#AudioBookReview: Class Mom by Laurie Gelman

I don't know how I ended up with this audio but it cracked me up.


Class Mom by Laurie Gelman, Narrated by Laurie Gelman
Audiobook, Humorous Fiction
Released June 2017
Amazon ♦ Goodreads
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 hypersensitive "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, this is a fresh, welcome voice in fiction - the kind of audiobook that real moms clamor for and a vicarious listen for all mothers, who will be laughing as they are liberated by Gelman's acerbic truths.

My Thoughts:

“Just because they think you’re crazy it doesn’t mean you’re nuts. Put that on my gravestone.”

Lots of books claim to be funny and they are not. This book is funny. It is so funny. I was never bored and only vaguely annoyed at a few things but it mostly made me happy to be listening to it. This won’t be much of a review because I just enjoyed it. I didn’t take any notes and there isn’t much here to dissect.

In all honesty, this book could’ve gone either way for me. What most people find “hilarious” or “rip-roaring” (what’s that mean, anyway?), I find annoying or boring. My humor, I guess, runs more to the snarky and the sarcastic but it has to be done just right. There really isn’t any pleasing me which is why I usually read horror. It rarely tries to make me laugh (with the exception of Jeff Strand who is full of excellent snark). This book is also loaded with excellent snark. You might hate it. Don’t blame me. My tastes are weird. I’ll own that.

My kids are no longer in grade school but when they were the whole PTA/class mom thing was something I avoided at all costs. Nothing against those who volunteer their time but it wasn’t for me. I wasn’t up for volunteering unless I was forced to and I also wasn’t up to dealing with the cliques and back-biting that comes with that sort of thing. Don’t even ask me about being a dance mom . . . Ugh, so glad those days are behind me. Anyway, so why did I pick up a book called “Class Mom” which is so obviously about all of those things?

I haven’t a clue but I’m glad I did.

Jen is an ex-groupie who gave birth to two daughters who are now in college. She’s unsure who their dad(s) are but she doesn’t really care. Might be that lead singer from INXS. Might not be. It matters not now that she’s settled down and married to a lovely man who loves her snark and all. They had a boy named Max and he’s now in kindergarten and even though she’s the “most marinated” of the group of young parents, she volunteers to do the whole class mom routine all over again. She starts off the year by sending off a hilariously snarky and inappropriate email to the parents telling them what she expects of them throughout the year. She pisses off several of them but who cares? She’s been through this before and she doesn’t seem to care too much about making friends with all of them.

I love her attitude even if she sometimes goes too far for a laugh. The book continues in this vein, insulting the parents and learning their weaknesses and it was amusing. I’ll admit that this humor isn’t for everyone. You kind of have to take a Joe Lansdale approach to the humor and know that everyone and everything is a target and there are moments that aren’t at all politically correct. She is offensive and clueless about it and she does put off people because of it. Be warned.

The one thing that I did not enjoy was a plot bit that goes on for eons where she starts texting one of the dads who is also an old high school crush she dubs “Such A Fox”. She was a foolish woman, no doubt, but this made her come across as pretty dumb, if you ask me.

There isn’t really a plot here. She makes friends, she makes enemies, she pisses many people off, has that stupid flirt-mance and tries to figure out why Max’s sexy young teacher keeps disappearing. It’s light and fluffy and worth a listen if you can shrug off the insulting humor moments.

I listened to the audio which was narrated by the author who stumbles a bit here and there but mostly does a fantastic job.

Comments

  1. This sounds like a good escape read. I need a few light and funny listens in my life right now. "I don't know how I ended up with this audio" LOL. :)

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    1. It's good to break up all of the darkness we read. I don't know how I end up with most of the audio that comes in. I think sometimes I accidentally hit wish or hold over at overdrive. It doesn't always work out for me ;)

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  2. I think it's hard to find books that really make you laugh, too. This one sounds like a lot of fun, snark and all! :)

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    1. My husband laughs at everything. Sometimes I think I have no sense of humor but this book proved otherwise. It has to be snarky ;)

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  3. I love a book that can make me laugh.

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  4. You had me at snark and I could use some humor. Great review and I'm off to grab it!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Barb. I hope you find it as funny as I did.

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