Scan barcode
lordmomo17's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, and Forced institutionalization
savvylit's review
- 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
If the above summary of this work doesn't already suggest it, this is a very dark novel. Jessamine Chan crafts an all-too-believable police state that dictates "proper" motherhood. And, as in real life, mothers of color are treated much more harshly by the system. Though I am not a mother myself, it's not hard to see that the extremes of this novel are an extension of the very real pressures that our society imposes upon mothers.
Overall, The School for Good Mothers was an incredibly captivating novel that made me think a lot about motherhood, societal norms, and judgement (both legal and cultural). At first, I thought that the School portions of this story dragged. Upon reflection, though, I think that may have been the point - readers start to yearn for graduation day right alongside Frida. (When will she finally be deemed good?) Additionally, I also initially thought that this book was too rooted in the gender binary; there is not a single mention of non-cis motherhood. However, I think that rooting this story in the male/female, mother/father gender binary is part of what made this book even more terrifying. All of the State's rules for motherhood were extremely patriarchal. Obsessing over puritanical ideas of femininity and motherhood is just one more way that the State controls and oppresses its parents.
Graphic: Confinement, Xenophobia, Racism, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Violence, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Child abuse, and Suicide
lesbianlis's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Child abuse, and Suicide
Moderate: Racial slurs, Lesbophobia, and Gaslighting
boldlydanialie's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
That being said, this book is a painful reminder about race, gender, surveillance and the state. As horrifying as it was to read, its even more horrifying to think about the way mothers are penalized harsher than fathers, how much harder that is on black and brown parents.
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, and Torture
apollinares's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Frida isn't a likeable character. She's convinced us of it on page one, and she's convinced herself of it long before. As someone whose mother made mistakes she deeply regrets, and as someone who has had many conversations with her about what those mistakes did to both of us, I genuinely feel for Frida. I've seen other reviews condemn her, and it's really interesting to me where a reader would draw the line on what they find unacceptable in a parent, and how much they're willing to dehumanise a mother/discredit her emotional needs, when they learn the mother has made a mistake that caused her child harm. I'm not trying to excuse abuse, it's just fascinating how quickly someone's empathy for a person, and their sense of nuance, disappears when the person in the wrong is a parent. I mean, people are rating the book lower because the protagonist has done something wrong and that makes the book supposedly bad. The point is right there, guys, come on...
The way blame is placed in the book is interesting to me, too - how the women are treated as irredeemable, and how the state would rather interfere once harm has been caused (and arguably proceed to traumatise the child even more) than offer parents mental health support before mistakes like this can occur. It's infuriating to experience and to process, and when the fathers were introduced, I became so much angrier knowing how much easier they supposedly have it.
The ending is tragic and inevitable. I don't know how else Chan could have ended this book. Frida's unravelling is addicting, and sad, and I couldn't look away the whole time.
Graphic: Suicide, Child abuse, Infidelity, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Bullying, Medical content, Mental illness, Alcohol, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse
Minor: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Vomit
mollygross's review
- 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
3.0
this book dealt with a lot of heavy and important topics - racism, sexism, classism, & more + how they all affect families dealing with social workers and the system. unfortunately i really didn’t like the ending but i think that’s the point. overall i appreciated the concept and themes but found it slow and hard to get through at times.
Graphic: Suicide attempt and Suicide
Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, Homophobia, and Sexism
menacebibliotheque's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Child abuse
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicide, Xenophobia, Mental illness, Racism, and Physical abuse
Minor: Sexual content, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, and Medical content
owlliecat's review
- 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
4.0
While the premise of a dystopian school for mothers is likely a distant fantasy, it's a very good analogy for the scrutiny mothers experience everyday. Mothers are expected to be perfect in every way, While less is expected of fathers. This book made me so angry and sad, which is exactly what the author probably wanted us to feel. We should be more forgiving towards mothers as a society, obviously removing children from harmful parents, but also understanding that moms need break and alone time. And not judging for silly things like non organic food and watching tablets.
Graphic: Child abuse, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia
amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Torture, Xenophobia, Bullying, Classism, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Abandonment
alexandreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Xenophobia, and Abandonment