Working in a high school is weird. You never know what is going to happen from one day to the next, and no two days are ever the same. This unpredictability is part of what makes the job so fascinating and, at times, challenging. This book provides an engaging and entertaining glimpse into the myriad of unusual and unexpected events that occur in a school setting, offering a peek into the lives of teachers who are, after all, human beings dealing with their own personal struggles both inside and outside of work.

What I particularly enjoyed about this book is that each chapter is told from the perspective of a different staff member. I love books written in this style because it allows for varied experience. The stories shared by these educators are a mix of the hilarious and the heartbreaking. Some tales had me laughing out loud, while others tugged at my heartstrings. Whether the anecdotes resonated with my own experiences or not, each one provided valuable insights into the unique world of high school education.

I am going to be reading more of this author's YA work. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy.

The Faculty Lounge stars with a substitute teacher dying on a couch in the Teacher's lounge. The deceased was a former teacher at Baldwin High, and returned when he was in his eighties to sub. Teaching was a vocation for him, and his only son asked that his ashes be scattered on the grounds of Baldwin High. When the principal complies with this request, ashes blow into the President of the PTA and some chaos ensues. Each chapter features a different faculty member and how they are coping with the death of the substitute, as well as the changes in the educational system in Texas. Parts are the book are funny, and many are touching. I really enjoyed this! Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy.

3.75/5

Thank you net galley for the ARC of this book! This was such a sweetie book - while the plot itself was light, the depth and stories of each character and their journeys with teaching and Baldwin High in general were such a pleasure to read. It gave me slight Abbott Elementary vibes which I loved. While this book wasn't ~exactly~ what I was expecting, I really enjoyed my time with it. Loved how it was written as well.

As a middle school educator, this book was very relatable. It’s like The Office meets Abbott Elementary. Would definitely recommend to my teacher friends!

This book follows the faculty at a private school after an elderly substitute teacher is found dead in the faculty lounge. It was interesting how the story unfolds while learning how each person found their way to Baldwin High School. There were many touching moments and funny too. Having worked for a private school for the past 7 years, I relate to this book so much. The author captured the essence of working in a school with all the personalities having to work together while also dealing with parents and students. I liked that each chapter was dedicated to a character and how their individual stories weaved together. I would recommend this to anyone looking for something unique. This is a great summer read!

The Faculty Lounge was an interesting and mostly spot-on look into a year at a public school. While I enjoyed the plot and storyline, the flow wasn’t always there for me, but overall, I enjoyed this book. Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

4.5 stars! This was such a beautiful love letter to teachers. I absolutely adored the writing and storytelling throughout the novel. It’s hard to make your readers care about and have strong feelings toward your characters from just a single chapter - yet Jennifer Mathieu managed to make me hook onto every character in the book. I love the reminder that teachers do have a life outside of school and that they’re also flawed humans who are still learning and growing, and I also loved that Bob Lehrer’s life WAS school. The dedication to his students brought me to tears, and what seemed like a mortifying death in the first chapter seemed like the most fitting and respectful way for him to go by the end. I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this book and devour it again.

4.5 stars

As a high school teacher in Florida, I waffled between laughing at the absurdity of the situations and crying at the reality of them! Jennifer Mathieu hit the nail on the head, I can't really recommend this to my students, but you can be sure I'll recommend it to fellow educators!

The only reason I am not giving it 5 stars is that there really wasn't a plot - it was more a series of vignettes - each one more ridiculous (and sadly realistic) than the next!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for ths digital ARC in return for an honest review.

Outstanding! I felt every sarcasm, (lived it) as teachers struggle everywhere with today’s students. If you are a new teacher and you have the next 30 years ahead of you, heed to this author!!!
I loved it! Even those that are not teachers and have an understanding of society’s kids, will enjoy a cringe worthy laugh or smile! It is a great mystery to after a teacher is found dead in the faculty lounge.
To teachers and another year down!! 🍷
Thank you NetGalley and Dutton Books for this ARC!

This is a character based love letter to everyone that works in education. It focuses on the back stories and current life struggles of the staff members at a large public high school in Texas. The novel opens with the death of an elderly substitute teacher (and former long term staff teacher) in the faculty lounge. It delves into the aftermath of that as well as a number of modern challenges the staff faces. It’s funny and charming at times, and insightful, but I had some trouble keeping track of the sheer volume of characters. This will certainly resonate with anyone who works in the public school system. ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own. 7/22/24

Quirky but fun read (esp if you know teachers). I really enjoyed this different story! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher! I will look for more from this author.

The Faculty Lounge is a wonderful look at the inside workings of a public high school and the teachers' minds. When a substitute teacher expires one day on the couch in the lounge, every teacher, young and old, is affected by the passing. As the narrative continues we see what teachers put up with every day between students, over-reaching parents, lockdown drills and coworkers they may or may not get along with.

As someone who works in education, this was so relatable I was laughing out loud. Do yourself a favor and pick this book up!

Following the staff of Baldwin High after a loss of one of their own was a poignant and relatable journey. The story had a gentle flow to it and read in the familiar easy to follow style of YA, but with the maturity and depth of an adult novel. As someone who works in education, there were parts that were so relatable that I laughed out loud. I sincerely hope there are books following that dive into each of the featured characters - even after a short time together, they made an impact.

i try not to compare authors, but the faculty lounge gave me the same feeling as it does when i read a fredrik backman novel in that yes the characters are flawed, but there's a strong undercurrent of all the systems that are at play. in a public school setting, some may say the issues discussed here like abortion, book banning, and racism are political, but it's not; it's just called being a decent human being to be in community with people from all walks of life. i loved reading about all the characters in this novel from the teachers to the principals to the nurse and the janitor and although not every person is in education for a truly noble, self-serving cause, there is value in each perspective.

