What do you think?
Rate this book
The Good, the Bad and the PSLE: Trials of an Almost Kiasu Mother
To succeed in life, you must top your class, get Band One for school tests, and obtain four A stars for the PSLE. Or at least, that is the world according to Ling, a typical Singaporean mum who has made it her goal in life to help her children succeed in school. Ling’s older daughter, April, has all the makings of a model student and looks set to ace the Primary Six national exams. In the meantime, Ling’s younger son, Noah, is free-spirited and more interested in canteen food than what goes on in class.
This (almost) kiasu mum records her journey diary-style, describing hilarious episodes involving crazy worksheets, assessment book overload and jittery parent-teacher meetings. Ling’s humorous take on surviving Singapore schools will have you laughing and give you serious food for thought, all at the same time!
This (almost) kiasu mum records her journey diary-style, describing hilarious episodes involving crazy worksheets, assessment book overload and jittery parent-teacher meetings. Ling’s humorous take on surviving Singapore schools will have you laughing and give you serious food for thought, all at the same time!
- GenresFiction
208 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2013
3 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Monica Lim
19 books6 followersMonica Lim is a writer but the boring, corporate kind. She runs her own business which writes serious stuff for companies and organisations. She also writes a blog on kids and education, where many of the stories in
The Good, The Bad and the PSLE
first appeared. She lives in a typical Singaporean neighbourhood with her two teenage children, one husband, his mother and no dog. Her son has a pet snail that is slimy and disgusting.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
November 15, 2013
For those interested to know how the Primary School Leaving Examinations or PSLE in short can cause undue stress to parents, please read this book by Monica Lim. In a casual, laid back style, she brings out the frustrations that most (yes, most) Singaporeans parents experience when the student is at Primary 6 or about 12 years old. At that age, all school going kids in schools will need to undergo a leaving examinations that decides on where the child is going for his secondary education.
It is an excellence read.
Be Warned -
a) Do you read while you are eating, for you will choke on the humour of Noah, the character in the book.
b) Do not read while going down the staircase for you will sure fall.
c) Do not read while driving - you are definitely going to be involved in a crash
Please keep calm and restrain from smiling when reading especially in public places. When you start laughing to yourself, it will attract unnecessary stares from people.
Congratulations to Monica for such an excellent book.
It is an excellence read.
Be Warned -
a) Do you read while you are eating, for you will choke on the humour of Noah, the character in the book.
b) Do not read while going down the staircase for you will sure fall.
c) Do not read while driving - you are definitely going to be involved in a crash
Please keep calm and restrain from smiling when reading especially in public places. When you start laughing to yourself, it will attract unnecessary stares from people.
Congratulations to Monica for such an excellent book.
November 15, 2013
So WISH I had this book during my days in Singapore.
Swimming in a society so PSLE centred, it is wonderful to finally
have a book that helps parents, moms especially see that there is MORE
to life than the PSLE.
This books is a written as a mom's journey on how, while juggling
what it takes to make her children do well in school, she discovers
more about each of her children. There's so many scenes that as
a mom of kids similar in age, I can relate and have similar
struggles. I teared at some bits.
Even as a fiction, it challenged me as a mom to seek the strengths
and individual highlights of each of my children. This book also helps
me find humor in the day to day of our kids involvement with
school. From canteen life, to the dreaded chinese 'ting xie', music
and even trials in being 'not so good'.
Singapore parents....read up and lighten up!
Life goes on even after PSLE!
GREAT light read!
Swimming in a society so PSLE centred, it is wonderful to finally
have a book that helps parents, moms especially see that there is MORE
to life than the PSLE.
This books is a written as a mom's journey on how, while juggling
what it takes to make her children do well in school, she discovers
more about each of her children. There's so many scenes that as
a mom of kids similar in age, I can relate and have similar
struggles. I teared at some bits.
Even as a fiction, it challenged me as a mom to seek the strengths
and individual highlights of each of my children. This book also helps
me find humor in the day to day of our kids involvement with
school. From canteen life, to the dreaded chinese 'ting xie', music
and even trials in being 'not so good'.
Singapore parents....read up and lighten up!
Life goes on even after PSLE!
GREAT light read!
November 16, 2013
I received this as a gift from a friend and didn't really expect much. I ended up reading it in one sitting because I couldn't put it down.
This is like Tiger Mom with a sense of humour. In Singapore, parents take exams as seriously as their children. It's almost like a disease. That's why it's so comforting to read a mother's account, told in such a witty and friend-next-door way. Here is somebody who understands the challenges of bringing up children in this academic rat race and can see the funny side at the same time.
You will not like this book only if you are not a parent in Singapore, have no sense of humour or are a literary snob.
