A review by abhirupa
The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

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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