As a fan of "Class Mom" and "You've Been Volunteered," it is no surprise that "Yoga Pant Nation" is a laugh-out-loud part 3 that I could not put down! Jen Dixon is back again and this time she is dealing with just as much chaos as ever: being 5th grade class mom, fundraising $10,000, grandparenting sweet baby Maude, becoming a spin-instructor, and dealing with aging parents are just some of the topics covered with Jen's signature humor. This is the perfect light, hilarious, mood-boosting read.

I received a copy of Yoga Pant Nation, written by Laurie Gelman, from Net Galley. This is the third in the Class Mom series, and I had read the first two, so I was very excited to read this one. The book lived up to my expectations, and I read it in a day. Jen Dixon has been class mom for her son's class since kindergarten, and now he's a fifth-grader. Jen is also a doting grandmother, an aspiring spin teacher, and a loyal wife, daughter, and friend. The book touches on issues including child custody, bullying, and aging parents. This book was a delight to read, and I laughed many times while reading it. The book is scheduled to be released July 13, 2021.

The third book in this series is funny just like the others. I don’t find Jen particularly likable but she definitely has some funny moments all throughout the series. If you like the first two, you’ll love this one!

Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is the third installment of the Class Mom series, so prior to reading it, I read the first two books. The third book was definitely my favorite of all three and I will do my best to keep this review strictly about the third book

As a mom of 3 and often a class mom, I could completely relate to so much of this series...the emails, fundraisers, class parties, etc. What I couldn’t relate to in any of the books was the main character, Jen Dixon. Sure, her sarcastic emails to the class parents made me laugh out loud many times, but I found her character to be obnoxious, shallow, and self-centered. Do I “like” every character in every novel? No, but this was the main character and someone I SHOULD relate to as a mom. I had the feeling that the author wanted the reader to love Jen and relate to her, but I couldn’t find anything to like about her..

What I did like about this third installment: -We finally had a bit of a plot. In the first two books, it almost felt like a monologue of her daily life...I kept waiting for some action, but it never truly arrived.
-We finally saw some personal growth from our main character in this third book. Some. Not a lot.
-I loved her granddaughter and the whole storyline with her daughter, Vivs and Raj.
-Jen has some good friends, a couple who seem to attempt to give her a dose of perspective, like Ravi.

Things I didn’t love about the third book:
-Let’s get back to that personal growth. Jen seemed pretty heartless at the beginning of this book (and in the other 2 books)...a specific example is the homeless man who hangs out near the school, who she refuses to acknowledge because homeless people make her nervous. She eventually seems to befriend him (once he bails her out of a situation) and helps him get a job, but can’t do so without patting herself on the back. Really this woman is so self-absorbed...
-a Jon-Benet reference which was definitely in bad taste, but not surprising because this author had similar poor judgement in the first two novels.

My final takeaway: I read this series thinking it would be a perfect fit for me. Mom of 3, class mom 100 times over, I am not offended by much and I am fluent in sarcasm. But Jen Dixon was just too unlikeable for me.

Book Review Time

Yoga Pant Nation by Laurie Gelman

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

“Yoga pants are so comfortable, and I pretty much have a pair for every occasion - cropped, flared, high waisted, even ones that look like dress pants but are stretchy and forgiving. Yoga pants just might be the worlds most perfect piece of clothing.”

I feel you Jen. I feel you.

Things I liked:
-The drama. Finally some drama.
-More focus on the family, and not just school related issues.

Cons:
-No epilogue. If this is the end of the class mom years then I feel like I need an epilogue because I didn’t really feel like there was an ending. Things sort of wrap up, but I just need lots of closure. I feel this about any book though.
-I kind of miss the emails now. I don’t feel like 5th grade emails were quite as good as the previous class years. Jen can’t lose all her snark!

My thoughts:

I’ll be honest. I received this ARC unknowing that it was number 3 in a trilogy. So I of course did my homework and read the first 2. These remind me of almost a journal, day in the life, type books. This book chronicles Jen as a class mom for her son’s 5th grade class and her 5th time being a class mom for her son. Jen is a pro. She takes no sh-crap from anyone. She gives you assignments for parties and you bring them. If your last name is Baton you can count on it being wine. This last book in the trilogy doesn’t focus so much on class mom activities but more real life issues. Her parents getting older, maybe sicker? Her daughter and granddaughter (Maude is the cutest!), her new hobby of spinning coming full circle to becoming the spin instructor, and just navigating life outside the classroom. I feel we got to see much more of the side characters in this book, I still wish we had a more concrete ending, or maybe an epilogue “10 years later...” OR maybe this is setting up for Jen’s next adventure as PTA mom? Who knows!