The book doesn't claim to be Booker prize literature. It's funny, genuine and speaks to the heart. Most enjoyable book I've come across in a long time.
This is like Tiger Mom with a sense of humour. In Singapore, parents take exams as seriously as their children. It's almost like a disease. That's why it's so comforting to read a mother's account, told in such a witty and friend-next-door way. Here is somebody who understands the challenges of bringing up children in this academic rat race and can see the funny side at the same time.
You will not like this book only if you are not a parent in Singapore, have no sense of humour or are a literary snob.
The book doesn't claim to be Booker prize literature. It's funny, genuine and speaks to the heart. Most enjoyable book I've come across in a long time.
August 21, 2015
One of the best ever books on Singaporean school system and the trials and tribulations that a working mother undergoes in the rat-race that is the PSLE. The writing style is lucid, clear, funny and thought provoking at the same time.
But be careful. Please ensure that you are alone in a room with the doors locked when you read this. Especially when Noah, the younger child comes into picture, remember to hold on to the chair on which you sit. You are more likely to fall down laughing.
Apart from the humour, the extreme stress that the children have to undergo and the method of trying to fit circular children in square pegs would better get the required attention from the authorities concerned.
A brief Singapore background in terms of terminology would be helpful but not essential.
But be careful. Please ensure that you are alone in a room with the doors locked when you read this. Especially when Noah, the younger child comes into picture, remember to hold on to the chair on which you sit. You are more likely to fall down laughing.
Apart from the humour, the extreme stress that the children have to undergo and the method of trying to fit circular children in square pegs would better get the required attention from the authorities concerned.
A brief Singapore background in terms of terminology would be helpful but not essential.
November 17, 2013
My son and I really loved this book! We found ourselves laughing and feeling anxious for the characters in the book every step of the way.
The PSLE really does leave a scar on the psyche on the Singaporean, the sting of which is helped with a good dose of humour. Ms Lim also provides insightful vignettes of the parent and child in each of us. These are unmistakeably poignant and thought provoking at the same time.
I totally recommend this book!!
The PSLE really does leave a scar on the psyche on the Singaporean, the sting of which is helped with a good dose of humour. Ms Lim also provides insightful vignettes of the parent and child in each of us. These are unmistakeably poignant and thought provoking at the same time.
I totally recommend this book!!
April 14, 2019
I took my time cos I enjoyed this a lot. Noah is adorable and his stories cracked me up numerous times..
Well written and engaging.. believe me .. it was tough to not continue this in one sitting.
Love it.
Well written and engaging.. believe me .. it was tough to not continue this in one sitting.
Love it.
October 15, 2015
All mothers in Singapore who have children would be able to identify with the protagonist in the book. May we all gain some wisdom after going through the rigmarole of seeing our kids through this nightmare called the PSLE!
June 30, 2015
Full of hilarity with a good dose of wisdom. Thoroughly enjoyed this book that too many of us can relate to.
August 20, 2020
This fiction book consisted of a series of diary entries by a Singaporean mother named Ling trying to help her children succeed in school. Ling was worried about her younger son, Noah - a cheeky boy who enjoyed playing and did not take studying very seriously as he was just entering primary school. Ling had high expectations of her older daughter, April - an outstanding student who usually topped her cohort in various subjects and won writing competitions, and was preparing for her major Primary School Leaving Examinations. Although it was a fictional narrative, it was inspired by real events, and therefore read somewhat like a memoir (though with some artificiality in the sense that all loose ends were neatly tied up and there was a moral of the story). Singaporeans would probably find the book relatable due to the cultural references to our stressful, grades-focused education system. In fact, I could see myself in the older daughter April, who started off with a genuine love for learning and a strong conviction for certain causes, but developed a burnout and fear of failure due to the heavy emphasis on examinations and academic excellence. I could also see my mother in Ling, who no doubt loved her children but was herself grappling with immense societal pressure about what successful parenting looked like. I actually teared up towards the end when Ling wrote heartfelt letters to her children, as I felt like I was hearing words from my own mother. Overall, I would recommend this book to Singaporean parents and students, as it puts into perspective some of the problems associated with putting young children through such high-stakes examinations. However, I do wish that less of the humour relied on fat-shaming, and I also felt that the author had some underlying gender bias in favour of males.
November 13, 2013
Yup. This looks like a grant sponsored exercise in semi-vanity publishing and a thinly disguised series of blog postings which are loosely tied together to form a book, which doesn't work as fiction (since it has no focus) and a case of bait-and-switch (since it barely covered the actual theme of PSLE)
In the end it just promotes gender inequality since the poor older daughter doesn't make it (PSLE) and the son, Noah gets away with being, well, the son and boy (pats on the head - mommy loves you)
Definitely to be avoided.
