I saw another reviewer describe this book as a character study, and that is absolutely true. While I work in a school, I think a high school is a whole different ball game than an elementary school, so parallels were a bit hard to derive. Despite that, I enjoyed a deeper dive into a handful of characters connected by a fairly significant even that occurs on the first pages of this book. I enjoyed Nurse Honeycutt (Honeybutt!)'s POV the most, I think.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for the invitation to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

A substitute teacher dies at the school where he’s working, setting off a year of reflections and recollections by the other teachers and staff. As they deal with their feelings, they must continue to battle the day-to-day life of working in an American public high school. Author Jennifer Mathieu offers warm fuzziness in a book that ultimately feels more like a collection of short stories in her new novel The Faculty Lounge.

No one is sure why 82-year-old Mr. Leher, substitute teacher at Baldwin High School in Houston, keeps coming back, although many of the teachers suspect it has to do with the fact that at one time, Mr. Leher himself was a full-time English teacher at Baldwin. After decades at the school, Mr. Leher retired and that was that. Until the day he asked to come back and sub.

The teachers are used to seeing him on campus by now and don’t mind him so much. He clearly loves the kids and his job. In fact, he loves it so much there’s no doubt that the day he dies is a happy one for him, because he’s exactly where he wants to be: at school. More precisely, in the faculty lounge.

The other teachers and staff are horrified, upset, confused—they feel an entire range of emotions based on how well they knew Mr. Leher. Some worked with him when he was a Baldwin teacher and remember the friendship and camaraderie. Some came to Baldwin just as Mr. Leher was on his way out and see him as a mentor. All of them are affected by Mr. Leher’s loss.

Mr. Kendricks, the current principal, decides to honor the wishes in Mr. Leher’s will to have his ashes spread on school grounds. He turns it into an informal memorial service, which infuriates the parent head of the PTO. How dare Mr. Kendricks spread someone’s ashes and conduct this kind of event at school?

As Mr. Kendricks and the teachers deal with the irate parent over this and several other issues, all of the teachers have a chance to think about what Mr. Leher meant to them and what their own legacy might be at the end of their careers. They deal with the district education office, students with real and imagined problems, and more as they do what they can to make it through another year.

Author Jennifer Mathieu’s book succeeds in giving readers a variety of viewpoints on Mr. Leher as a person as well as the education system inside a public high school in modern America. Hailed by many real-life educators, both current and retired, as a spot-on portrayal of what happens in and around classrooms, the novel does an excellent job of giving just enough insight into each teacher affected by Mr. Leher’s death as to offer a complete story of that teacher.

Therein lies the book’s biggest flaw as well. It feels more like a series of short stories rather than one cohesive novel. The faculty and staff of the fictional Baldwin High School face or come into contact with absolutely every contemporary challenge imaginable in the course of the school year—book banning; alcoholism; illegal immigration; extreme oversight by a district board; abortion; sexual assault; politics. While these topics should be discussed, the novel’s treatment makes it feel like these issues are included more for the sake of increasing awareness in readers and less as an organic juggling of balls real-life teachers probably face daily.

With so many characters sharing stories, it becomes difficult to form an attachment to any single one. Mr. Leher’s own story recedes to the background for several chapters. While Mr. Kendricks leads the charge in protecting his teachers and would have made an excellent protagonist, often his presence is only felt through the discussion of other teachers. Ms. Jackson, school guidance counselor, and Nurse Honeycutt, school nurse, would have also been great choices for protagonists. Mathieu, instead, reduces both of them to a few chapters and then moves on.

The book feels more like a broad view of the trouble with the education system today rather than a novel meant to draw readers into the life and times of a singular character. Readers who enjoy such an approach may want to check this out.

The Faculty Lounge by Jennifer Mathieu was so delightful and funny! I wanted to learn about each and every teacher she described. I knew she had to have been a teacher herself. She really set the tone as light hearted but still interesting. 5/5 ⭐️ thank you netgalley, Jennifer Mathieu, and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton | Dutton for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This novel is set at a large public high school in Texas. Each chapter is told from the perspective of someone different at the school - teachers, administrators, a guidance counselor, the school nurse, a custodian - and through their eyes we see the whole school year, along with some flashbacks to their past.

The book is part workplace comedy, part deeply felt character novel, and part a love letter to schools and the people who work there. Think if you crossed Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris, A Little Hope by Ethan Joella, and the tv show Abbot Elementary, and that might give you a feel for what this book is like. There is a quite large cast of characters so that might intimidate those who prefer a more straightforward narrative, but I loved the way you got to know each character as they came into focus, and that the book really came together into a lovely and cohesive whole. Early on it was more funny, but as the book went on I began tearing up more and more at moving moments.

