3/5 stars. As an education major, this book was so relatable . I was sad, angry and laughing. I think it has a great way of showing many different kinds of educators and I enjoyed it. The writing was a little too simple for me but all in all a great read!

This book is the first adult novel by a YA author, and it is a winner! The book covers a year in a high school in Texas, beginning in September with the abrupt death in the teachers' lounge of a substitute teacher. As the year unfolds, we learn about the past and present lives of many of the school's staff. The book is loosely organized by each chapter focusing on a single character, while interacting with others in the school. The characters are authentic and believable, the plot exciting and realistic, the style readable and easy-to-follow. The author skillfully weaves everything together in a fascinating and entertaining way. Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Group, and Dutton for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

As a school based SLP working in a middle school as well as a daughter and granddaughter of public school teachers, this story was highly relatable and struck a cord. I easily felt like I was there in the story. This book very much read like a love letter to public school educators, and I enjoyed the format.

The Faculty Lounge by Jennifer Mathieu is laugh-out-loud funny and an absolutely delightful book! This book chronicles the ups and downs of life at Baldwin High School in Houston, Texas, told through the perspectives of various teachers and school staff. I loved learning about the "inner life" of these individuals too. There were some characters I appreciated more than others, but each chapter focused on a different member of the school community so if someone's not your favorite, you'll move onto someone new soon enough. As the wife of a middle school teacher, I could really see how realistic this book was - and I think everyone in the education world would really appreciate this book. I think I've convinced my husband to read it when it comes out this summer. :) The ending of this book was fantastic and worth the read!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This is a wonderful, crazy and oh so true story that everyone will love.
But... for anyone who has worked or is working now as a professional, para-professional, maintenance person or volunteer in a school district this is your life! It is not for the faint at heart and dealing with students and parents each day and each other is so tough.
I loved the truthfulness and at times the laugh out loud scene shown.
It brought back so many memories of when I was a substitute nurse in a large district.

Thank you to @NetGalley and to @Penguin Group Dutton for this terrific ARC and allowing me to provide my own review after reading.
I look forward to more from this debut author.

What a sweet and touching look into the lives of the faculty of Baldwin High! I thoroughly enjoyed reading the stories and backgrounds that made the staff the people they are today. Though I am not an educator, I found their workday and personal lives relatable and heartwarming.

This was a truly delightful insight into the life of a high school staff. It reads like a compilation of short stories with the same general theme. Though I am an adult myself now and have many friends that work in schools, I think it can be hard for some people to realize that their teachers of the past were not only teachers, but they were also people too. People with their own lives, families, insecurities, and heartbreak. I found this really touching at times and caught myself smiling at some of the characters and their stories. Hopefully, the grammar and spelling in my review is acceptable to the English Dept!

I was offered this book and accepted but it’s not something I would’ve normally chosen for myself. I found the premise to be interesting enough but I really did not enjoy the characters.

I was invited to read this book prior to publication by the publisher. I thought the premise of this book sounded really interesting, and in fact it was a pretty delightful read! I really liked the deep dive into the various teachers and leadership at school, learning about their backgrounds, ambitions and dreams versus what they wound up doing. There was a ton of variety in the characters, but not to the point it was overwhelming or hard to keep track of - this was all woven together wonderfully. A rather thorough background look and different perspective of being in education.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While walking a High School hallway have you ever wondered how connected your teachers are? Who’s dating who…. Who’s been there the longest and well frankly who died in the teachers lounge that set the ball rolling on spreading his ashes on school property and the president of the PTO to cause a school drama like no other? Well if you have … then this is your book.
I laughed out loud at so many key points of this book, but also was brought to sadness at the trials and tribulations that plagued teachers throughout history. This book helps you to understand the background of those people that helped mold your life.

I loved this book, and I am so happy that I was able to read an advance copy of it. Although I am not an educator, I found it totally relatable and entertaining. It was a perfect mix of humor and drama, and an overall feel-good book. It is a fast and easy read. I enjoyed getting to know the eclectic cast of characters through their individual stories. I highly recommend this book to all readers, and I look forward to reading more from the author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Faculty Lounge was a really great book! I would recommend this to anyone who has ever taught or worked in a school. This book is definitely heartfelt and sweet and definitely an easy comfort read.

