Reviews with content warning for Self harm - The School for Good Mothers

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.

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laurenlee2158's review against another edition

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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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bnae77's review against another edition

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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

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tiffyb's review against another edition

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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

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