I loved the two YA books I’ve read by Jennifer Mathieu, and loved this, her first adult novel - and I’m impressed by how different all three books are.

To everyone who works in a school, has worked in one, or knows someone who works in one … this book is for you.

Baldwin High School, a fictional school located in Houston, TX, is put under its corporation’s intense spotlight after the death in the faculty lounge of elderly substitute teacher, Mr. Lehrer, a retired member of the school. When Mr. Lehrer’s final wish for his ashes to be scattered in the school’s courtyard goes comically wrong and earns the ire of the uppity, well-connected PTO president, beloved principal Mark Kendricks finds himself in the hot seat with Central Office. As can be expected, the drama doesn’t stop with the principal, as the small group of staff who attended the ceremony all have their own stories and complicated personalities to be revealed!

You’d think that a story launched by such a dramatic event would be about Mr. Lehrer’s death, but it really plays a minor role. It’s simply the MacGuffin used as an excuse to spotlight the lives of those present at the event they’ve come to call Ashgate, though his story threads at times into others and also receives a dedicated chapter. Another important aspect of the book is the perfectly illustrated, tenuous dynamic between schools and corporation bigwigs, who are often blissfully removed from the real-life difficulties of actually working IN a school.

At just over 300 pages, this adult fiction debut from author Jennifer Mathieu is comprised of only thirteen chapters - each a deeper dive into one of the involved faculty members. These range from idealistic newbie English teacher, Ms. Sanderson, to those like crotchety math teacher Mr. Fitzsimmons, to the revered school nurse, struggling counselor, a custodian with secrets, an assistant principal on the cusp of retirement and embattled Principal Kendricks, among others. What this book does SO well, in both a charming, funny and sometimes melancholy way, is to remind the reader that those in public education, as in any other field, are HUMAN. To be a role model for children doesn’t mean your life is perfect!

While I do think this book will resonate more with those who work in public education, I think anyone who’s experienced the workplace dynamics of a large team of people with such different personalities and a clear power hierarchy will find something they can relate to. I’ve worked as a reading interventionist at an elementary school for over a decade and several other roles before that, so although this book was set in a high school, the issues it highlighted were HIGHLY relatable, and I found myself laughing and cringing along with all of them!

If you enjoy a beautifully written, smart, character-driven novel that hits all the emotions and has a great, yet subtle sense of humor, ESPECIALLY if you work in a school or know someone who does, I highly recommend this!

Jennifer Mathieu has written a book that makes educators, staff, and administrators of a high school feel seen, and should be mandatory reading for anyone else. Consider this your reading assignment.

Each of the chapters share the perspective of an employee of the school: a custodian, the principal, guidance counselor, new and veteran teachers during one tumultuous year at Baldwin HS in Texas.
The book shows the humanity - the strengths and weaknesses - of each of them.

It was truly wonderful.

This book is a slice-of-life story of a large high school in Houston. The main plot point is the death of an elderly substitute teacher in the faculty lounge, which starts a ripple of other events and prompts the rest of the teachers and staff to reflect on their professional lives.
It is an easy read that can be considered an ode to teachers and administrators and an encouragement for those considering a career in education (the book also gives a fair assessment of the difficulties the teachers face.)

Thank you, NetGalley, Jennifer Mathieu, and the publisher, for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 - This was genuinely so good!! Anyone that knows a teacher or is a teacher would probably love this, it was so heartwarming and funny. Honestly all you need to know is the book opens up with one of the oldest teachers dying at school in the faculty lounge. His dying wish? For his ashes to be spread by the school staff and teachers, in front of the school. The result? The poor principal spreads the ashes and it hits the head of the PTA. I immediately was cracking up, because as someone who grew up listening to my mom's stories from school, it is definitely something that would happen.

The Faculty Lounge is a bunch of stories, following different teachers and staff members, students at a high school. Each person has a different background and story, a unique attachment to the school, a different role, and different struggles. I thought it was such a great way to piece together the school as a whole, by letting each character have their moment to shine and share what teaching/working at the school meant to them, and why they had stayed for so long despite the many ups and downs. I fell in love with each character, their flaws, how much they loved teaching and each other, and the little family they built up in the school.

As someone whose mom has been a 5th grade teacher for 30 years at the same school, I loved this book because so many of the stories and characters I could connect to the stories she has brought home to my family over the years. The constant fights with administration, with the parents, trying to handle a changing world and different worldviews, but at the end of the day reflecting how much so many teachers care about their students and their profession. I found myself laughing constantly throughout the book, really rooting for each character, and ready to tell every teacher I know (and everyone else) that they need to read this book!! I'm so happy I picked it up.

