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The School for Good Mothers
11 hours, 56 minutes
A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick
In this taut and explosive debut novel, one lapse in judgement lands a young mother in a government reform program where custody of her child hangs in the balance.
Frida Liu is struggling. She doesn’t have a career worthy of her Chinese immigrant parents’ sacrifices. She can’t persuade her husband, Gust, to give up his wellness-obsessed younger mistress. Only with Harriet, their cherubic daughter, does Frida finally attain the perfection expected of her. Harriet may be all she has, but she is just enough.
Until Frida has a very bad day.
The state has its eyes on mothers like Frida. The ones who check their phones, letting their children get injured on the playground; who let their children walk home alone. Because of one moment of poor judgment, a host of government officials will now determine if Frida is a candidate for a Big Brother-like institution that measures the success or failure of a mother’s devotion.
Faced with the possibility of losing Harriet, Frida must prove that a bad mother can be redeemed. That she can learn to be good.
A searing page-turner that is also a transgressive novel of ideas about the perils of “perfect” upper-middle class parenting; the violence enacted upon women by both the state and, at times, one another; the systems that separate families; and the boundlessness of love, The School for Good Mothers introduces, in Frida, an everywoman for the ages. Using dark wit to explore the pains and joys of the deepest ties that bind us, Chan has written a modern literary classic.
A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick
In this taut and explosive debut novel, one lapse in judgement lands a young mother in a government reform program where custody of her child hangs in the balance.
Frida Liu is struggling. She doesn’t have a career worthy of her Chinese immigrant parents’ sacrifices. She can’t persuade her husband, Gust, to give up his wellness-obsessed younger mistress. Only with Harriet, their cherubic daughter, does Frida finally attain the perfection expected of her. Harriet may be all she has, but she is just enough.
Until Frida has a very bad day.
The state has its eyes on mothers like Frida. The ones who check their phones, letting their children get injured on the playground; who let their children walk home alone. Because of one moment of poor judgment, a host of government officials will now determine if Frida is a candidate for a Big Brother-like institution that measures the success or failure of a mother’s devotion.
Faced with the possibility of losing Harriet, Frida must prove that a bad mother can be redeemed. That she can learn to be good.
A searing page-turner that is also a transgressive novel of ideas about the perils of “perfect” upper-middle class parenting; the violence enacted upon women by both the state and, at times, one another; the systems that separate families; and the boundlessness of love, The School for Good Mothers introduces, in Frida, an everywoman for the ages. Using dark wit to explore the pains and joys of the deepest ties that bind us, Chan has written a modern literary classic.
12 pages, Audible Audio
First published January 4, 2022
9259 people are currently reading
223880 people want to read
About the author
Jessamine Chan
2 books1,329 followersJessamine Chan’s short stories have appeared in Tin House and Epoch. A former reviews editor at Publishers Weekly, she holds an MFA from Columbia University and a BA from Brown University. Her work has received support from the Elizabeth George Foundation, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Wurlitzer Foundation, Jentel, the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center, the Anderson Center, VCCA, and Ragdale. She lives in Chicago with her husband and daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 17,395 reviews
January 21, 2024
Female dystopian that doesn’t hold up against the competition
Frida Liu has a very bad parenting day resulting in The State sentencing her to a one-year school to become a better mother. What will the school be like and will Frida be reunited with her daughter?
The School for Good Mothers is Jessamine Chan’s debut novel, and it was a solid first draft in a very competitive subgenre. This book is intended to be an updated The Handmaid’s Tale; however, The Handmaid’s Tale it is not. Most important: the storytelling was off in The School for Good Mothers. The program was one-year long, and it felt like I was reading this book for one year. What happened to chapters with cliff-hanger endings? The prose was like reading a newspaper article, fact-driven, flat, unemotional. However, facts alone don’t usually make great books. The emotions need to be stirred, and there needs to be some excitement/action, but this book wasn’t written that way. If I was the editor, I would start with the last two chapters and write something like, “If only Gust could have kept it in his pants…” then shifted to a flashback. Then, I would flash back to the end of the book with “Ms. Liu. Ms. Liu. Your case is being called.” Each character’s testimony should have been presented with more flashbacks.
