Reviews - The School for Good Mothers

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9.67k reviews for:

The School for Good Mothers

Jessamine Chan

3.7 AVERAGE

jennaelise's review against another edition

3.0

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I know the author was trying to prove a point but I hated the way social workers were portrayed. Also felt like the writing did more telling than showing and dragged in the middle. Interesting concept though. Maybe I would have appreciated it more if I had kids.

eddyinikea's review against another edition

4.0

i am this close to giving it five stars because the ending blew me out of the water. but the middle of this book was interminable.

gravityvp's review against another edition

4.75

emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

cait_readsandspins's review against another edition

3.5

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

ljhuff's review against another edition

2.0

I strongly disliked Frida at the start of the book. I do not care about your issues - you do not ever leave you child unattended.

BUT realizing that the author may have wanted us to hate Frida at the beginning and knowing how popular this book is, I persisted.

And I became engrossed in the story - would Frida succeed in being reunited with her child? Would she find justice in a system determined to condemn her? Would she find peace and growth in herself?

And as it became more clear how dystopian this world is, I began to really care about Frida and root for her success. And so I really enjoyed the center part of the story as it kept me deeply engaged.

In the end though - sorry, I can't stand non-endings. I hate stories with no satisfactory punishment for the bad guys. No justice for what the system did to the mothers. I put up with some of the extra pain and slogging in the middle to get a good pay-off in the end - and there just wasn't one.

So combining the bad start with the frustrating ending, this book only gets 2 stars and no recommendation from me - which is sad because it has a great premise to it.

26kelsik's review against another edition

4.5

emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I had no idea what this was about going into it so everything seemed so unpredictable. I loved this book; super creepy and incredibly creative. Not only was the plot gripping but nearly all the characters were interesting or entertaining.