Thank you to Dutton for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review!!

I absolutely loved The Faculty Lounge by Jennifer Mathieu which centers around the teachers at a Texas high school as they go through a rather chaotic academic year.

An elderly substitute teacher decides to take a quick nap on the sofa in the faculty lounge at Baldwin High School, then passes away. Thus begins the school year for the dozen or so faculty and staff members that we meet in this story. Mr. Lehrer’s unfortunate end is the underlying plot of the entire book, but it’s the character vignettes and behind-the-scenes look at the state of our education system that really made this book stand out for me.

This book had it all starting with a plot line that just has to be read to be believed. Then we begin to meet all of the characters in individual chapters and learn so much more about who they are outside of the hallways of Baldwin High. Each story was incredibly unique and I was rooting for every single one the whole way through.

Jennifer Mathieu also expertly weaves in the myriad of issues that educators deal with every day. I know a few teachers and have heard some stories but to see everything presented on the pages was incredibly insightful.

This was one of my favorite reads of the year! Thank you to Penguin Group - Dutton for the advanced digital copy via NetGalley!

The Faculty Lounge is about what happens to the staff of a Texas high school after a substitute teacher passes away on the couch in the break room.

When a former teacher and substitute is found dead in the faculty lounge, the aftermath affects everyone from the principal to the custodian. Using different points of view, the author shows us the private lives of the adults responsible for ushering in the next generation of citizens. These inner lives are touching, relatable, and often humorous. I think readers will identify with this diverse group of people, especially if they have any connection to a school or education.

I highly recommend this entertaining and heartfelt read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group Dutton, and Jennifer Mathieu for the advanced copy of The Faculty Lounge!

The Faculty Lounge was a wonderful character study of teachers and administrators in a high school setting during the course of a school year. It follows the teachers and administrators as they go through their trials and tribulations throughout their careers, what led them to working at this school, how they may have interacted with their coworkers over the years, and more. Mathieu presented each character as a unique individual with a different backstory. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Really enjoyed this read.

A slice of life story--about a year at a Texas high school. Each section features a different staff member--teachers, assistant principal, principal, custodian, nurse, and more. They are all interrelated and the staff range from brand new to almost retired to retired.

The book gives you a real sense for what it means to work in education today, and the changes that have taken place over the years. Unlike many similar books, the students play a very minor role in this story. This is about the faculty--their struggles, triumphs, frustrations, and the humor that they must employ in order to get through the days.

I grew up with both of my parents as teachers and could identify with so much of this, even so many years later. I loved the Christmas gift exchange of random items gifted to them, it made me laugh out loud. This book has so much heart and the reader can see the passion that these people have for their jobs. It's not just a career, it's a calling. The author is a teacher so she definitely has the insider knowledge and it shines through on each page.

This is a fast paced, very enjoyable read. Highly recommended for everyone, but it will be particularly meaningful and impactful to those working in education.

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I felt very bored. There really was not plot in this one and I couldn't connect to the characters.

Maybe teachers would enjoy this one more than me.

After some truly excellent YA books, Jennifer Mathieu's adult debut is also absolutely wonderful. Told in vignettes by the different staff members at a Texas high school, it really captures the different characters and background that educators bring to their jobs, as well as the current state and challenges of being an educator. Sometimes the stories were more about their personal lives, reminding readers that teachers and school staff are real, full people, and some were more about the experiences in the school. This is a quick, worthy read.

The Faculty Lounge by Jennifer Mathieu ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Why I Chose It: I love books that take different people who are forced together and make a story out of them.

(Not detrimental) SPOILER: Teachers don’t live at school under their desks, and they actually have first names.

The book was charming, funny, and heartfelt. I loved that each chapter focused on a different character at Baldwin High, and each character was portrayed as deeply human. While a plot existed, the main heart of the story was the characters. If you go into this one expecting a large focus on plot, you’ll be disappointed.

This book was timely and relevant. It revered those on the front lines in public schools. It also poked fun at the bureaucracy of education and less than thrilling mandatory meetings.

Fans of character-driven novels, books about everyday occurrences, and books celebrating making a difference no matter how small will love this one.

Final Rating: 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars -- I will be releasing a video review on my YouTube channel, The Literary Apothecary, on day of release.

I received the eARC for this book via NetGalley and what a crazy ride this was! The Faculty Lounge is set to be released by Dutton on July 23, 2024. It is Mathieu's adult debut novel that is funny and bighearted, an ode to educators, a timely glimpse at today's pressing school issues, and a tender character study - all with the backdrop of a Texas high school.