Thank you to NetGalley, and Penguin Group Dutton for allowing me an early release of this novel to review. All opinions below are solely and genuinely my own.

I *really* wanted to give this book higher stars. The story and it's characters were deserving of such.
Overall, it was an ok read. Easy palate cleanser. I enjoyed how I was surprised because I didn't expect this book to be so sad at times. I think that that was commendable, especially because it wasn't unnecessary sadness and melancholy, it was just "life happens," kind of sad.

Starting with the positives, because there are a good amount, and they hit harder than the negatives!

-I loved the realness I felt reading this book. I am not a teacher myself, but I liked to consider myself a more empathetic student. I never forgot that my teachers were real people, with real human needs and goals for life. Sure, it was still weird to see them shopping on the weekends here and there, but I would always feel so bad for my teachers when they were getting screamed at by problematic kids, or even by other staff. I always wished to have been older for a lot of the younger teachers, because it felt like we could have been friends in another life. I think a lot of people should read this book, especially those kids who never stopped to see these people who most of the time, genuinely did care so, so much about their potential, and their futures, as real humans deserving of grace and respect. I felt like I was walking the halls of my old high school again.

-The modern problems presented through the eyes of the people that have to deal with it the most. Unfortunately, in the year of 2024, we as a nation, are still dealing with book bans, curriculum bans, and human rights being stripped away,(Roe V Wade), and racism to immigrants who just want a better life. You will find all of these themes in this book, while also wanting to cry due to these characters dealing with grief over the loss of one of their own, as well as the want to swoon over a cute workplace romance. There was only 1 character that I did not care for, but luckily, she did not get a lot of pagetime, but she was still written in a way that made you sympathize with her. Well done.

-It wasn't too short, and it wasn't too long. Perfect pacing. Everything was said and done in a timely manner. I really, really appreciate that. We were given present and past events of most of these characters, and I felt like I had known them for a long time. Exceptional, in that department of writing. Bravo.

Now, onto the brief cons that failed to win me over.

-That last chapter? It was so weird! Broke up the vibe completely! I won't spoil anything, but I have a feeling you'll know what I'm talking about. There's a specific...thing that a student finds and the name of it is used so often because it's a pun and it just got old super quick. Felt gimmicky. Like a skit from SNL. Then what the student does with the thing, followed by the conclusion he draws from finding the thing? So bothersome. It just felt like a last hurrah, and for me, it felt completely flat. We had exposition and dialogue that explained everything the student's dealings and involvement in the awkward situation provided. We didn't need the student to be involved in such a way to conclude what the main character involved with the last chapter was going through. For that to be the last chapter too(there is an epilogue, that is not what I am talking about), just really bummed me out. Really questionable way to end a story.

-Some of the thoughts that some male characters have were just cringey. I don't know if that was the intention, but it just didn't hit with me. For example, one of the staff is remembering how and when he first met his wife, and how often they would have relations with one another, and the way he thinks about her body was just so meh. It wasn't hot or steamy, just very cringe. I would've found a better way to write those thoughts, but that's just my little nitpick. I understand that he is now a 50 year old man, and once was a 20 something year old man, but make it a little more romantic! I'm not saying he has to be thinking of her in a Shakespeare-esque mindset, but something better than describing her butt as a "tight a**." He, a member of administration, gets aroused, I get it. We're all human, I get it. Just...idk, it's hard having the backdrop of a chapter be about a moral dilemma, and then seeing the words "tight a**."
It's more so a disappointment because I found it to break up the entertaining, fun, and immersive writing that most of this book has.


A solid, often very gripping, often lacking, 3 star read. I would still recommend it, as I like to recommend all books that made me feel something, even if at times the writing was off. I liked the surrealness and modernity of this story the most. Teachers really are the backbone of this country, and they often deal with the political oppressiveness the most. If not personally, or through the attack on their beloved lessons of historical importance, through their students. I think this book nailed a lot of important angles of what is wrong in our country today, through the environmental lens of walking through the halls of a busy, middle city high school.

Who doesn't love a book that starts with a dead body?! The absurdists beginning sets the tone for this book that uses humor to talk about difficult and sometimes dark topics. The story of an average public school in Texas takes on lots of issues (social and political) in today's world.
SHe touches on book banning, abortion, critical race theory, alcoholism and more. The characters are all portrayed as real humans with good and bad sides. It's a clever conceit that works remarkably well. The humorous touch helps it from becoming too preachy but it is a lot to grapple with in one book. Some of the issues are particular to the teaching of high schoolers but most are much more universal and can be understood by anyone.

Funny and heartfelt. I liked how the author was able to weave what were essentially short stories about the various characters who work at a high school into a cohesive novel. All of the characters felt real and were well-developed. Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC ebook.

Jennifer Mathieu's "The Faculty Lounge" was a delightful read that will, to the best of my (non-educator) estimation, resonate deeply with anyone connected to the realm of public education, particularly high school teachers. As someone whose family is largely comprised of public school educators (though mostly elementary school), I will be recommending this book to quite a few people.

I love a character-driven book, which is exactly what I got in reading this! Mathieu paints such a nuanced and realistic portrait of the modern educator, that you would know without her telling you that she must have experience in the field. I especially appreciated her acknowledging that, like any other profession, teaching has varying degrees of enthusiasm.

Above all the book asks us to appreciate the deeply human side of those who educate.

This book was funny and easy to read. I enjoyed it a lot and it definitely appealed to me because I’ve thought about being a high school teacher. It was a very different novel than I usually pick. I’m glad I got to read it!