The Faculty Lounge by Jennifer Mathieu
This is a story about several employees at Baldwin High School in Texas. The year begins with an elderly substitute teacher, who was a former faculty member, dying in the teachers’ lounge. Several weeks later it’s discovered that he wished to have his ashes strewn in the front courtyard of the school. The ceremony, thanks to a gust of wind, turns into a fiasco involving the president of the PTO.
I found this to be a warm, touching and frequently humorous story about the lives of the staff members and their interactions. As a former teacher, I felt that the author perfectly touched on what is important in education and what the problems are. She also created a wonderful cast of characters that I was sad to stop reading about.
This is a definite “feel good” read and I would like to thank #NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read an advanced copy.

A look at the break room for faculty. “The inside scoop.” It also clearly shows how isolated teachers can be, in their own rooms with their own plans. It was nice when you see reactions about observing others teaching not the norm in real life. Nice inside look at teachers and the break room.

I couldn't put this book down. A humorous, but oh so true, look into the world of teachers in public schools. At times laugh out loud funny and heart wrenching at the same time, Dealing with not only students, but parents and school district heads, the story demonstrates the challenges, the realities and the benefits in the life of a teacher.

The Faculty Lounge is a novel that anyone who has worked in education will appreciate. Each chapter is a small story focused on a member of the high school faculty. I really like the way the author organized this novel, she made it easy to read and understand, despite having so many different characters. I found the stories to be realistic; sometimes sad situations, but also, sometimes happy. And OF COURSE you’ll get a little bit of crazy parent drama. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for my ARC in exchange for my review

This may the first time ever that I need to stop and take notes while writing a review. I have been a public school teacher for 18 years and there are some parts of this that just hit so so close to home. The book opens with a substitute teacher dying in the faculty lounge but notes that he was kind enough to do it on his prep period so as not to inconvenience anyone or require coverage. If that doesn't sum up teaching I don't know what does.

Other notable moments:
Mentioning the "Read" posters with celebrities no one still recognizes
How a lockdown is just par for the course with the new generations
The one teacher who always jams the copy machine and then leaves

"Ms. Jackson had often wondered if hedge fund managers and attorneys sat around in meetings being asked to draw a colorful picture that represented the group’s consensus or to post clarifying follow-up questions on a piece of chart paper labeled a “parking lot,” so that these things could be considered later. It was demeaning."

Having to listen to a higher up who had been in the classroom for 3 whole years and who made everyone share a fun fact about themselves.

OMG a KWL chart about the death of a colleague

Maybe best of all, accidentally sending the email to the parent is SO relatable. Not that I have ever done anything like that :/

I would highly recommend this book to anyone in the educational field.

I was a teacher and a school librarian so it’s pretty much a given that this book would resonate with me. It was written about a fictional Texas high school and the various people who worked there. There are new teachers, older teachers, a substitute teacher, a custodian, and many more essential staff members, each with their own chapter. The situations portrayed are very current and very real. Some made me laugh and some made me cry. I will be recommended this book widely.

When I first started reading “The Faculty Lounge” by Jennifer Mathieu, I thought I was going to be reading a cozy mystery of sorts. Because after all, the book opens when a beloved teacher who had retired years earlier but had returned as a substitute to Baldwin High School, is discovered dead in the faculty lounge. But it’s not a mystery at all, but a wonderful fictitious year-long ethnography of a high school in the post-pandemic era. Readers are introduced to various characters who make a school a school, and we learn about the personal and professional struggles they have. This is all wrapped together with compelling story telling and witty dialogue. I loved each and one of these characters. I salute the teachers in this book and to all those real-life teachers who make a daily difference to so many people.

I am certain that anyone who has been a teacher in the United States, who has attended schools in the United States, or who has children in the school system there, would love to read this book. Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an ARC of this amazing book. A strong five stars!

I'm a huge fan of the TV show Abbott Elementary and felt like this would be similar, but in book form. It sort of was in that it revolved around educators and their experiences. While I am not an educator myself, I did learn a lot about their jobs and also gained a new appreciation for people in this field. I think the star of the show really is the characters as we got so many POV's and none felt lacking.


Thank you, NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this arc in exchange for a fair and honest review!