Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

85 reviews

_fallinglight_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

3.5

This book is the future Republicans want.

I'm never going to be a mom and still reading this both unsettled and infuriated me!! Took me such a long time to get through it bc I literally wanted to jump some of these characters lmao Also, Gust is a frickin sociopath and he should be in daddy jail bc fůck that guy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Abandonment

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

rly's review against another edition

dark funny tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Suicide and Suicide attempt

Minor: Infidelity

razkat's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

liabl_28's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

i think it does a pretty good job getting across the point, i did cry but sometimes i think it's repetitive and it gets weird around some descriptions.
the way it made me so furious that i had to stop reading, i really liked it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Forced institutionalization

amanda_reads13's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Frida's one very bad day results in her being sent to a one-year program to become a "better mother". 

The premise is a commentary on the very real control our patriarchal government has over our lives. The book was incredibly disturbing; I felt very uncomfortable and angry throughout the story. I had to take many breaks while listening. The author successfully illustrates the pressures put on mothers to be perfect and the unrealistic expectations society expects them to meet. It also sheds light on the racial prejudices towards mothers of colour as they endure even harsher punishments. 

Frida is a single mom struggling to find balance. She is overworked, stressed, and probably dealing with post-partum depression. On her worst day she makes the choice to leave her daughter home alone for two hours, which is reported by the neighbours. That day her daughter is taken from her and Frida ends up being sent to a Big Brother type institution. Here, the mothers endure harsh and strict rules and while being pushed to achieve unrealisticly high standards of perfection. 

My main issue with the book is our main character. She is not a sympathetic or likable character. She made a terrible choice that put her daughter in danger. If we really look at her, her concern is not for her child's welfare, it's for her own and her "need" to be with her baby. I was really waiting for that "ah-ha" moment when she realizes that her behaviour truly put her daughter at risk, but there wasn't. There was so much focus on her whining and lamenting her situation, which I get. Her daughter was taken from her, her husband left her for another woman, and the school is awful, BUT there is little to no growth in her character. Her pride stands in her way at every step.

Also, the plot is very, very slow. Since this was a dystop an society, I wanted more world building. Does society truly not know about these schools? How is this abuse allowed to occur? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicide, Grief, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

rei_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Body shaming, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual assault and Pregnancy

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

msbarnesela's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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

4.0

This book is speculative fiction…for now. It’s a brutal representation of the ways that society expects motherhood to look, the ways that we add expectations and judgments but never real supports. The inequality of expectation and blame for mothers when compared to fathers. The way that a system that says it’s trying to do what’s best for children but so often doesn’t. There’s also some AI ethics issues in the background—surveillance, tech-driven diagnosis of human emotions, and the cruelty of creating robots with real human feelings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

kfran12's review

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Abandonment