Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

171 reviews

clo_l's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

3.5

I really wanted to love this book but I don’t. I was expecting it to be more intense, mind-bending, and full of twists. It was so slow & boring. I don’t hate it, I just don’t particularly like it and I probably wouldn’t recommend it. As a young, new mother who struggles with postpartum depression & anxiety, I can relate to a good bit of things from this book. For that, I appreciate it but honestly, that’s all. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Abandonment

Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

laurenlee2158's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

honeymoonleo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Suicide, Medical trauma, and Deportation

designy808's review

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: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Grief

Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, and Racism

ehmannky's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.5

An intense dystopian view of modern motherhood, complete with the social expectations to be perfect, to never accidentally or purposefully harm a child, racist expectations, strangers thinking they know best, and the fear of losing your child for "abusive behavior." After Frida leaves her toddler alone for 2 hours, she loses custody and is forced to go to the School for Good Mothers to regain a chance to even have visiting rights again. But the school itself, an intensification of motherhood with Silicon Valley horror with every interaction quantified and measured, is set up for people to fail. It's a heartbreaking look at motherhood, with what happens when social nets fall through and when mothers are expected to be perfect, no exceptions. I really liked that all the "Bad Mothers" were lumped together--Frida and other mothers who "abandoned" their children (some just having abandoned them to walk a few blocks by themselves, left them with a 12-year-old niece to babysit, etc.) with those who have done more serious things like hitting and leaving children in a hole. The book asks us to think if any of these women (and their children) really deserve to be subject to the terror and trauma of separation and that there has to be a better way to ensure safety for children without tearing them from their parents. 

I think that while the middle school sections were a bit too long (I think this book could easily be 50 or so pages shorter), this is still a fabulous book.

I was *sobbing* at the end when you learn that Frida and her parents don't regain any kind of custody and are just expected to be fine not seeing Harriet until she's 18

.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

Minor: Child abuse

savannah98's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Four stars instead of five because I feel like there should’ve been one more chapter at the end. It felt like the book ended right at the climax of the story.

CPS is already almost to this point in America, and that’s what makes this story so haunting. Aside from the reeducation camps, CPS can do any of the things shown in this book. They can rip children out of homes with little to no evidence of abuse or neglect. They can place children in foster care for differences in opinions on parenting tactics. For clutter in a home, for a parent failing a drug test for marijuana, for getting a second doctors opinion on a medical issue. You thought SIDS was scary enough as is? What if I told you that CPS can use that as an excuse to take your other children out of your custody as well, even though the cause of SIDS is still undetermined and is not in any way linked to parental failure?

This novel is not haunting because it tells of some dystopian world that could never exist where lives can be ruined and families ripped apart over any reason the government picks. It’s haunting because it is so adjacent to reality and the horror that many families are currently facing due to government overreach.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

jourdanicus's review against another edition

Enraging and depressing. I get that Frida is probably not supposed to be a likeable character, and I usually like unlikeable/unreliable narrators, but she (and the other characters tbh) didn't even seem that well-developed either. I struggled to get through the story from her perspective. I wish the commentary on social inequity had more nuance and depth, that really could have saved the book for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Racism and Classism

Minor: Vomit and Pregnancy

friendofdorothea's review

hopeful 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

2.5

I think the premise was a lot better than the execution. The book could have been a lot shorter and many parts dragged on. Also since the mothers in the book did do some pretty bad stuff that kind of went against the point that mothers are overly punished for how they parent. Of course it was to the extreme but I think the point of the book could have been stronger if the main character didn’t really do anything and was punished for it. I do think the book made its point but I would recommend the handmaids tale before this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Forced institutionalization

lovelydeadgirl's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, and Classism

cryfest's review against another edition

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail