Reviews tagging 'Classism'

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

41 reviews

perfectcupoftea's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Miscarriage

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

jesus fucking christ

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Confinement, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Car accident, Lesbophobia, and Fire/Fire injury

crystalsparkles's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Highly recommend checking out the trigger warnings first and only read if you can truly handle them.  This book is soooo good.  The story had me raging, and bawling, frustrated by injustice and hopeful… It is devastating. There were times when I didn’t know if I could finish the story, because it almost hits too hard. Especially in the global political climate, who’s to say this is too far of a stretch for North America sometime in the nearish future.  It will surely make you question your own parenting.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Hate crime, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Car accident, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Cancer, Pedophilia, and Kidnapping

erica_reads_things's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Heartwrenching and infuriating. The type of dystopian that doesn't really seem that dystopian compared to the realities under the surface of child protective services and the unrealistic expectations on mothers today. A great look into generational immigrant trauma, motherhood (especially compared to fatherhood), mistakes, and love. The midsection could have been tightened up a bit, but I still appreciated how the details of daily life highlighted just how long this felt to the mothers too. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Body shaming, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

natspat98's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Classism

betsygrace's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I actually really enjoyed this book; it kept me on my toes from start to finish. It also gave me Handmaid’s Tale vibes. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism

laurenlee2158's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

honeymoonleo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Suicide, Medical trauma, and Deportation

savannah98's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Four stars instead of five because I feel like there should’ve been one more chapter at the end. It felt like the book ended right at the climax of the story.

CPS is already almost to this point in America, and that’s what makes this story so haunting. Aside from the reeducation camps, CPS can do any of the things shown in this book. They can rip children out of homes with little to no evidence of abuse or neglect. They can place children in foster care for differences in opinions on parenting tactics. For clutter in a home, for a parent failing a drug test for marijuana, for getting a second doctors opinion on a medical issue. You thought SIDS was scary enough as is? What if I told you that CPS can use that as an excuse to take your other children out of your custody as well, even though the cause of SIDS is still undetermined and is not in any way linked to parental failure?

This novel is not haunting because it tells of some dystopian world that could never exist where lives can be ruined and families ripped apart over any reason the government picks. It’s haunting because it is so adjacent to reality and the horror that many families are currently facing due to government overreach.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

jourdanicus's review against another edition

Enraging and depressing. I get that Frida is probably not supposed to be a likeable character, and I usually like unlikeable/unreliable narrators, but she (and the other characters tbh) didn't even seem that well-developed either. I struggled to get through the story from her perspective. I wish the commentary on social inequity had more nuance and depth, that really could have saved the book for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Racism and Classism

Minor: Vomit and Pregnancy