(Thanks to @PRHAudio and @DuttonBooks #gifted.) Some of you may not know this, but I chose to retire from teaching 3 years ago. The entire time I was a teacher (middle school math) I studiously avoided books that had anything to do with schools. They were often too unreal and frustrating for me to spend time with. Sometimes I even felt like they made a mockery of my career. Now, with the passage of time, I’m more willing to try a book set in a school, so I listened to 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗔𝗖𝗨𝗟𝗧𝗬 𝗟𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗚𝗘 by Jennifer Mathieu - with mixed results!⁣
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This book takes place in and around a Texas high school, beginning as an elderly substitute teacher passes away in the faculty lounge. The following chapters each focus on a different member of the staff, and a different issue frequently plaguing schools. These includes things like over aggressive parents, too much testing, demeaning teacher evaluations, long, boring staff meetings, missives from higher ups, micromanagement, and much more. ⁣
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The first three quarters of the book worked well for me. I was able to easily relate to nearly every situation, including one that happened to me almost exactly as it was portrayed in the book. (If you’ve read this, it’s the one with the first year teacher who goes out for drinks with colleagues.) Teaching is a tough job, with a lot of pressure, a lot of criticism, and not enough authentic appreciation. I thought this book did a really great job showing all that. Unfortunately, it went a bit off the rails in the last quarter, reaching a little too far out there. Though I mostly enjoyed my time I spent with Baldwin High School’s staff, more than anything 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘺 𝘓𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦 reminded me how nice it is to no longer be a part of that particular machine! ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫✨

So authentic and real! Highly enjoyable even though I’m not a teacher- only a teacher’s wife. But it was a great read that was highly entertaining.

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I was expecting a light, silly read about a group of teachers and their working relationships but this book was so much more. Each chapter in this book follows a different teacher and their life leading them up to their time at Baldwin High. Serious topics such as alcoholism, teen pregnancy, abortion, school shootings, grief, and death are handled with care and gave this book some heft. Readers who have worked in the school system will probably relate the best but I feel like anyone who has worked with a diverse group of people under a "higher power" corporate-type structure will enjoy this.

Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley for this e-ARC!

I really enjoyed reading this book. It wasn't perfect, but it had, likable characters who I was rooting for, believable storylines, and heart. As a high school teacher, so many of the things in this book rang true--particularly the reasons people chose to stay in what is probably one of the hardest and least appreciated professions.
The multiple POVs and the way the story moved through the school year were well-done, and I found myself smiling and crying, sometimes both at once!
If you are involved in education in any way, or work at a high school, I would recommend this book. It is a great reminder of why our resilience and determination to many a difference everyday are important.

This book was so delightful. I really enjoyed the different characters- teachers and administrators. I really liked that the chapters were each told from a different persons perspective. It almost reads like a collection of short stories from each character. I found myself laughing out loud at the humor. I also found the story very moving.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early copy to read and review!

As a high school English teacher myself, this book had me cracking up at all of the very accurate professional references. The copier jamming, the PD session with the parking lot, the cringe when your principal uses incorrect grammar in their all staff email. Hilarious and relatable for those in the teaching profession. Others may not find it as entertaining.

This is an interesting collection of interconnected stories and really well written. For those in education, I think this will land more than it did with me. But it was overall enjoyable,

Thank you NetGalley,author Jennifer Matthieu and Dutton Publishers foe the ebook,The Faculty Longue. It was a sweet book,nice group of high school faculty and staff that made you like them but very little humor. My husband being a teacher for many years certainly had a lot more hysterical moments with both co-workers,students and especially visiting parents and guests.It was a fast read,never boring and the teachers and staff portrayed had interesting backgrounds and related stories.it would make a good vacation novel to read.
On sale June 23,2024.

I've never been one to see teaching as a calling instead of a job, similar to my own as an accountant. Nor do I say vacuous things like "teachers are superheros!" (They're human beings you should pay cash money instead of platitudes.)

But gosh darn if this book didn't change my mind. Not about the money, but about the calling and the extraordinariness of the work educators do. I generally read books with a strong plot and shy away from those where "nothing" happens. This was beautifully character-driven and I didn't miss having plot twists at all. I liked that the chapters are essentially short stories, so a lot is packed into each one. I wish I'd spaced them out and read one per day, but I couldn't put the book down.

~Thanks to Dutton and Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Faculty Lounge in exchange for an honest review. ~

This book was sort of exactly what I went in expecting but also started on a completely unexpected note to tie so many of the stories together. It opens with a beloved previous teacher turned sub having passed of natural causes in the faculty lounge during a school day, but then each chapter follows a new faculty member who was present when the body was found. Each chapter explores a different element of what goes into teaching and running a school nowadays and how their role at this school has impacted their lives. It’s almost like a collection of character-focused vignettes that build off each other as you’re never sure how much time has transpired between chapters.

Honestly, I really liked this. I’ve got plenty of people in my life who work in education and so much of this book reminded me of crazy stories they’ve shared. I do think you can appreciate this also just as a story of a workplace and the different dynamics and hierarchies that all are required to keep things running, but Mathieu’s focus on education really does its best to shine a light on an area that is so underappreciated nowadays.

This book includes some rough topics, but teachers have to deal with rough topics every day. There’s a chapter with a lockdown, a teenage pregnancy, book banning, addiction issues, discussion of immigration. And yet, this book never felt depressing. It’s so focused on the positives but it’s also just so humanizing of every person. Almost every character is insanely well-crafted and realistic, but I did feel there were a few forgetful chapters that were lost in comparison to the ones with heavier topics. I would have liked a second chapter with a few characters just to see more of their lives, because Mathieu really did some fantastic character work in such a short amount of time. I wanted more time to appreciate them!

