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ckopietz 's review for:
The School for Good Mothers
by Jessamine Chan
The School for Good Mothers begins as a fairly straightforward exploration of responsibility and expectations of motherhood and eventually becomes more dystopian as the narrative moves on. "The School" Frida finds herself at — after her very bad day in which she makes a mistake that endangers the safety of her daughter — is a Big Brother-like prison in which she and other mothers are meant to learn how to become not only good mothers but perfect mothers while being constantly surveilled and goalposts constantly moving. The offences committed by the mothers that find themselves there range from innocuous to violent, yet the curriculum is the same and the expectations they are to meet are often impossible by even the most devoted parents. Following Frida's perspective throughout is powerful and you feel her frustration and bouts of hopelessness. Somewhat slow to build, but a cleverly developed narrative.