4.75- This book gives us a behind the scenes look at teachers and admin in a fictional public high school in Texas. I am not a teacher and I’ve never worked in a high school, but I spent a lot of time in my girls’ elementary school and I’m friends with a lot of teachers and admin. While I know the latter part of the previous sentence doesn’t give me any experience of working in a school I feel like from what I’ve seen from peeking in through the window is very close to what’s represented in this novel.
The book opens at the beginning of the school year with the death of an elderly substitute. Each chapter of this takes us through another month of the school year through the eyes of another teacher or admin. Not only do we see them as teachers, we also see them as people. This has so many laugh at loud moments and quite a few poignant ones as well. If you’ve ever worked in a school you’ll likely feel seen and if you’re a parent, this is a backstage pass to the lives of the teachers in your children’s lives.