Class Mom--A Novel

June 1, 2017
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.

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Starred review from May 1, 2017

DEBUT Jen Dixon is a third-time class mom (her two daughters--by two different men--are now in college). She and Ron, whom she refers to as her "first husband," are raising their newly minted kindergartner Max. At the insistence of her best friend, PTA president Nina, Jen reluctantly takes on the job for Max's class. She holds nothing back as she sends out snarky, sometimes offensive, always funny (to those who get her humor) emails to the class list. She duly notes response times and is not above taking a bribe when she assigns field-trip volunteers, conference times, and more throughout the year. Gelman's characters run the gamut from a stereotypical, oversensitive allergy-mom, to two mothers whom Jen can't tell apart, to a supersexy kindergarten teacher who refuses to talk about her students until the designated conference time. There are plenty of soapy plot threads, too, including Jen getting reacquainted with an old flame and trying to get in shape for a "mud run." VERDICT Gelman pens an uproariously funny first novel with a relatable protagonist. Moms will clamor for this story, trying to hold back tears of laughter as Jen establishes her voice and place as the class mom. [See Prepub Alert, 2/27/17.]--Erin Holt, Williamson Cty. P.L., Franklin, TN

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 25, 2017
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.

June 1, 2017
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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)