Laurie Gelman

I listened to the audiobook, which may have dampened the humor for me. I didn't find this very funny. Mostly I was disappointed that the main character was clearly supposed to be a likable kind of in-your-face honest, but for me was mostly just insensitive and self-absorbed. She sort of rolls her eyes at anyone who doesn't appreciate her attempts at humor and I think the reader is meant to roll their eyes along with her. But I was not amused at her comments about the lesbian moms, an Asian mom, a mom of a kid with severe allergies, etc. I kept thinking, what year was this written? (2017 which means there's no excuse.) She is sometimes called out for being a jerk and is only mildly apologetic.

One specific thing that bothered me is that Jen aggressively demands all parents provide various items for class gatherings. It doesn't even cross her mind that some families might not be comfortably middle class. Maybe there's no economic diversity in her Kansas City neighborhood. Maybe she'd be cool about it if a family was having a hard time. But it was jarring for me.

The plot centers around Jen training for a mud run and various minor mysteries about her fellow moms and her kid's teacher. She has some marital trouble when her high school crush appears as the father of one of her son's classmates.

Does this book have redeeming qualities? As a mom with a kid in kindergarten, it's interesting to compare experiences. Mine is nothing like Jen's, for which I'm grateful.… (mehr)