Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

89 reviews

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. 

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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

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

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

designy808's review against another edition

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Racism, Child abuse, and Body shaming

ehmannky's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.5

An intense dystopian view of modern motherhood, complete with the social expectations to be perfect, to never accidentally or purposefully harm a child, racist expectations, strangers thinking they know best, and the fear of losing your child for "abusive behavior." After Frida leaves her toddler alone for 2 hours, she loses custody and is forced to go to the School for Good Mothers to regain a chance to even have visiting rights again. But the school itself, an intensification of motherhood with Silicon Valley horror with every interaction quantified and measured, is set up for people to fail. It's a heartbreaking look at motherhood, with what happens when social nets fall through and when mothers are expected to be perfect, no exceptions. I really liked that all the "Bad Mothers" were lumped together--Frida and other mothers who "abandoned" their children (some just having abandoned them to walk a few blocks by themselves, left them with a 12-year-old niece to babysit, etc.) with those who have done more serious things like hitting and leaving children in a hole. The book asks us to think if any of these women (and their children) really deserve to be subject to the terror and trauma of separation and that there has to be a better way to ensure safety for children without tearing them from their parents. 

I think that while the middle school sections were a bit too long (I think this book could easily be 50 or so pages shorter), this is still a fabulous book.

Spoiler

I was *sobbing* at the end when you learn that Frida and her parents don't regain any kind of custody and are just expected to be fine not seeing Harriet until she's 18

.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Death, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Forced institutionalization, and Kidnapping

Minor: Child abuse

cryfest's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Grief, Mental illness, Self harm, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse

jillaay_h's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Grief

abhirupa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

This was such a difficult read because it was so FRUSTRATING!!! Like there were moments when Frida’s interactions with The System made me so mad I had to take a break and I definitely contemplated DNF’ing several times. I’m glad I didn’t, just bc I had a feeling I knew how the book was going to end and I was right, so I felt vindicated. But it’s not like it was a super shocking or crazy or innovative ending. My main issue with this book was that the context just didn’t make sense to me. The plot, especially with the school, was giving Handmaid’s Tale, but there wasn’t a description of any societal upheaval that would have made these massive changes to CPS and child custody laws make sense. Like I didn’t get what had gone wrong with society for this plot to have been feasible. If you’re a mom, especially if you have joint custody of their kids with your ex, this will probably be a really really tough read, and I’m honestly not sure if it’s worth it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Violence

Moderate: Suicide and Grief

kathleenivy's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Child abuse, Lesbophobia, and Sexism

Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Torture, Abandonment, Self harm, Classism, Kidnapping, Colonisation, and Medical content

Minor: Cancer, Infidelity, and Miscarriage

pjwanders's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Child death, Confinement, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Self harm, Violence, Addiction, Gaslighting, and Medical trauma

haleybre's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Self harm, Child death, and Violence