Ms. Chan, this book review brings to mind a quote by Theodore Roosevelt: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again…who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” In this instance, I am the critic in the cheap seats, but I hope that this review isn’t seen as a mean barb but an encouragement, an encouragement to shake off the dust and sweat and blood, to pick up your lance and shield once again and continue your journey, because there is a story worthy of telling in this book.
Overall, The School for Good Mothers had good content and messaging buried within the text, but the format didn’t work and is in need of some heavy editing and rewrites.
*Thanks, NetGalley, for a free copy of this book in exchange for my fair and honest opinion.
2024 Reading Schedule
Jan Middlemarch
Feb The Grapes of Wrath
Mar Oliver Twist
Apr Madame Bovary
May A Clockwork Orange
Jun Possession
Jul The Folk of the Faraway Tree Collection
Aug Crime and Punishment
Sep Heart of Darkness
Oct Moby-Dick
Nov Far From the Madding Crowd
Dec A Tale of Two Cities
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Frida Liu has a very bad parenting day resulting in The State sentencing her to a one-year school to become a better mother. What will the school be like and will Frida be reunited with her daughter?
The School for Good Mothers is Jessamine Chan’s debut novel, and it was a solid first draft in a very competitive subgenre. This book is intended to be an updated The Handmaid’s Tale; however, The Handmaid’s Tale it is not. Most important: the storytelling was off in The School for Good Mothers. The program was one-year long, and it felt like I was reading this book for one year. What happened to chapters with cliff-hanger endings? The prose was like reading a newspaper article, fact-driven, flat, unemotional. However, facts alone don’t usually make great books. The emotions need to be stirred, and there needs to be some excitement/action, but this book wasn’t written that way. If I was the editor, I would start with the last two chapters and write something like, “If only Gust could have kept it in his pants…” then shifted to a flashback. Then, I would flash back to the end of the book with “Ms. Liu. Ms. Liu. Your case is being called.” Each character’s testimony should have been presented with more flashbacks.
Ms. Chan, this book review brings to mind a quote by Theodore Roosevelt: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again…who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” In this instance, I am the critic in the cheap seats, but I hope that this review isn’t seen as a mean barb but an encouragement, an encouragement to shake off the dust and sweat and blood, to pick up your lance and shield once again and continue your journey, because there is a story worthy of telling in this book.
Overall, The School for Good Mothers had good content and messaging buried within the text, but the format didn’t work and is in need of some heavy editing and rewrites.
*Thanks, NetGalley, for a free copy of this book in exchange for my fair and honest opinion.
2024 Reading Schedule
Jan Middlemarch
Feb The Grapes of Wrath
Mar Oliver Twist
Apr Madame Bovary
May A Clockwork Orange
Jun Possession
Jul The Folk of the Faraway Tree Collection
Aug Crime and Punishment
Sep Heart of Darkness
Oct Moby-Dick
Nov Far From the Madding Crowd
Dec A Tale of Two Cities
Connect With Me!
Blog Twitter BookTube Facebook Insta
March 27, 2022
Loved the premise for this book and immediately felt sympathy for the main character and her struggles as a mother. Though this dystopian school is exaggerated, it exemplifies the way motherhood is scrutinized and dehumanized. You are expected to be 100% perfect all the time or be seen as a terrible human being, thus you have to give up everything and let your whole life revolve around your child. There’s also some brief, interesting points the book makes with the main character’s upbringing and the way immigrant parenting styles can be viewed as cold/unfeeling VS the way parenthood “should” be — I would’ve liked to see this explored further to give a deeper layer to the story, but felt like we only touched the surface. The execution of the book ended up being quite repetitive and didn’t move the story further, so it felt like there were some missed opportunities for more plot threads, relationship developments, twists, etc.
May 11, 2023
Hurray! Happy book birthday to my 900th review on NG!
