Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

22 reviews

taysbooktalk's review against another edition

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

em216's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Infidelity, Self harm, Child abuse, Child death, Suicide, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Violence

islabjb's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: War, Cursing, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Chronic illness, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Classism, Vomit, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Confinement, Cancer, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, and Infidelity

alliecrosson203's review against another edition

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

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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

laurenkimoto's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I wanted to love this book but I didn’t. 
Think if the Handmaids Tale, 1984, and Klara and the Sun had a book child. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Gaslighting, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Drug use, Infertility, Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Pregnancy, Self harm, Alcoholism, Blood, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Miscarriage

ynotlime's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Racial slurs, Infidelity, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Death, Confinement, Bullying, Body shaming, Stalking, Sexual content, Sexism, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Classism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Violence, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Misogyny

meowkira's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense

• 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Abandonment, Child abuse, Classism, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Death, Mental illness, Racism, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Grief, and Sexism

melishahigdon's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

This book was enlightening. I have never thought so much about how unfair part of the system actually is in the US. I was floored by how learning a lesson was not good enough for the system and administration, how doing a good thing was always overlooked because something Frida did was always wrong and that she “was a bad mother.”

This also showed me how unfair things could and probably are for those who aren’t white mothers in the United States, how the inherent, systemic racism affects American mothers who aren’t white.

There was a little discussion about the treatment of problematic fathers versus mothers: the fathers weren’t treated as poorly as the mothers in the school, which ostracized the mothers from humaneness like the fathers were shown.

I have a lot to say about this book, so if anyone wants to discuss it with me, please PM me. I am completely floored by this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Sexual content

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Racism, Vomit, Suicide, Death, Infidelity, Sexism, Abandonment, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Blood, Child death, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse

sarahd0825's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-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

2.0

I really wanted to like this book and thought the idea behind it was great, but the execution was not. :/ I did like exploring the topic of what it would look like if the aunts from the handmaid's tale met modern-day CPS. However, I never developed any opinions on any of the characters and found them all a bit 2-dimensional... Frida was supposed to have a morally gray character arc, but I never really saw her character change throughout the story. Perhaps this was intentional but was just not my cup of tea.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Violence, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Lesbophobia, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Torture, Self harm, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Death, Classism, and Alcohol

mondovertigo's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racism, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Mental illness

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Confinement, Classism, Kidnapping, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Self harm, Xenophobia, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Alcohol