Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

12 reviews

clk2019's review

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

zoezoiezoey's review

emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I thought, often, "what the fuck is the message here"

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Suicide, and Sexual violence

stailysh1's review

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

This is a hard book to review because it is written well but it's also horrifying.  Nothing good happens in this book and it put me in a funk while reading it.  I considered not finishing it.  That being said, I did want to know how it ended and where it was going.  It criticizes how mothers are constantly shamed and criticized by society in the hyperbolic way a dystopian novel can.  The characters were not lovable, but they're not supposed to be.  The author succeeds in sending her message, although it did begin to get repetitive.  The hopelessness in the book was fully captured and conveyed.  The ending wasn't altogether a bad choice, but it wasn't satisfying either.  I wish the author had spent more time building the world outside of the main character.  The main character is consistently a doormat, and she is supposed to be, but I did not find it enjoyable to read from her perspective because she barely grows beyond it.  In the end, it feels like the book has made a point but gone nowhere with it.

I plan to read something lighter after this because this is the kind of book that gives you a bad "book hangover".

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Grief, Self harm, Child death, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Confinement, Suicide, Torture, and Violence

beabates's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.5

I hated this book so so much.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Abandonment

notalwaysontime's review

dark 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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Grief, and Sexism

Minor: Drug use, Alcohol, Mental illness, and Miscarriage

mpop's review

dark sad medium-paced

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

2.5

I kept hoping there would be some lightness or hope in this book, but it started sad and kept being sad all the way through. The premise hooked me - but the story itself bogged me down. 

Most of it was set in the school, where the mothers are assigned tasks with impossible standards by cruel instructors, then fail the tasks - over and over and over. While the tasks varied, this part of the book felt repetitive. I didn't feel like there was much character development for anyone, other than Frida internalizing the message that she's a bad mother. She does take agency at the very end by

kidnapping Harriet in an ill-conceived plot,

but that's about it. 

There are huge differences between how the fathers and mothers are treated in their schools, but there's no real explanation for this - I understand that it's to magnify the different expectations that society has for fathers and mothers, but there wasn't an internal logic for it in the book-world (other than fathers always getting phone privileges because it's important for fathers to be in their children's lives), so rather than highlighting society's flaws, it felt like more arbitrary cruelty. This example illustrates how I felt about the book generally - not quite explained enough, but sad. 

I enjoyed the parts where Frida discusses her Chinese-American identity, relationships with her parents, and the experiences she had as a Chinese-American girl/woman the most. That resonated and made her seem more like a real person, with complex experiences and feelings, rather than the flat "bad mother" who's just berated over and over.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Kidnapping, Self harm, Mental illness, Abandonment, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Infidelity

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Violence, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Racism, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Miscarriage, and Eating disorder

alliecrosson203's review

challenging 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Confinement, Infidelity, and Mental illness

Moderate: Abandonment and Addiction

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Drug abuse, Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, and Drug use

literarylion's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

I really liked this.

Pros:

• amazing speculation and world-building around a possible not-too-distant future; Frida's situation felt scary in a very real way
• incredible emotion and character establishment; I was invested from beginning to end
• strong examination of important social issues without feeling didactic or hitting the reader over the head with it
• Great tension-building pacing

Cons:

• I found the romance between Frida and Tucker a bit unnecessary to the story

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Alcohol and Blood

chrissymccue's review

challenging dark emotional sad slow-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

Frida Liu had one very bad day. She left her daughter, Harriet alone. Harriet has been removed from her care and she has been sentenced to a program to learn to be a good mother. 

Jessamine Chan's debut novel is a dystopian examination of government overreach, surveillance, artificial intelligence, race, class, and  modern parenting expectations. 

As a middle class mom, this book shook me to my core. Forget monsters and ghosts, the real fears that live in my nightmares were found in these pages. Chan perfectly encapsulates the spiraling anxiety associated with our society's expectation of perfect mothering. Frida, the other mothers, and the fathers unveil the real racial, class, and sexist underpinnings of the state's ideal parent. 

If this book is not nominated for all the book awards this year, I'd be shocked. Chan tackles so much in this heartwrenching portrayal.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, and Child abuse

itsbumley's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Child death, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Grief, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, and Misogyny

Minor: Sexual assault, Abortion, Addiction, Blood, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pedophilia