Welcome to dystopian new world which turned into worst nightmares of mothers where their children are taken to the reform schools as their motherhood skills are scrutinized by being put under microscope of government. Any wrongdoings, misbehaves, faults are punished by not being able to see your child for a long time!
The story is centered on Frida, whose worst day results with her child’s taken by reform school. She’s cheated by her husband and replaced by younger and more attractive version of herself. Being a single mother and handling everything on your own are already stressful enough to handle while she’s taking care of her daughter. She’s suffering from sleep deprivation, working too much, exhausted, impatient, lost, sad, depressed.
At her worst day, she makes a big mistake by leaving her toddler all alone for two hours which is reported by her neighbors to the authorities and the very same day she loses her child.
The book focuses on struggle of Frida who tries so hard to prove she was not a bad mother, she just made a mistake when she dealt with her sh*ttiest day.
We learn more about Frida: Her lack of self esteem, her way of dealing with her family and Chinese inheritance, her desires, her postponed dreams, her confusion. But she still loves and cares her daughter so much, doing everything in her power to be good parent for her.
We witness the harsh, strict rules of the reform school: counseling sessions, talking circles, parenting classes. And if she doesn’t get good scores, she never get a chance to talk to her daughter. She already struggles from limited rights and supervised visitations but the school system is so compelling to create flawless, perfect mothers which is impossible and unrealistic task because humans have tendencies to make mistakes and learn from them. So it seems like a no win situation.
Overall: this is thought provoking, intense and impressively disturbing reading! Frida’s character and struggles to become a better mother are so easy to empathize. I had a few breaks during my reading and let my mind absorb and think through the situations described in this story! It’s definitely tense and absolutely provocative!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Simon& Schuster for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.
Welcome to dystopian new world which turned into worst nightmares of mothers where their children are taken to the reform schools as their motherhood skills are scrutinized by being put under microscope of government. Any wrongdoings, misbehaves, faults are punished by not being able to see your child for a long time!
The story is centered on Frida, whose worst day results with her child’s taken by reform school. She’s cheated by her husband and replaced by younger and more attractive version of herself. Being a single mother and handling everything on your own are already stressful enough to handle while she’s taking care of her daughter. She’s suffering from sleep deprivation, working too much, exhausted, impatient, lost, sad, depressed.
At her worst day, she makes a big mistake by leaving her toddler all alone for two hours which is reported by her neighbors to the authorities and the very same day she loses her child.
The book focuses on struggle of Frida who tries so hard to prove she was not a bad mother, she just made a mistake when she dealt with her sh*ttiest day.
We learn more about Frida: Her lack of self esteem, her way of dealing with her family and Chinese inheritance, her desires, her postponed dreams, her confusion. But she still loves and cares her daughter so much, doing everything in her power to be good parent for her.
We witness the harsh, strict rules of the reform school: counseling sessions, talking circles, parenting classes. And if she doesn’t get good scores, she never get a chance to talk to her daughter. She already struggles from limited rights and supervised visitations but the school system is so compelling to create flawless, perfect mothers which is impossible and unrealistic task because humans have tendencies to make mistakes and learn from them. So it seems like a no win situation.
Overall: this is thought provoking, intense and impressively disturbing reading! Frida’s character and struggles to become a better mother are so easy to empathize. I had a few breaks during my reading and let my mind absorb and think through the situations described in this story! It’s definitely tense and absolutely provocative!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Simon& Schuster for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.
March 23, 2023
“The School for Good Mothers” is a dystopian look at the government’s far reach into child welfare and social services. This story kept me enraged; it’s a cautionary tale in allowing over-zealous government control.
Frida Liu is an exhausted 39-year-old single mother of an 18-month-old daughter at the start of the novel. Her husband left her while she was pregnant; he took up with an independently wealthy 28-year-old Pilates instructor. Frida had a very bad day. After many nights of insomnia and no support, Frida left her young daughter alone in her apartment for two hours when she went to get a coffee and pick up work papers. She lost track of time, expecting to be gone 30 minutes or less. A do-gooder neighbor reports her, correctly, and she becomes a part of a new governmental system where parents who had parenting infractions are sent to a newly minted rehab school for the training of good parents.
