Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

158 reviews

theemptybox's review against another edition

challenging 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

5.0

Emotionally wrecked from this book. As a mixed Asian-American, a lot of these lines hit HARD and a lot of the scenarios were very familiar. As someone with little to no maternal instincts, a lot of this book was teeth grinding and wanting to yell at the background characters. 

There is no wrong or right way to raise a child but there are some universal ways that should be included for every child. This book is thought provoking in ways I never would have guessed. Along with the question of what makes a good mother, this book challenges racial, sexual, and gender questions. It's a psychological horror and I loved it. 

I loved how quickly it moves while also layering back sometimes to provide context. I was on the edge of my seat for a good chunk of it. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Pregnancy, Suicide, Physical abuse, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Self harm, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Forced institutionalization, and Abandonment

kezharri's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense fast-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

4.0

Really enjoyed the concept but feel the ending was confusing and a little anti climatic

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Abandonment

Moderate: Death, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Sexism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Self harm, Violence, Sexual content, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

_nem_'s review against another edition

emotional sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Pregnancy, Grief, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Self harm

Moderate: Death and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Blood, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, and Fire/Fire injury

apersonfromflorida's review

dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Moderate: Self harm, Abandonment, and Racism

Minor: Sexual assault, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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? Yes

4.5

jesus fucking christ

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Confinement, Child abuse, Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Misogyny, and Grief

Moderate: Classism, Violence, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Blood, Body horror, Medical content, Suicide, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, and Confinement

Minor: Sexual assault, Vomit, Eating disorder, Racial slurs, Antisemitism, Lesbophobia, Rape, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Miscarriage, and Car accident

dc32's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book had a really good, interesting, incredibly prescient, and tragic idea to explore: how parents, especially parents of color, are criminalized by the state. The book delves into really interesting conceptions of how the state views motherhood v. fatherhood, how mothers are criminalized, how the state kinda wants moms to become a docile, selfless, unfeeling in the right ways, feeling the right ways robot. I thought that the school's ridiculous curriculum had a lot of depth to explore that didn't get explored. I almost wish we had a syllabus or written materials in the book. This book was very tell, not show. While the concepts were nuanced and dystopic in an important mirror-to-our-world way, the writing glossed over a lot of opportunities to delve into those concepts. In that sense, it read to me like a draft of an adapted short story. I wish that Chan spent more time exploring the world building and the eerie, surveillance-state society that we are placed into, and less time on the perseverations and internal monologue of our main character. For this reason, the middle of the book kinda dragged and felt repetitive. And, there was a lot of depth that was left on the table, unexplored. I think this is a good book for folks who don't know much about the US child welfare system and an important book out there, just wish that it had more narrative depth!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Self harm, Abandonment, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Suicide

mushmush's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization

Minor: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, and Suicide

katiearcher's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-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

4.25

Frida Liu is a bad mother learning to be good.

In this dystopian story, Frida has a bad day and loses custody of her 18month old daughter. In hopes of earning back her custody she is sentenced to one year in the school for good mothers. What’s scary about this book is that if our government could get away with this, I believe they would. While some might believe Frida’s time at the school is too exaggerated or unrealistic, I think it perfectly depicts the unrealistic expectations placed on mothers. It’s a system designed for failure, because no one can ever be a “perfect” mother.

I think the author does a wonderful job entrenching us in Frida’s pov, her anxiety, helplessness, and agonizing hope. I took some points off for the ending and some (imo) gratuitous sexual portions.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Self harm, Child abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Child death, and Suicide

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, and Chronic illness

rei_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Confinement, Sexism, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content

Moderate: Self harm, Abandonment, Racism, Medical content, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual assault and Pregnancy

jess_eliza's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Abandonment, Suicide, Cursing, Child abuse, Death, Child death, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Racism, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Alcohol and Lesbophobia