In the end it just promotes gender inequality since the poor older daughter doesn't make it (PSLE) and the son, Noah gets away with being, well, the son and boy (pats on the head - mommy loves you)
Definitely to be avoided.
September 10, 2016
I read this book in two hours FLAT. It was such an endearing book with many giggles along the way, and yet also exasperating moments when I thought of my own children who one day might be walking in the same footsteps as the characters in the book. I could feel the narrator's anguish, disappointment and also joy when she had to deal with the problems and challenges, and also the hilarity of her son's nonsense. A lovable book, very real, and for all parents whose kids are going to be taking THE p-s-l-e soon.
November 14, 2013
Very good read. Found myself nodding and laughing out loud several times. All Asian parents will identify!
November 3, 2018
Hilarious. This book makes me kept on reading til the end. Love it.
December 17, 2019
I'll never be in this Singaporean mother's position, but I very much enjoyed reading this book and contrasting it with my experience of the PSLE several decades ago. For non-Singaporeans, that's a major exam you take at the age of 12 that determines what secondary school you go into. Things have definitely gotten more stressful for the kids and the parents.
I was shocked, actually shocked, when I read that the parents were asked at the beginning of Primary 6 to sign a statement promising to make their kids study. Not sure if that was just this specific primary school or something the Ministry of Education does, but I was stunned by that, and question what's to be gained by it. It's not like the parents will be thrown in jail if the kid doesn't do well.......yet.
In fact, parents putting too much pressure on a kid might have the opposite effect, as is sadly shown with the author's daughter and older child April, whose anxiety and perfectionistic tendencies led to poor performances in maths and even an outbreak of eczema during the PSLE period. I felt a great deal of sympathy for her as I feel I was very similar to her. I was a little worrier and the school system here definitely caused a streak of self-destructive perfectionism I still struggle to overcome. On the other hand, April is a genius writer. The couple of pieces the author includes are stunningly mature for a 12-year-old and I was glad to see her get the recognition she was due, .
She's also somewhat overshadowed by her younger brother, who dominates the book with his funny quips, antics, and overall take on the world. Again, I sympathise, as another quieter older sister with a more extroverted younger sibling who was very much the same. Our family has a "joke book" in which my mother recorded funny things we said and did, and my sister took up the lion's share of the book. But I must say Noah is such a funny and happy little chap that I really enjoyed reading about him.
At the end of it, one wonders what's to be done to reduce the stress on the kids, because the book clearly illustrates how even non-tigerish parents find themselves putting a great deal of pressure on their kids just to have them keep up. The most obvious but least actionable answer is to reduce inequality in Singaporean society, because that's really where the pressure to do well in school comes from. In the absence of answers, I'm just glad that I'll never be in the position of having to put a kid through this soul-sucking system.
I was shocked, actually shocked, when I read that the parents were asked at the beginning of Primary 6 to sign a statement promising to make their kids study. Not sure if that was just this specific primary school or something the Ministry of Education does, but I was stunned by that, and question what's to be gained by it. It's not like the parents will be thrown in jail if the kid doesn't do well.......yet.
In fact, parents putting too much pressure on a kid might have the opposite effect, as is sadly shown with the author's daughter and older child April, whose anxiety and perfectionistic tendencies led to poor performances in maths and even an outbreak of eczema during the PSLE period. I felt a great deal of sympathy for her as I feel I was very similar to her. I was a little worrier and the school system here definitely caused a streak of self-destructive perfectionism I still struggle to overcome. On the other hand, April is a genius writer. The couple of pieces the author includes are stunningly mature for a 12-year-old and I was glad to see her get the recognition she was due, .
She's also somewhat overshadowed by her younger brother, who dominates the book with his funny quips, antics, and overall take on the world. Again, I sympathise, as another quieter older sister with a more extroverted younger sibling who was very much the same. Our family has a "joke book" in which my mother recorded funny things we said and did, and my sister took up the lion's share of the book. But I must say Noah is such a funny and happy little chap that I really enjoyed reading about him.
At the end of it, one wonders what's to be done to reduce the stress on the kids, because the book clearly illustrates how even non-tigerish parents find themselves putting a great deal of pressure on their kids just to have them keep up. The most obvious but least actionable answer is to reduce inequality in Singaporean society, because that's really where the pressure to do well in school comes from. In the absence of answers, I'm just glad that I'll never be in the position of having to put a kid through this soul-sucking system.
July 5, 2020
I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS BOOK.
