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

dark emotional sad tense fast-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

4.0

This book is speculative fiction…for now. It’s a brutal representation of the ways that society expects motherhood to look, the ways that we add expectations and judgments but never real supports. The inequality of expectation and blame for mothers when compared to fathers. The way that a system that says it’s trying to do what’s best for children but so often doesn’t. There’s also some AI ethics issues in the background—surveillance, tech-driven diagnosis of human emotions, and the cruelty of creating robots with real human feelings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Abandonment