A review by kesselm
The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

A powerful story of the lengths a mother will go to for her child. In her debut novel “The School for Good Mothers,” Jessamine Chan tells the story of Frida Liu, who had a bad day. In a moment of poor judgment, Frida leaves her daughter Harriet alone. The neighbors call the police on Frida, and Harriet is sent to live with her father. Facing the possibility of losing Harriet forever, Frida agrees to attend the titular School for Good Mothers. She is at the institution, like all the other mothers, to prove that she can learn to be good.

This book looks at a near dystopian future where parents, especially mothers, are expected to be perfect. There can never be a “bad day.” The novel speaks to traps that society sets for parents and feeds the fears that many of them face. Am I raising my child right? Do I love my child? Does my child love me?

The novel also critiques societal factors that impact how a parent can care for a child and how society reacts to those factors: race, gender, mental illness, and socioeconomic status. The pressures are real and magnified as the reader watches Frida attend the School for Good Mothers. The reader is often questioning if Frida and the other mothers will make it through the one-year program. Will they get their children back?

Readers who are sensitive to triggers should consider the following trigger warnings: child abuse, suicide, suicidal thoughts, self-harm, racism, and sexism.

The book was well written and I found myself wanting to find out what was going to happen. The book could feel slow and repetitive at times, but I felt like that enhanced my understanding of the book. It helped me connect to Frida more closely because I could imagine how slow and repetitive her days at the institute could be.

This book also ate at underlying fears that I have. As the mother of a toddler, I often find myself wondering if I’m a good enough mother, if I’m doing the best job that I can. It horrified me to think that something like this could happen. Although it’s speculative fiction, it would not take much for our society to find ourselves in this type of situation. I hugged my child a little bit longer after reading this.

I am glad that I read this book, and the story sticks in my head. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy speculative fiction with Big Brother dystopian elements. I also recommend this book to people who like to read about how injustice in society can affect people. For parents, if you don’t want to question if you are doing a good enough job raising your children, I might stay away from the book. I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars.

 
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