Frida was wrong to leave her daughter alone. Author Molly Young examines the penalty befitting of the crime. Frida was one of the worst offenders who are sent to the facility. Some of the other “crimes” evoked anger in me. One mother allowed her child to play alone outside in her gated backyard. One father looked at his phone the second his son fell from a tree. A mother got sent because she allowed her 8-year-old son to walk 4 blocks alone from school. These violations sent parents to a year-long rehab school.
At the school the parents are provided dolls that realistically look like their child. They smell of plastic and require a blue goo to function. The parents are to practice parenting with their dolls. The program is set with unrealistic goals, supervised by women who most likely have never parented a human. One has dogs and thinks parenting animals is comparable to parenting children. Basically, the program is set up for failure. For example, Frida is disciplined for her “hostile grip” of a knife as she was cutting up grapes. When Frida is allowed to facetime her daughter, she must stick to a script, only saying “I love you” once; otherwise it’s excessive mothering and manipulation. In fact, there is no way to successfully accomplish the program.
The injustice of the system brings to light society’s judgements on parenting. I found the story to be terrifying in that I could see how it could happen. Everyone has an opinion, and if this virus has taught us anything, it’s that we have allowed “do-gooders” to be self-appointed sheriffs and tell you how they feel you should be behaving (maskers versus anti-maskers; social distance police versus joyful family reunions….etc).
Yes, we need social services because children are being neglected and abused. But one’s definition of neglect differs. This is a true cautionary tale in humanity.
This novel will stay with me for a very long time. Chan exposes our society’s irrational judgements on parenting.
Frida Liu is an exhausted 39-year-old single mother of an 18-month-old daughter at the start of the novel. Her husband left her while she was pregnant; he took up with an independently wealthy 28-year-old Pilates instructor. Frida had a very bad day. After many nights of insomnia and no support, Frida left her young daughter alone in her apartment for two hours when she went to get a coffee and pick up work papers. She lost track of time, expecting to be gone 30 minutes or less. A do-gooder neighbor reports her, correctly, and she becomes a part of a new governmental system where parents who had parenting infractions are sent to a newly minted rehab school for the training of good parents.
Frida was wrong to leave her daughter alone. Author Molly Young examines the penalty befitting of the crime. Frida was one of the worst offenders who are sent to the facility. Some of the other “crimes” evoked anger in me. One mother allowed her child to play alone outside in her gated backyard. One father looked at his phone the second his son fell from a tree. A mother got sent because she allowed her 8-year-old son to walk 4 blocks alone from school. These violations sent parents to a year-long rehab school.
At the school the parents are provided dolls that realistically look like their child. They smell of plastic and require a blue goo to function. The parents are to practice parenting with their dolls. The program is set with unrealistic goals, supervised by women who most likely have never parented a human. One has dogs and thinks parenting animals is comparable to parenting children. Basically, the program is set up for failure. For example, Frida is disciplined for her “hostile grip” of a knife as she was cutting up grapes. When Frida is allowed to facetime her daughter, she must stick to a script, only saying “I love you” once; otherwise it’s excessive mothering and manipulation. In fact, there is no way to successfully accomplish the program.
The injustice of the system brings to light society’s judgements on parenting. I found the story to be terrifying in that I could see how it could happen. Everyone has an opinion, and if this virus has taught us anything, it’s that we have allowed “do-gooders” to be self-appointed sheriffs and tell you how they feel you should be behaving (maskers versus anti-maskers; social distance police versus joyful family reunions….etc).
Yes, we need social services because children are being neglected and abused. But one’s definition of neglect differs. This is a true cautionary tale in humanity.
This novel will stay with me for a very long time. Chan exposes our society’s irrational judgements on parenting.
February 13, 2022
“Now, repeat after me: I am a bad mother, but I am learning to be good.”Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for sending me an ARC of The School for Good Mothers in exchange for an honest review.