This book was beautifully written. As it is written in a diray format, I am impressed with the amount of great vocabulary! The writing also flows naturally, even with fragmented pockets of time, so much so that it is difficult to put down. Noah's antics are also hilarious.
But what I loved most about this book is the realistic window into the life of 'kiasu parents'.
As a Secondary 2 student in Singapore education, I have encountered many other students who have had parents who seem to have unrealistic, high standards and strict regimes. And this book, at the beginning, very much brought this side of Singaporean parents out. I was infuriated every 5 pages because I couldn't see how parents could think in this 'kiasu' way and still expect their children to love them, have good mental health and so well in school.
Such as in page 94, where the mom states "See? It's the system. It turns parents into monsters." While I agree to this statement by a certain extent (your grades are based purely on exam marks), I BEG TO DIFFER. You parents CHOOSE to pressure your children with your endless practices and yellings and packed schedules. How can you expect a child to NOT crack after so much weight is put on their shoulders? This is just one of the many instances that I really had to put down the book and take a deep breath before continuing.
(I have very lenient parents. And I like to think I do so well in academics, sports and my artistic endeavours because of this.)
But then Monica Lim took into consideration all of these frustrations into the ending. April did worse than expected for her PSLE because of the stress, and Noah's caring, sweet personality seemed to shine more in the mother's eyes. In the end, the mom learned to tone down her tiger-side and appreciate her children's other talents than just academics as well. And that was just so immensely satisfying. Really cherry on top of the cake for me. I only hope that more Singaporean parents in real life will come to realise this too.
All in all, a wonderful, easy yet impactful read. Especially if you are a Singaporean, you should definitely add this to your reading list.
This book was beautifully written. As it is written in a diray format, I am impressed with the amount of great vocabulary! The writing also flows naturally, even with fragmented pockets of time, so much so that it is difficult to put down. Noah's antics are also hilarious.
But what I loved most about this book is the realistic window into the life of 'kiasu parents'.
As a Secondary 2 student in Singapore education, I have encountered many other students who have had parents who seem to have unrealistic, high standards and strict regimes. And this book, at the beginning, very much brought this side of Singaporean parents out. I was infuriated every 5 pages because I couldn't see how parents could think in this 'kiasu' way and still expect their children to love them, have good mental health and so well in school.
Such as in page 94, where the mom states "See? It's the system. It turns parents into monsters." While I agree to this statement by a certain extent (your grades are based purely on exam marks), I BEG TO DIFFER. You parents CHOOSE to pressure your children with your endless practices and yellings and packed schedules. How can you expect a child to NOT crack after so much weight is put on their shoulders? This is just one of the many instances that I really had to put down the book and take a deep breath before continuing.
(I have very lenient parents. And I like to think I do so well in academics, sports and my artistic endeavours because of this.)
But then Monica Lim took into consideration all of these frustrations into the ending. April did worse than expected for her PSLE because of the stress, and Noah's caring, sweet personality seemed to shine more in the mother's eyes. In the end, the mom learned to tone down her tiger-side and appreciate her children's other talents than just academics as well. And that was just so immensely satisfying. Really cherry on top of the cake for me. I only hope that more Singaporean parents in real life will come to realise this too.
All in all, a wonderful, easy yet impactful read. Especially if you are a Singaporean, you should definitely add this to your reading list.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 11, 2022
The book provides insight into the phenomenon where Singaporean parents worry incessantly about their children's examinations, especially the major PSLE. It is written in a lighthearted manner, which lends its messages to being internalised more easily. As someone who has gone through the PSLE, the book was enlightening for me - there is a web of society, self and others which pushes parents to do as others do.
November 29, 2024
A diary-style narration from the POV of a typical Singaporean kiasu mum and two primary school kids. So familiar and relatable that I didn't realise it was fiction! Generally quite amusing, sometimes heartwarming, and sometimes frustrating from a more "woke" lens (though the mum does introspect on some of her potentially sub-optimal behaviours and reactions). A light, fun listen overall.
February 2, 2025
Hilarious, journal type account of bringing kids through Singapore's primary school.. Felt a strong sense of kinship as a parent, amidst the several LOL moments - great must read for SG parents to make sure you don't forget the ride for the destination
October 15, 2019
Relatable, enjoyable 🙂
August 24, 2020
A collection of humourous anecdotes from a kiasu Singaporean mother
November 9, 2024
Funny and lot of things to learn.
August 24, 2022
It's very nice. It's the truth where chidren who are taking PSLE go through the troubles and the parent along with them. This book will show the journey towards PSLE and the stress of it. It was fun reading it. It's like the mother is asking the childern yo do this,do that and stuff while the children already have so many classes in day
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews