clk2019's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Self harm, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Suicide, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, and Abortion
clo_l's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Abandonment
Minor: Self harm, Rape, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Cancer, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Grief, Bullying, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Infertility, Cursing, Child abuse, Car accident, and Blood
tiredenglishteacher's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
5.0
Heartbreaking, haunting, scathing assessment of the ways in which mothers and fathers are held to different standards. A story that will stay with me for a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization and Gaslighting
Moderate: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, and Suicide
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual content, Child abuse, Suicide, Classism, and Racism
Minor: Bullying, Abandonment, Addiction, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Sexual content, and Infidelity
Moderate: Classism and Racism
Minor: Pregnancy and Vomit
lovelydeadgirl's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, Classism, Sexual content, and Suicide
cindeeduong's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, and Physical abuse
superstar_y2k's review against another edition
when the adult main character describes herself during sex as “embarrassed by the limitations of her little girl body” and “built like a teenage girl” (pg 51) i’m no longer interested in the book.
i feel like the book focuses a lot on Frida’s flaws and depression, but in a justification type of way as if she didn’t actually endanger her child. the summary makes it’s seem like it’s a silly little accident that gets Frida into the “school for bad mothers” but no. it’s literal child neglect and endangerment. i find it difficult to like any of the characters mentioned.
there’s also a dub-con moment where Frida kisses a character (and completely reveals herself to him) despite him telling her he didn’t want to kiss (pg 37)
i feel like the book focuses a lot on Frida’s flaws and depression, but in a justification type of way as if she didn’t actually endanger her child. the summary makes it’s seem like it’s a silly little accident that gets Frida into the “school for bad mothers” but no. it’s literal child neglect and endangerment. i find it difficult to like any of the characters mentioned.
there’s also a dub-con moment where Frida kisses a character (and completely reveals herself to him) despite him telling her he didn’t want to kiss (pg 37)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Body shaming
Moderate: Medical trauma, Medical content, Sexual content, Infidelity, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Child abuse and Body shaming
kkimball's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, and Sexual content
lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I stumbled across this book at Barnes & Noble, and the summary on the back really drew me in.
"The School for Good Mothers" is an exploration of motherhood through a near-futuristic, dystopian lens. Frida Liu is deeply struggling with her life. Being the daughter of Chinese immigrants has caused her to constantly feel like she is living in a shadow in which she is never good enough. After a particularly bad day, Frida leaves her toddler daughter alone at home while she runs to the office. But her quick errand turns into hours away, and when she returns home, she is met by police who are taking her daughter away from her. After a difficult trial, Frida decides to take a deal to attend a school for good mothers for one year, so she can learn how to be better and prove she will never leave her daughter again.
This book made me angry in all of the right ways. Motherhood is no easy task, and it seems like no matter what choice a mother makes, she receives endless criticism and feedback about how she can do better. Even the mothers who "do it all" are imperfect and need to do more. Frida obviously makes an unmistakably poor choice by leaving her toddler daughter alone, but what drove her to that point was equally infuriating. Frida does not have any support in her life, and she is tired, overworked, and desperately needs help. It is undeniable she should not have left her daughter alone, but I think it is equally important to see how much Frida immediately regretted it and did EVERYTHING within her power to make the situation right. Should one mistake forever mark Frida as a bad mother?
The inherit sexism that surrounds parenthood is explored exceptionally well in this book. Mothers are forever held to unattainable standards, but fathers are forever applauded for doing the bare minimum. The school for good mothers has a counterpart, a school for good fathers, and the reader learns that these schools are not created equally. The fathers have a much easier time with the curriculum and their crimes against their children are treated completely differently. Fathers are pretty much always encouraged to go back into their children's lives following graduation from the program, however the mothers seem to be set up to fail and lose their children forever.
I LOVED this book, and I look forward to reading more from Jessamine Chan in the future.
"The School for Good Mothers" is an exploration of motherhood through a near-futuristic, dystopian lens. Frida Liu is deeply struggling with her life. Being the daughter of Chinese immigrants has caused her to constantly feel like she is living in a shadow in which she is never good enough. After a particularly bad day, Frida leaves her toddler daughter alone at home while she runs to the office. But her quick errand turns into hours away, and when she returns home, she is met by police who are taking her daughter away from her. After a difficult trial, Frida decides to take a deal to attend a school for good mothers for one year, so she can learn how to be better and prove she will never leave her daughter again.
This book made me angry in all of the right ways. Motherhood is no easy task, and it seems like no matter what choice a mother makes, she receives endless criticism and feedback about how she can do better. Even the mothers who "do it all" are imperfect and need to do more. Frida obviously makes an unmistakably poor choice by leaving her toddler daughter alone, but what drove her to that point was equally infuriating. Frida does not have any support in her life, and she is tired, overworked, and desperately needs help. It is undeniable she should not have left her daughter alone, but I think it is equally important to see how much Frida immediately regretted it and did EVERYTHING within her power to make the situation right. Should one mistake forever mark Frida as a bad mother?
The inherit sexism that surrounds parenthood is explored exceptionally well in this book. Mothers are forever held to unattainable standards, but fathers are forever applauded for doing the bare minimum. The school for good mothers has a counterpart, a school for good fathers, and the reader learns that these schools are not created equally. The fathers have a much easier time with the curriculum and their crimes against their children are treated completely differently. Fathers are pretty much always encouraged to go back into their children's lives following graduation from the program, however the mothers seem to be set up to fail and lose their children forever.
I LOVED this book, and I look forward to reading more from Jessamine Chan in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Child death, Racism, and Child abuse
Minor: Sexual content