The School for Good Mothers is the story of Frida, a 39-year-old mother of a toddler, Harriet. She struggles with co-parenting after her ex-husband ran off with his mistress. So, at the height of what she will relentlessly think of as her “very bad day,” Frida leaves Harriet alone in an exersaucer in their home. For over two hours. While she goes to get coffee, and runs to the office. When she is somehow caught, Harriet is taken from her and Frida is ultimately sent by the government to the School for a year of re-education with other mothers and fathers.
My first problem with the story in The School for Good Mothers is that what Frida did was, objectively, wrong and dangerous. She could have asked for help or a break from her parents, or her ex, or just hired a babysitter. Frida is painted as an upper-middle class woman who had options that she simply rejected out of pride for appearances’ sake. While her punishment was absurd—a year in a school being trained how to hug and forced to repeat slogans like “I am a bad mother, but I am learning to be good”—it was never clear to me that the author actually thought Frida had done something objectively wrong and worthy of some level of punishment.
The larger problem with The School for Good Mothers is that it is slow and rather repetitive, and that it tries to pack so much social commentary into the story that the forest gets lost for the trees. Is the book about the “perils of ‘perfect’ upper-middle class parenting”? Then why are most of the moms not upper-middle class? Is it about the self-judgement and judgement of others involved with parenting, how we often parent in response to how we were parented? Is it about the racism and sexism and general unfairness the author portrays as inherent in the American child protective service system? Then it probably would have been better to show us more of the outside world—how these mostly but not exclusively brown and black mothers were selected for the School—and make the story closer to real life than this weirdly regressive (“[t]he kitchen is the center, and the mother the heart, of the home”), Kafkaesque system of hopelessness that never feels very realistic. The whole book has an emotional flatness, and the story probably would have been more compelling if told as a first-person narrative.
The School for Good Mothers is an ambitious novel, describing itself as a “page-turner” about ideas, and a “modern literary classic.” In constructing its titular school, you can see the book’s forerunners, from The Trial to 1984 to The Handmaid’s Tale. Unfortunately, the story of this fascist mommy school is far too muddled to live up to its own lofty goals.
December 13, 2022
above all, i love a cool girl book.
but this one would have been cooler if it were shorter.
the concept itself is very harsh and real, but reading it for so long was painful (which is fine) but also somewhat redundant (less fine). it felt like it removed some of the power from it. it felt less thematically stunning for how much time we spent in this not-so-alternate world.
but maybe i'm just a short book stan.
bottom line: good! but i still love to complain.
but this one would have been cooler if it were shorter.
the concept itself is very harsh and real, but reading it for so long was painful (which is fine) but also somewhat redundant (less fine). it felt like it removed some of the power from it. it felt less thematically stunning for how much time we spent in this not-so-alternate world.
but maybe i'm just a short book stan.
bottom line: good! but i still love to complain.
June 4, 2022
Update — an apology:
I think it was fine for me to say I didn’t like this book. But I think it was really cruel of me to say “it was a waste of time”….
Because it wasn’t. I’m still thinking about a book that I dislike so it couldn’t be that big of a waste of time.
Reading other reviews and other points of views have been helpful.
And more importantly a statement like WASTE of TIME Is flipped, it’s harsh, judging other peoples time, judging my own time, and acting like I’m a waste and everybody else is a waste of the person who wrote the book is a waste of time —-
and that’s just absolutely not true. I am so wrong.
So I apologize.
I don’t plan to use those words again in any of my reviews.
Trying to grow up here a little bit! Lol
Old ( lazy) immediate emotional reaction when I finished the book)…. not my most mature moments.
One of the worse books I’ve read all year.
I should have trusted my initial gut.
When this book first came out —ridiculously over advertised —- I read about 20% and tossed it ——
But then recently- I saw ANOTHER 5 star from a friend—
And I said to myself — okay — maybe I just need to commit to the book -to the END….
so I did.
A complete dystopian waste of time. NOT the type of
FICTION I like to read —-
No balance
Manipulated outlandish narrative
No redemption
No enjoyment
1.5 stars
I think it was fine for me to say I didn’t like this book. But I think it was really cruel of me to say “it was a waste of time”….
