Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

14 reviews

rei_reads's review

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

crystalsparkles's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

Highly recommend checking out the trigger warnings first and only read if you can truly handle them.  This book is soooo good.  The story had me raging, and bawling, frustrated by injustice and hopeful… It is devastating. There were times when I didn’t know if I could finish the story, because it almost hits too hard. Especially in the global political climate, who’s to say this is too far of a stretch for North America sometime in the nearish future.  It will surely make you question your own parenting.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Racism, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Grief, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Classism, Alcoholism, Violence, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Police brutality, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, Drug use, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Alcohol, Car accident, Toxic friendship, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, and Blood

Minor: Pedophilia, Kidnapping, and Cancer

erica_reads_things's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

Heartwrenching and infuriating. The type of dystopian that doesn't really seem that dystopian compared to the realities under the surface of child protective services and the unrealistic expectations on mothers today. A great look into generational immigrant trauma, motherhood (especially compared to fatherhood), mistakes, and love. The midsection could have been tightened up a bit, but I still appreciated how the details of daily life highlighted just how long this felt to the mothers too. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Pregnancy, Child abuse, Self harm, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Racism, Death, Kidnapping, Suicide, and Miscarriage

Minor: Body shaming, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

natspat98's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Forced institutionalization, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Classism, Racism, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Confinement, Violence, and Toxic relationship

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

smoothlikebutter's review

dark emotional reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Abandonment, Body shaming, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Suicide and Suicide attempt

Minor: Kidnapping

superstar_y2k's review

when the adult main character describes herself during sex as “embarrassed by the limitations of her little girl body” and “built like a teenage girl” (pg 51) i’m no longer interested in the book.  
i feel like the book focuses a lot on Frida’s flaws and depression, but in a justification type of way as if she didn’t actually endanger her child.  the summary makes it’s seem like it’s a silly little accident that gets Frida into the “school for bad mothers” but no. it’s literal child neglect and endangerment.  i find it difficult to like any of the characters mentioned. 
there’s also a dub-con moment where Frida kisses a character (and completely reveals herself to him) despite him telling her he didn’t want to kiss (pg 37) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Body shaming

Moderate: Medical trauma, Medical content, Sexual content, Infidelity, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child abuse and Body shaming

kelisabeth's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Homophobia, Infertility, Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body shaming, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Biphobia, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

vulgarboy's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.25

Frida's very bad day lead to one of the most brutally human stories I've read in a long time. Admittedly, I do not like children. I do not envy parents. The School for Good Mothers lead me down a path of pure instinct and need for survival. Frida is beautifully complex and flawed, her shortcomings real and painful. Her desperation to see her daughter again - not just keep custody of her- was an intense struggle to behold. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Child death, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Drug abuse, Addiction, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Homophobia, Abandonment, Classism, Body shaming, Alcohol, and Sexism

taysbooktalk's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

1.0

There are not words for this book, and not in a good way. I like to think if a book had me sobbing, nearly to a panic attack, and I will never forget- that it was an amazing book. It’s not. It’s intentionally meant to rip you apart and trigger you. It’s sold as a dystopian. It’s not. It’s weird and uncomfortable and gut wrenching. This not a Nicholas Sparks or Kristen Hannah book. This is not sad book that tells a story. This is not made to entertain you. It’s not made to make a difference or touch lives. This is made to hurt people. I don’t know that I will ever recover from this book. PLEASE DON’T READ THIS.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Hate crime, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Body shaming, Car accident, Eating disorder, Medical content, Medical trauma, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Torture, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Cultural appropriation, Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, Grief, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Violence, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, and Vomit