Yoga Pant Nation was a fun and light-hearted book. Who can’t identify with turning yoga pants into the only pants worn! Jen Dixon is the main character, and I loved that she’s in her mid-fifties and going through a coming of age of her own as she balances what it means to be a grandma, parent to a school-age child, challenges with aging parents, and pursuing hobbies, dreams, and passions of her own. It is the third book in a series, so I do plan to pick up the first two to get the rest of the story on Jen, but unlike some series, I had no problem enjoying this book!

Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publisher through Net Galley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Henry Holt and Netgalley for granting me my wish, which was to read this title.

This is the third in the Class Mom series, but I don’t see any sequels coming because Jen Dixon’s son, Max, will be in middle school next year where they don't have class moms.

As usual Jen has a lot going on in her life. She’s class mom of her son’s fifth grade class, she’s on her way to becoming a spin instructor, her parents are lethargic and appear to both have declining mental health, and her two-year-old granddaughter meets her other grandma from India.

Still Jen handles it all, but when she’s asked to chair a fundraiser to raise $10,000 for tablets for the school, she says "no" and is still coerced into taking the lead.

Gelman makes me laugh aloud, which rarely happens and was quite a boost during this pandemic. I don’t know how she does it. We must have similar senses of humor. And I share many of her pain points I was once a PTA chair for a school.

I urge you to read all three books. Each one is better than the last, they will all make you smile and you’ll fall in love with the author as I have. I could not give a higher recommendation. Can't wait to see what the author comes up with next.

Yoga pants aren’t real pants! If you liked the first two books in the series you’ll like this one. Jen’s nicknames for people got a little annoying. But I do like her energy.

I thoroughly enjoy Laurie Gelman's Yoga Pants Nation. I had fallen in love with the quirkiness of Jen Dixon in the previous two novels and eagerly anticipated this third installment. Jen is now in her mid 50's and is delicately balancing being a part time caregiver to her 2 year old granddaughter, a "Class Mom" in her 5th grader's homeroom, a newly minted spin instructor and the dutiful daughter/nurse to her aging parents. Let's just say, Gelman weaves the everyday problems of the modern mother so beautiful into her main character and the writing is as funny as ever.

Thank you to NetGalley and Holt & Comapny for an advanced copy of this novel.

If you need a laugh out loud, light read, (and who doesn't these days!), then this is it!
I love Jen Dixon,her family, friends, her emails, her ideas and her energy!
She is now a Grandma to a two year old and yet still a class mom to a now fifth-grader!
Some how, she also finds time to become a spin teacher and also help her parents as they are aging.
The Sandwich generation is in full swing!
How does she do it all!?!?
You just have to read this to find out! I truly enjoyed this story, especially at a time in our world when we all need some, or a lot of humor!

Jen Dixon is back, once again she is class mom, and her son Max is a fifth-grader now. Jen is grandma to 2-year-old Maude, and is working on becoming a spin instructor. As you may remember, there is never a dull moment in Jen's life. On top of everything else she has going on, she is having to look at putting her parents into assisted living, Maude's other grandma has come to town and Jen has been put in charge of raising $10K for the school for new tablets for the classroom. No pressure, right?
I love these books. They take ordinary situations and put a humorous spin on them. I just love her emails that she sends out. Oh, and I loved the jokes from the joke book the class made for Mr. Green..... some oldies but goodies and several new ones I hadn't heard before. This is the perfect book if you needa good laiugh. I love this series and I hope there are going to be a lot more of these.

I first discovered the Class Mom series a couple of years ago and have been waiting excitedly for this new installment! I relate to Jen, being the mom of two adult children as well as one still in school.

Main character Jen's two grown daughters are the result of her wild life as a groupie for a rock band, so when she settles down to a husband and suburban mom life in her old home town, she tries to be more traditional--including being the class mom for her elementary-aged son. Her emails to the parents are irreverent, but she does her best to make things happen for the kids, amid personal and family drama.

