Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

116 reviews

stellahadz's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

A gripping and haunting story about the way society judges mothers. It's dystopian but on a small scale; it imagines a world that's just like ours, but just one step further. Any woman judged to be a "bad" mother for any reason ranging from physical abuse to coddling, is sent to a "school," ostensibly to be rehabilitated. This book is simultaneously a commentary on the unfair treatment of women deemed to be "bad mothers" and on the carceral system. It is difficult to read at times because of how harshly these women are criticized by the "instructors" and how heartbroken they are to be separated from their children all while being told they are bad people whose children are better off without them. Although I don't have kids yet, I really felt for Frida; the author captures her feelings and thoughts in such a relatable way. It made me think of how easily this story could play out in the world we live in, and how it already does play out for a lot of people. We treat all people who have done "bad" things the same way - sentencing them to prison time and telling them they are irredeemably awful people - regardless of the severity of their offense or any explanation that might exist for their behavior. When it comes to parenting and other situations where women are expected to be loving and selfless and happy at all times, the judgment of other people can start to feel like a mental prison. The School for Good Mothers is excellent food for thought about what the world would look like if we were less judgmental and more supportive of people whose behavior we don't understand or approve of. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Suicide

Minor: Racism and Medical content

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

Moderate: Body shaming, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, 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: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Medical trauma, and Abandonment

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Lesbophobia and Alcohol

crystalsparkles's review

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

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

Minor: Cancer, Pedophilia, and Kidnapping

bookdragonkatie's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense slow-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

Infuriating. An extremely well-written and well-crafted novel, but absolutely infuriating and heart-wrenching. Check TW/CW before picking this one up; it is not a book I would recommend to just anyone, but I do think those who enjoy dystopian novels, particularly those novels that feel real or that they *could* see happening in the near future, will enjoy this read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

natspat98's review

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

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

m_a_j's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Kidnapping

miel106's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Grief, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

msbarnesela's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-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

This book is speculative fiction…for now. It’s a brutal representation of the ways that society expects motherhood to look, the ways that we add expectations and judgments but never real supports. The inequality of expectation and blame for mothers when compared to fathers. The way that a system that says it’s trying to do what’s best for children but so often doesn’t. There’s also some AI ethics issues in the background—surveillance, tech-driven diagnosis of human emotions, and the cruelty of creating robots with real human feelings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

rosagail's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, and Confinement