Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

90 reviews

sarwils's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Self harm, Pregnancy, Child death, Death, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Sexual content, Antisemitism, Violence, Blood, Alcohol, and Police brutality

raychel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

This book is so fucked up but I couldn’t put it down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, and Grief

Moderate: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Racial slurs

alliecat1915's review against another edition

dark emotional sad

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Suicide, Biphobia, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Lesbophobia

mpop's review against another edition

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.

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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

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

jkpiowa's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.5

This book is rage inducing. I would have rated it higher, but it's just not for me. I don't like books that make me depressed. It wasn't pleasant to read, but it was well written and is a great commentary on motherhood and the expectations thereof. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, and Racial slurs

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

isleoflinds's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Torture, Racism, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Sexism, Racial slurs, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Outing, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Abandonment, Addiction, Biphobia, Child death, Alcohol, Drug use, Grief, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Confinement, and Domestic abuse

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

alyssancoon's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• 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

3.5

What does a very bad day cost you? The concept of the school in this book makes me want to scream- cry- throw up. Brutally written. Very good, but can't recommend it. Commentary on sexism and double standards in parenting. The fact that perfect is never good enough. The whole book made me mad and sad. I cried at the end. What would you do to be with your child?

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Violence

Minor: Homophobia

nonfictionfeminist's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Emotional abuse, Racism, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Sexism, Grief, Racial slurs, Misogyny, and Physical abuse