YOU'VE BEEN VOLUNTEERED

Max Dixon is in third grade, and his mother has been roped into active duty again.

The subtitle of this sequel to Gelman's (Class Mom, 2017) maiden foray into the wilds of elementary school volunteering indicates that Jen Dixon, room parent extraordinaire, is in it for the long haul. Good thing. Dixon's emails to and escapades among the concerned parents of Kansas City have the same anodyne quality as an old-fashioned television sitcom, with a pratfall, a wisecrack, and a chuckle every few minutes like clockwork. This year, Dixon is trying to use the SignUpGenius software to organize the refreshments for "that Fyre Festival known as curriculum night," has been charged with supervising the morning safety patrol, and is coping with the effects of a nasty new kid and his tight-ass mom on the peanut-free ethos of William Taft Elementary. Her mom has recovered from breast cancer, her husband, Ron, is trying to woo an investor to help him expand his sporting goods business, her adult daughters are having boy troubles, and Jen herself has discovered the transcendent joys of spin class. The plot gambols along from one parent missive to the next—"Exciting news from Mrs. Randazzo! She has finally decided on a field trip for our offspring. About time, am I right?" "I'm sure by now you've all heard what happened at safety patrol today so let me just state the obvious: this cannot happen again"—takes a quick, boozy detour to Vegas, and winds up with everything just fine, sitcom style.

Just add chardonnay.