some of it hard to understand. I didn't like the end very much, but as a light read it was ok.
Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity to review.

Such a fun and cute read! The perfect chick lit! I loved Maggie as a character as she was so passionate about her school and witty with her relationships. I think Cooperman did an excellent job of portraying what it's actually like in an elementary school. This was a solid read for me and I loved the relationship between our two main characters.

Smart, funny & genuine - this book had me thoroughly engaged & ignoring the rest of the world. Very relatable characters, great storyline & just an overall “win”! Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to read & review.