ABL Review At-A-Glance
- Title: You’ve Been Volunteered
- My Rating: 4.5
- Genre: Fiction, Women’s Fiction
- Author: Laurie Gelman
- Format: eARC*
- Publication Date: July 23, 2019
Compare To:
Synopsis
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.
My Thoughts…
Yes. Yes. Yes. Just, freaking yes. This is a real mom. This is a mom with a sense of humor. This is a mom who no longer gives a …well you know. This is a mom who has embraced herself and her flaws despite the high pressure, pinterest driven mom-world we live in. This is my hero.
Jen Dixon is like Lorelai Gilmore but without a filter. I know what you’re thinking, Lorelai Gilmore had a filter? She did, sometimes, but Jen seems to be mostly living life as her best self, though she does occasionally attempt to restrain her hilarious instincts when appropriate. The parent emails alone are fun reading, but the story is well worth the time.
As the mom of two younger children, not only could I relate to this book, but I am using it for inspiration when my kids get into school. Jen is so irreverently honest about being a mother and our stresses. She writes parent emails that are full of truths but will have you laughing out loud. The fact that she couldn’t manage a Signup Genius is me every single time I get one in my email. I never know what I’m doing, and always end up missing information and bringing something redundant. It’s nice to know I’m not alone.
I love finding books with authors and narrators who write like I think, with sentences and plots leading me to believe they’ve planted a camera in my minivan. Down to the Starbucks addiction, Jen is the modern mother. We worry about our kids, don’t know how to let go, can’t stand our kids, want them to never grow up, and can’t wait until bedtime, all in the span of an afternoon. We are irrational women wearing 47 hats, trying to be a mom, friend, volunteer, wife, teacher, daughter, and role model. We give hugs and timeouts. We accidentally teach out kids cuss words, only to have them repeat those words at the worst times (so sorry, pastor, I have no idea where he heard that). Sometimes we are so many things to so many people, that we lose ourselves in these roles.
I can’t say enough about Jen and how much I enjoyed reading from her perspective. I felt like I knew this woman from the first paragraph. The story wasn’t necessarily mind blowing, but it isn’t supposed to be. This is a book attempting to depict real life, as we live it. Its honesty is its charm, so the story shouldn’t be outlandish or thrilling. You tell me the last time you had a thrilling Tuesday night, and no, tacos don’t count. That’s why this book is so good. Like its main character, it’s not trying to be anything but what it is. A feel good, authentic, and witty portrayal of life as a woman with kids trying to enjoy herself and not kill anyone.
What’s Missing
If a book falls short of a 5 star rating, I try to figure out why instead of leaving it to the whim of my feelings. Sometimes, I am successful with this, sometimes I’m not. The only thing missing here were some depth to the supporting characters. I never felt like I got a sense of Ron or of Jen’s daughters. I just needed a little more from them for me to give this book the remaining half star.
Conclusion
If you are a mother, know a mother, or want to become a mother, this should be required reading. You will be entertained, but will also get a new appreciation for women and what they are dealing with daily. Or, maybe, you’ll get a reminder to be yourself in a world that tells you to be anything but. I know, for at least today, I’m going to be me without worrying what others think. Hopefully, I can teach my daughter that lesson.
*Special thanks to Laurie Gelman, Over The River Public Relations, and Henry Holt and Co. for a copy of You’ve Been Volunteered in exchange for an honest review.
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