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

dark emotional sad tense slow-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

3.75


This was one of the most brutal, devastating, and bleak books i’ve ever reas. This is a dystopian novel  about a CPS- funded boot camp/reeducation for parents who’ve been found to be negligent or abusive. The wardens of this school remind me of some of the more insane  mommy bloggers  that i’ve come across, with lots of obvious misinformation. The writing style is very matter or fact and i believe it was done intentionally to emphasize how hopeless Fridas situation is. 

There’s also a camp for fathers and that camp is a lot more lenient than the mothers camp, which i believe directly reflects standards for motherhood v fatherhood and it just pissed me off. 

The way they abused these women and the dolls is a little too real to how mothers are treated in our general society. This book broke my heart every chapter and i am hopeful that this will give me a lot more patience and understanding when it comes to interacting or dealing with mothers. I don’t know if i can recommend anyone with kids read it because it’s genuinely so hard to read and Bleak but if you have the stomach for just pain please read it 

It briefly touches on how CPS treats black and brown mothers differently than white mothers and i wish it went deeper into it. 

I am just sad now. 

I think it was well written and the pacing was okay and if you want to feel bad read it but i need hope im my books and everything was just bleak 
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