Written by Laurie Gelman
In the eagerly anticipated follow-up to Laurie Gelman’s “irreverent and hilarious” (The New York Post) hit Class Mom, brash, lovable Jen Dixon is back with a new class and her work cut out for her
If you’ve ever been a room parent or school volunteer, Jen Dixon is your hero. She says what every class mom is really thinking, whether in her notoriously frank emails or standup-worthy interactions with the micromanaging PTA President and the gamut of difficult parents. Luckily, she has the charm and wit to get away with it—most of the time. Jen is sassier than ever but dealing with a whole new set of challenges, in the world of parental politics and at home.
She’s been roped into room-parenting yet again, for her son Max’s third grade class, but as her husband buries himself in work, her older daughters navigate adulthood, and Jen’s own aging parents start to need some parenting themselves, Jen gets pulled in more directions than any one mom, or superhero, can handle.
Refreshingly down-to-earth and brimming with warmth, Dixon’s next chapter will keep you turning the pages to find out what’s really going on under the veneer of polite parent interactions, and have you laughing along with her the whole way.
Fabulously Entertaining! 
Oh, this is soooo funny! I defy anyone not to laugh. As the first ‘real’ book I’ve read for a while, I found myself wondering why the pages didn’t turn each time I touched the page (yes, you can laugh) but I did manage to get used to doing it manually after a fashion! Technology, eh?
Jen Dixon has been ‘volunteered’ – and not for the first time – as Class Mom. Whilst most of us filter what we think before we either say it or type it, Jen just goes straight ahead and, boy, did it make me giggle! With a family to care for she already has a lot on her plate; two teenage daughters, a young son, a husband trying to expand his business and parents who aren’t as young as they once were, Jen doesn’t really have the time to spare that Class Mom involves. However, she’s been volunteered so she just gets on with it!
Class Mom is a new concept for those of us in the UK; when my children were young I was involved in the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) at their school, and it wasn’t exactly overflowing with willing helpers. To be coerced into something similar would have been my worst nightmare, and Class Mom seems to be so much more hands on. Trust me, PTA was never as much fun as this! This is a very entertaining novel, full of humour and fun situations mixed in with the usual high anxiety which all mothers go through whilst being plunged into dealing with those who each have their own issues. Throw into the mix those who are blessed with the knowledge that they know best and can tell everyone else how to carry out their assigned tasks and you’re beginning to get the picture; there’s always some know-it-all looking over your shoulder, even when the tasks you’re carrying out are (well, supposedly) voluntary!
Laurie Gelman has created a terrific novel, beautifully paced well-written – an absolute pleasure to read! I would suggest reading her first novel, Class Mom, first as it can only double your enjoyment! A fabulous novel and well worth the five stars I’m more than happy to give it.
My thanks to Rachel Tarlow Gul of Over the River Public Relations for first bringing this book to my attention, and for arranging my paperback copy to be sent from New York by publisher Henry Holt & Company. All given opinions are entirely honest and completely my own.
Tags: family life, humour, women’s fiction
- Format: ebook, paperback, hardback, audio
- Size: 268 pages
- Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
- Publication Date: 23 July 2019
- Purchase Links: Google Play
- Barnes & Noble
- iBook
- Kobo
Author Bio
Laurie Gelman was born and raised in the Great White North. She spent twenty-five years as a broadcaster in both Canada and the United States before trying her hand at writing novels. The author of Class Mom, Laurie has appeared on Live With Ryan and Kelly, Watch What Happens Live, and The Talk, among others. She lives in New York City with her husband, Michael Gelman, and two teenage daughters.
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Instagram: @lauriegelman
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