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

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-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

3.0

i think the premise and some of the commentary made were interesting, but it was just soooooo long to get through. it gets a bit stagnant in the middle section; i think at least 20 pages could've been easily cut and in general it could've been edited down to make the thesis more poignant and succinct. when i did get into a good reading rhythm, it was enjoyable, but because it is essentially several small snippets within each chapter, it feels like you're taking so much time to make minimal progress, which i think distracted me from the overall plot! but there are some good ideas in here, and it does make one reflect on what it means to be a proper parent particular with a childcare system like that of the US's constantly waiting to tear "bad" moms in particular down.
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