Jen Dixon, now mom of 2 young adults, 1 middle schooler, and grandmother to 1 precocious 4 year old, is back in the fourth installment of the Class Mom series.
Being just over 1 week (why? how?!) from sending my own 7th and 4th graders back to school, it felt like the perfect time to mentally prepare myself with my fictional bestie Jen’s latest antics.
This school year Jen is a “Mat Mom” for PMS (Pioneer Middle School) as her youngest son, 7th grader Max, dips his toe into the wonderful world of sports with wrestling and there are fundraisers, travel tournaments, and even a mom-on-mom wrestling match to contend with. Jen is also juggling her career as a cycle instructor (her banging throwback playlists make me actually want to take her class), her father’s declining health as he struggles with dementia, the adjacent drama of her two adult daughters going into business together, and changes in her own life and marriage as she moves further into middle age.
Smells like Tween Spirit is another funny, relatable story. These books go down so easy and I will happily read as many Class Mom books as author Laurie Gelmen wants to write.
Thanks to Henry Holt and Company for an advanced review copy.
That Bookish Life 