Spoiler Free Summary: (Parts of this summary are taken from Goodreads)

The Faculty Lounge shows readers a different side of school life - the faculty, staff, and administrators that help make the school run. It starts off with a bang when an elderly substitute teacher is found dead in the 3rd floor Faculty Lounge. From there, we get a moment of rememberance for the subsitute, who once was a regular and beloved faculty member at Baldwin High - the principal, who really is just trying to do his best, decides to honor the deceased's wishes and spreads his ashes on school grounds. Well, all was going well until a huge gust of wind decided to take the ashes and blow them directly in to the PTA President's face as she walked by in search for the principal himself. And this is only the start of Baldwin High's wild, bizarre, tragic, mundane, beautiful and humorous school year, This book takes us on the journey of Baldwin's school year, while also dipping into poignant and honest character studies of some of the faculty and staff there. One thing that stood out to me was that not only are the faculty and administrators highlighted here, but also staff. And we get both good and bad sides to the characters, as they try to make their way through the school year and life.

CAWPILE Breakdown: (You might notice, I am trying something different with this review - each category will be rated out of 5 instead of 10, I've noticed that I rarely go below a 5 when rating, so I am trying to limit my scope to give a more precise rating. See post about adaptation for more info.)

Characters: 4 - Our characters are diverse, robost, and complex. As mentioned above, not only do we get the good and endearing side to the characters, but we also get not so great sides to some of them that make these characters feel real and relatable. The only thing that kept me from giving this book full score for characters is that we didn't really see a lot of actual development from them, it was more just sketches of who they once were and who they are now.

Atmosphere/Setting: 5 - Mathieu nails the Texas high school setting in this book. It feels like a high school, it looks like a high school, it sounds like a high school. It's a high school!

Writing Style: 3 - This is where I struggled a bit with this book. I thought the pacing was good (maybe a tad long but not too bad) and as I said I loved the characters and the atmosphere. The thing that gives me pause is that while I can see a plot line that was carried throughout, it felt the character studies were the heavier weight in this novel. I would have liked to see that plot line threaded through a little bit more cohesively, other than just these characters all work at the same school and were there on the day that of the "Ashes Incident".

Plot: 2 - The actual plot is about the day to day life of faculty, administrators, and staff at Baldwin High School, and how they manage during the year. It's simple. My main issue, as I stated above, is that it felt like the character studies took on more importance and the plot was kind of just a backdrop, almost a second thought of "Oh yeah, I need something to make this a novel and not short story sketches."

Intrigue: 3.5 - The characters were so diverse, my intrigue was held mainly by them. I wanted to know who we would get to know next and what we would learn about them.

Logic/Relationships: 3.5 - The logic and relationships in this novel were both well done. It all made sense, in its own way. Relationships developed in unlikely pairs and I loved seeing which characters connected with each other on different levels.

Enjoyment: 4 - At the end of the day, I enjoyed reading The Faculty Lounge and getting to know each one of these characters. I think I may have enjoyed it even more if it was just the character studies though and that plot line just came out in the studies and not as an actual novel - if that makes sense.

CAWPILE Total: 25/7 = 3.5 = 3.5 stars

Video Review: https://youtu.be/D35IwLY6VwU

Happy Pub Day to The Faculty Lounge! When I got an email about a story that was “an ode to educators” written by a long time teacher, as someone who has worked in schools alongside school staff for the last 7 years, I couldn’t pass it up. The Faculty Lounge is much more a character study than a plotted book, which is where it missed the mark of a 5 star read for me. It very well still could have landed as a 4 star if there was just slightly more resolution and clarity to one or two more of the chapters.

Still, I had fun with this one. As someone who has worked with a boatload of teachers, the personalities feel true to life. And while the events at Baldwin High over the course of the year of the book are wild, well… Public school teachers and principals and school counselors have seen things.

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @duttonbooks for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review! The Faculty Lounge is on sale TODAY

I really enjoyed this book so much! There wasn't one central plot, but a collection of interconnected stories from various employees of Baldwin High School - the principal, assistant principal, multiple teachers, a janitor, counselor and more - centered around the death of an elderly substitute/retired teacher. It was poignant, funny, and sometimes sad, but always enjoyable! Fans of Abbot Elementary will love it!

Thank you NetGalley, Dutton publishing and Jennifer Mathieu for allowing me to read this book earl ly in exchange for can honest review! I have the book 4.5 stars and I rounded it down to 4 on good reads.!

An elderly substitute dies in the faculty lounge The well meaning principal wants to spread his ashes in the courtyard of the school but accidentally blows them onto a parent. During the months that follow, the book shows the lives of some of the teachers and administrators at the school as they navigate their lives and teaching. This book is a little slice of life of teachers and breaks the idea that teachers live at the school and have no outside life. This is perfect for educators and anyone that thinks teachers are real people.