Class mom : a novel / Laurie Gelman.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Laurie Gelman's clever debut novel about a year in the life of a kindergarten class mom--a brilliant send-up of the petty and surprisingly cutthroat terrain of parent politics.

Jen Dixon is not your typical Kansas City kindergarten class mom--or mom in general. Jen already has two college-age daughters by two different (probably) musicians, and it's her second time around the class mom block with five-year-old Max--this time with a husband and father by her side. Though her best friend and PTA President sees her as the "wisest" candidate for the job (or oldest), not all of the other parents agree.

From recording parents' response times to her emails about helping in the classroom, to requesting contributions of "special" brownies for curriculum night, not all of Jen's methods win approval from the other moms. Throw in an old flame from Jen's past, a hyper-sensitive "allergy mom," a surprisingly sexy kindergarten teacher, and an impossible-to-please Real Housewife-wannabe, causing problems at every turn, and the job really becomes much more than she signed up for.

Relatable, irreverent, and hilarious in the spirit of Maria Semple, Class Mom is a fresh, welcome voice in fiction--the kind of novel that real moms clamor for, and a vicarious thrill-read for all mothers, who will be laughing as they are liberated by Gelman's acerbic truths.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

When Jen Dixon is asked by her best friend (also the PTA president) to be kindergarten class mom for the third time, she begrudgingly agrees. With her first email, full of snark, wit, and charm, Jen sets the stage for how things will be in Miss Ward's class. Moms, trying to hold back tears of laughter, will relate. (LJ 5/1/17) © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Laughter abounds in this spot-on mom-com, Gelman's debut. Jen Dixon has put her rock music groupie and single mom days behind her and is living the good life with her husband, Ron; two college-age daughters (fathered by musicians in her past); and her and Ron's five-year-old son, Max. Over her protests, Jen is charmingly strong-armed into becoming the kindergarten "Class Mom" by her best friend, PTA president Nina. As the liaison for class events, Jen puts her unique and snarky spin on communication with the parents, sending emails laced with playful threats and the occasional call for bribes and alcohol. Her misunderstood sense of humor earns her a few friends along as she faces challenges such as the ongoing struggle to gain assistance and volunteers and the reappearance of her hunky high school crush. As the school year progresses and Jen wades deeper into the drama of being in the middle of a group of strong and often outspoken personalities, Gelman showcases her comedic talent; there are hilarious observations and clever quips on nearly every page. Readers may feel overloaded by sass, but they are rewarded with a perceptive parody of parenting gone haywire. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

Gelman's debut draws a delightfully snarky character in Jen Dixon, kindergarten-class mom and purveyor of jaw-dropping but spot-on class updates. She has been through the whole class mom thing before with her two older daughters (by, she is pretty sure, two different musicians.) Now, she is married (Jen refers to him as her first husband) and has a son, and when she gets roped by the PTA president into being his class mom, she is determined this time will be different. The collection of parents she has to wrangle includes evil twins, a heartthrob from her high-school days whom she may or may not be flirting with, a mysteriously always-out-of-office mom, and the mother of a child with every food allergy imaginable. Snappy dialogue and quick pacing make this a fast and fun read, but copies of Jen's e-mails, which run from requesting special brownies for the class party to recording response times to volunteering for the class trip, truly make the book. Readers following the recent trend in true-mom confessions and fans of Jen Lancaster and Maria Semple will love meeting Jen Dixon.--Babiasz, Tracy Copyright 2017 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

Miss Ward's Kansas City kindergarten class has a room parent with major attitude."My name is Jennifer Dixon and I have volunteered' to be your class mom for this coming year. Since this is a thankless job, don't expect warm fuzzy emails like you probably got in pre-school.If I say we need doughnuts, say How many? Not Can I bring cups?' " Jen Dixon is not a typical Kansas City kindergarten mom. Her first two daughters were born back in her groupie years; one of them may or may not have been fathered by Michael Hutchence of INXS, though since he died in 1997, there's no real way of knowing. After many years as a single mom, she married Husband No. 1 who became Baby Daddy No. 3, thus inaugurating her second round of room mothering. This time she's 15 years older than everyone else and just can't take the whole kindergarten shtick as seriously as they do. The replies to her ongoing sarcastic emails typically include 1.) an instant autoreply from a never-seen mother who is permanently out of the office; 2.) an allergy-related screed from the mother of the room's nastiest little brat; 3.) sassy back talk from the cool lesbian moms; and 4.) presumptuous demands from "Kim Fancy (Nancy's mom)" and her sycophantic sidekick. Least amused of all is Asami Chang, a tone-deaf woman who thinks Jen is serious in demanding parents buy her a new coat or at least some Starbucks cards in return for optimal teacher conference times. Further complicating the situation is the fact that Jen's long-ago high school crush, "Don Burgess (he's such a fox)" is one of the class dads and foxy as ever. Gelman's debut is a literary stand-up routine, and you might as well just give in: this woman is going to get a laugh out of you. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.