Likely Stories - The Faculty Lounge by Jennifer Mathieu

When I read the dedication page of The Faculty Lounge by Jennifer Mathieu: "For anyone who has ever worked in a school", I knew this was going to be a book that resonated with me. It's got heart, humor, inside information, and is like a friend putting a comforting hand on your shoulder for anyone in education.

Our story starts early in the school year at Baldwin High School when a beloved older substitute/former teacher dies on the couch of the teacher's lounge. His death is treated as sad but not macabre, and it affects everyone on campus differently. However, the real drama starts when his ashes are spread on campus, which incurs the ire of the PTA. As the administration navigates this and other hot-button issues throughout the year, we learn about the many people who work at Baldwin High and keep it running behind the scenes.

There's the principal who used to front a punk rock band and has an itch to rebel again. The nighttime cleaning woman who was close friends with the deceased sub and mourns the loss of her one friend. The school nurse who has quite a history of her own and doesn't mind pushing the boundaries. Two teachers who share kisses in a book room during a lockdown drill and struggle to keep their burgeoning relationship private. An English teacher who is embroiled in controversy when he thinks he's forwarding a fiery email about a parent to a colleague but accidentally sends it to that parent instead.

These stories and more make it a year full of light-hearted drama, where the focus is on the adults and their hilarious and relatable issues.

So many times I found myself laughing or nodding my head in solidarity with the events of this story. If it hadn't happened to me, I know someone it has happened to. These vignette-type stories reveal an interconnected faculty who interact in both zany and believable ways and endear you to their losses and their success. If you are a teacher, read The Faculty Lounge. If you've ever wondered what goes on behind the closed doors in a school, read The Faculty Lounge. Then go out and buy your kids’ teachers a gift card.

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