In this book, it's her son's fifth-grade--and final--year of elementary school. Jen adds to her class mom duties by throwing a fundraiser with an outrageously large goal. She's also testing the waters as a certified spin instructor, dealing with her parents' strange infirmity, and being grandma to her adorable granddaughter.

The pace of this book feels a little more settled, perhaps because Jen herself is a little more settled. It's not quite as madcap as the previous books, and the energy lacks a little bit in comparison. Nonetheless, I read it in a matter of a couple of days and completely enjoyed it.

It still features the cast of supporting characters we've come to love, plus a few new ones. (Although I didn't remember anything about her husband's crazy ex-wife. And frankly, the subplot with her was wasted. The climax of that episode was pretty flat after all the buildup.)

Now, Ms. Gelman...what's Jen going to do with a middle-schooler?

Possible Objectionable Material:
Some cursing. Jen refers to sex with her husband, though not graphically. Her granddaughter was born out of wedlock. Irreverence.

Who Might Like This Book:
Moms can relate! If you like stories about families who love each other despite annoyances and drama, this is a good one. Also for people who like women with supportive friend groups.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Laurie Gelman and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a perfectly snarky and silly story about class mom Jen Dixon as she navigates her son's 5th grade year, her parents aging, her daughters and granddaughter's crises and her new career as a spin instructor. This is such a fun and light-hearted read during to distract from pandemic life!

This book is good as a standalone, and it would also be fun to have the background stories on the characters. I plan to read them now that I have read this book.

Third book in the series Laurie German never fails to entertain me to draw me right in. Yoga Pant Nation was a charming hilarious read highly recommend.#netgalley #henryholt

Laurie Gelman and her characters created for the Class Mom series are pure comedic gems! The novel is hilarious, well plotted and perfect for some escapism.

The third in a series and it showed. It felt like it was leftovers from thanksgiving dinner and not the first day either. I’d rather focus on the daughter at this point, the stories about cycling class were less than boring. I don’t know if Laurie Gelman lost her inspiration this time around but I felt like she had no desire to write this installment. What a disappointment too, the others were quite entertaining.

This book was just as funny as the first two! Interesting, enjoyable, didn’t want it to be over. The main character has more to deal with than just your typical “room mom” business, what with her older daughters, grandchild in limbo, and oh yeah - the people living in her parents’ basement. Don’t miss this fun-filled romp!

I have followed our favorite class mom through her first days of kindergarten. Now a fifth grade class mom, Jen Dixon, is also training to be a spin instructor, dealing with a class fundraiser and caring part time for her baby granddaughter.

All the books have been fun, but this book is as good as the first. I love seeing her baby growing up, and I enjoyed the drama with the other grandmother.

If you have not picked up this series, treat yourself!

This was the fun time read that I needed! The perfect antidote to the pandemic. I was only sorry when it ended.

This is the third book in her Class Mom series. You can read this book as a stand-alone, but it is more fun to read it knowing the previous adventures of Jen and her family and friends.

In the first book "Class Mom" we met our protagonist Jen Dixon when her son started kindergarten and her older daughters were first venturing out into the world as young adults. Jen is an 'old' mom who's been around the grade school block. Each of the books takes place over the school year. In this book, Jen's now a 5th-grade Class Mom *and* in charge of the PTA fundraising committee. If you have been a parent involved in raising funds, you know what a tough job she has ahead of her.

In addition to trying to raise $10,000 for tablets for the school, Jen is beginning a new career as a spin instructor, spending several days a week providing childcare to her new grandchild and also helping her parents by going with them to run errands, cooking for them, etc. Jen is an avatar for many women who find themselves trying to raise their own children while also helping their parents. She's a sandwich mom in the middle of life in the middle of America--literally, as she lives in Kansas.

If I knew Jen Dixon in real life, I would probably think she was fun but also kind of obnoxious, but in the books we know her internal monologue which shows her kindness and empathy. If you are looking for a book that will feel like you are spending time catching up with a friend over coffee, this is your book.

This book comes out July 13, 2021, you can preorder it now or put it on your Goodreads shelf.
4 Stars!

I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley, all the options are mine.

In the end, Jen's youngest child Max is headed off to Junior High, and that means the class mom days are over. I hope that this isn't the end of the stories from Jen Dixon's life--her granddaughter will be going into kindergarten in just three years, maybe Jen will be pulled out of retirement to be a class parent again!

#YogaPantNation #NetGalley