DNF at 25%. I found the voice to be very two-dimensional and the storyline to lack plot. I was hoping for more heart or humor, even found family dynamics at the very least. I’m sure as a teacher there may be many relatable moments, however I found it to be inhospitable to those of us not in the academic world. Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy, this one just wasn’t for me!

This was such a fun, heartwarming read, and for sure a must for anyone in education. But you don’t have to be a teacher to enjoy this book. From the principal to the school nurse and custodian, each chapter focuses on a member of the Baldwin High School faculty and/or staff.

I don't know what I was expecting, but this was not it. Unfortunately, I had to DNF at 50% because I had no desire to keep reading. This is likely a case of me and not the book. I just failed to connect with the storyline or the characters. I did however recommend this to my parents because they are teachers, and I think a lot of this would resonate with them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

What a delightful tribute to public school faculty and staff! If you’ve ever worked in a school, you’re sure to see some similarities between your experiences and the stories in this novel. I enjoyed the structure with different chapters focusing on different staff members, as well as the balance between funny and more serious moments. This book was a good reminder of how blessed we are as a society to have people who are called to serve as educators.

THE FACULTY LOUNGE by Jennifer Mathieu is a LibraryReads selection for July. Mathieu writes movingly about a complicated work setting (schools are notorious) with many undercurrents. It's clear from her relatable prose about parents and administrators that Mathieu has decades of experience as a teacher. Booklist says "this sentimental and funny book will appeal to readers of character-driven narratives." Enjoy!

This novel was so well written and such a beautiful story. Having a close relationship with several people who work in education, I feel like I deeply resonated with this story. The insight on the characters and the themes/messages throughout this novel will stick with me for a long time. I highly recommend this book to anyone who works in a school and will definitely pass this on to those in my life who work in education.

Sometimes you just need a deeply relatable and incredibly validating book. As a speech therapist, the American education system is something I find myself self doom spiraling over frequently and this book felt like it was saying “I get it. It’s ridiculous.”

“You really had to hand it to Mr. Lehrer. While dying at work is never ideal, he had the decency to do it during his off period. And not only that, but at the start of it, too, giving the clerks in the main office plenty of time to find someone else to cover Ms. DeLaRosa’s Spanish II classes, even as they scrambled to figure out who should be telephoned when an eighty-two-year-old substitute teacher lies down on a ratty couch in a high school faculty lounge and dies. “

Jennifer Mathieu’s new novel, The Faculty Lounge, has been described as love letter to teachers. Though it is darkly funny in a number of places, the description isn’t wrong. By the ten percent mark, I had cackled out loud twice, it was so strangely accurate.

My thanks go to Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley for the review copy. This book is for sale now.

Our school is Baldwin High, a Texas school with a solid reputation. After the stage is set, with poor Mr. Lehrer breathing his last breaths during his planning period, and another teacher being cranky when the paramedics make her leave before her photocopies are done so that they can work on him, the story is organized with a single chapter per character. Obviously there are a lot more people on Baldwin’s staff, but this method works quite nicely, and since the characters interact, the chapters that come later in the book are richer, because there’s more backstory to help us understand them.

The youngest teachers have grown up with the knowledge that they might be shot to death at school; first they grew aware of this when they were students, and now, as teachers, the danger is still there. While older staff members tend to be rattled by a lockdown, younger ones see it as almost routine. Take attendance, salute the flag, and whoops, there it is. Herd any students outside of your door into the room, then lock it. Everyone on the floor. Pull your window blinds. Wait till it’s over.

I appreciated every character in this book, and I was sorry when it ended.

There are crises at Baldwin, just as there always seem to be fires to put out in real schools; there are high maintenance parents with absurd complaints, as well as idiotic district directives. Bureaucrats! Toward the end, a veteran teacher explains to a newer one that some days, “the best you can do is show up and hang on.” So true! Your reviewer is retired from the profession, and I can recall a wise older teacher saying to me privately during difficult periods, “I’m here. And I’m dressed.”

The whole thing seems so familiar.

How much will this resonate to readers that aren’t educators? I have no idea, but I know that the in-jokes, the sense of the familiar, can’t be as strong. For a general readership, I’d say this is a four star read. Possibly this is true as well for those that have always taught early childhood, because many of the parameters are different. But for those of us that have taught middle and high school, particularly for those that are veterans, this is a solid five star read.

Cheerfully recommended to all, and highly recommended to veteran secondary teachers.

This was such a lovely read. I typically don’t love fictional books without a big hook but this was a delight. I loved the short story format focusing on various staff and their nuanced background and various angles. I so recommend this as a palette cleanser or if you’re in a book rut.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy!

As once a high school math teacher and then a university professor, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this poignant book. It presents us several stories about teachers, beginning, surviving, and then ending their careers in the classrooms and school itself: principal, assistant principal, teachers, supply teachers, nurse, guidance teacher, and school cleaner. All have a similar theme, that of caring for their fellow colleagues, their students, and wanting to do the right thing, even if that means not following the rules all the time. I was brought to tears several times during the book at the injustices, on the one hand, and the kindness on the other hand of teachers. These faculty work in a building for most of their careers and build strong bonds both with the facility and the people themselves. They reveal how times change and accordingly, so must teachers. Well written, and deeply moving. An excellent book.