Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

315 reviews

lauramur's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

laurenmalia's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

clo_l's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

3.5

I really wanted to love this book but I don’t. I was expecting it to be more intense, mind-bending, and full of twists. It was so slow & boring. I don’t hate it, I just don’t particularly like it and I probably wouldn’t recommend it. As a young, new mother who struggles with postpartum depression & anxiety, I can relate to a good bit of things from this book. For that, I appreciate it but honestly, that’s all. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

laurenlee2158's review against another edition

Go to review page

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


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

abbyobsessesoverbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.75


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

bnae77's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional inspiring 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

the mothers mothered until they were told they couldn’t yet they still were mothering

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

nightfaery's review against another edition

Go to review page

It was very difficult to read having just had my first baby 8 months ago and having suffered with mental health issues in the past. The main character, Frida, clearly is struggling with post-partum depression and it is just dizzying and upsetting to read ( which is good writing by the author but a little triggering for me personally). I read some spoilers to find out how it ends
Spoilershe does not get her daughter back at the end
and it just didn't seem worth it to power through.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

tiffyb's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I am SHOCKED that this book only has 3.5 stars! The School For Good Mothers is probably the most horrifyingly good book I have read in a long time. 

This was a harrowing, painful read since I am pregnant with my first baby (girl). This book made me FEEL THINGS, and maybe that’s why so many people disliked it- the absolute insanity and infuriating helplessness you felt as you read. I think that possibly, my personal connection to many concepts I’m this book elevated my feelings even more. Having gone through a divorce, now having a baby, and having a close friend whose children were taken away unfairly (and was mistreated and manipulated by the CPS system) all made me find this book to be incredibly relevant and ALMOST believable. I didn’t even realize it was a dystopian novel until probably 1/4 of the way through the book! 

I only have a couple of small criticisms… i struggled with the way that Fridas “one bad day” seemed a little under-criticized by the author. Obviously her punishment went FAR beyond the crime, but it seemed as though the author thinks that many moms have a bad day like that and just leave their babies?? Also the book could have cut down probably 100 pages of her time in the school. I just read more quickly, but if someone disliked the book, I’d imagine that the extra focus on the school would be frustrating. And lastly (SPOILER ALERT) I was expecting for the school itself to be addressed; I actually thought that when they all got out, they would find out that the school was literally just a social/mental experiment on mothers. It was odd that the school was just allowed to do literally ANYTHING in spite of literal deaths?? There were many unanswered questions in regards to the school and CPS system overall (like who made any of these decisions). 

This book brought up so many concepts within motherhood- ex’s, sex, what counts as selfishness, race, the ridiculous standards of society, and that no one would ever truly “pass” parenting school if we had to adhere to every piece of advice given on childcare. I’d 1000% read a sequel where the mothers join together and seek to understand what happened to them and find justice. A sequel of powerful, angry mothers lol. I’d read that in a heartbeat after this book

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

honeymoonleo's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

designy808's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

4.25

i was annotating left and right. there were so many deep quotes that i resonated with. that ending had me GAGGED.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings