Monday, August 19, 2024

Monday Mini-Reviews: Faculty Lounge: It's Back to Reality

It's back to reality tomorrow as I report to school for the beginning of the 2024-25 school year.  I taught summer school in June and then spent three weeks cleaning up one of the elementary libraries in our district after the librarian there took a different job.  So school has not been far from my thoughts at all.


I love reading books -fiction and nonfiction - about school and education.  Faculty Lounge by Jennifer Mathieu was the perfect end of summer read as I head back to school tomorrow morning.


 



Mathieu's novel is narrated by several different Baldwin High School staff members connecting the entire story together.  Anyone who has worked in a school can understand the bizarre and often humorous event that shape every day. Baldwin High School has more than its fair share of them.


The story begins with the death of an elderly substitute in the teacher's lounge one day.  But that isn't the strangest thing to have ever happened.  Throughout this novel we are introduced to a staff that cares about the students but who also have a life outside of Baldwin's doors.  For many teaching is not just a job; it is an identity.  


I found myself chuckling at the stories in this book, often nodding as well, as I could relate to them.  Mathieu's years in the classroom have given her the background to write a school story to perfection.  

1 comment:

Ti said...

Sounds like this one could be fun. Hope the school year goes well for ya! It sure came up fast. Like always. :)