Because it wasn’t. I’m still thinking about a book that I dislike so it couldn’t be that big of a waste of time.
Reading other reviews and other points of views have been helpful.
And more importantly a statement like WASTE of TIME Is flipped, it’s harsh, judging other peoples time, judging my own time, and acting like I’m a waste and everybody else is a waste of the person who wrote the book is a waste of time —-
and that’s just absolutely not true. I am so wrong.
So I apologize.
I don’t plan to use those words again in any of my reviews.
Trying to grow up here a little bit! Lol
Old ( lazy) immediate emotional reaction when I finished the book)…. not my most mature moments.
One of the worse books I’ve read all year.
I should have trusted my initial gut.
When this book first came out —ridiculously over advertised —- I read about 20% and tossed it ——
But then recently- I saw ANOTHER 5 star from a friend—
And I said to myself — okay — maybe I just need to commit to the book -to the END….
so I did.
A complete dystopian waste of time. NOT the type of
FICTION I like to read —-
No balance
Manipulated outlandish narrative
No redemption
No enjoyment
1.5 stars
October 28, 2021
Gutting and terrifying. Vivid and exquisite. I hate that this book isn’t out yet — I want to give it to everyone I know, make them all read it, and then talk about it together forever. There’s so much to say. What a sharp, anxiety-provoking, superb book. “Unputdownable” is too faint praise. What a novel.
April 7, 2025
In Jessamine Chan’s gripping debut, The School for Good Mothers, one slip-up turns Frida Liu from mom to momitored, enrolled in a state-run reeducation program where every maternal instinct is under the microscope. It’s parenting by punishment, where Big Brother wears a baby monitor and even cutting grapes can raise red flags.
Frida is far from flawless, her life is mom-entarily crumbling. She’s caught between cultural pressure, a crumbling marriage, and the weight of modern motherhood. But where she shines is in her love for Harriet, her daughter, her raison d’mon. When a single lapse, leaving Harriet home alone for a few hours, is seized by the system, Frida is thrown into a chilling institution designed to re-educate mothers on how to be “good.” Spoiler: the test is rigged.
Chan's satirical world feels terrifyingly plausible. The reform school is less of a parent trap and more of a psychological obstacle course, complete with eerily lifelike robotic dolls that require maintenance with blue goo and demand endless patience. Real love doesn’t compute in this dystopia, not unless it’s been logged, measured, and sanitized. Parenting becomes performance art, and Frida is punished for everything from knife technique to emotional expression. It's less about learning and more about surveillance cosplay.
The novel's strength lies in its slow-burn horror, not gore, but gut-wrench. Readers are pulled into Frida’s emotional spiral, watching as the system breaks her down, pixel by pixel. The script she’s required to follow during video calls with Harriet, including being allowed to say “I love you” only once, is soul-crushing. It's mom-umentally cruel.
While the book occasionally stalls in its pacing, some passages linger a bit long without much plot movement, the emotional weight never truly lets up. Chan's language is sharp, her insights scalpel deep. This story cuts to the core of maternal identity, societal expectation, and state control.
In short, The School for Good Mothers is a cautionary tale that puts the “mom” in “monitored,” poking holes in the illusion of perfect parenting and laying bare the absurdities of a system that punishes women for being human.
Rating: 🍼 🍼 🍼 🍼 out of 5 baby bottles for a haunting, thought-provoking read that stumbles in pacing but delivers a powerful punch to the gut. Perfect for readers who like their dystopias maternal, emotional, and devastatingly real.
Frida is far from flawless, her life is mom-entarily crumbling. She’s caught between cultural pressure, a crumbling marriage, and the weight of modern motherhood. But where she shines is in her love for Harriet, her daughter, her raison d’mon. When a single lapse, leaving Harriet home alone for a few hours, is seized by the system, Frida is thrown into a chilling institution designed to re-educate mothers on how to be “good.” Spoiler: the test is rigged.
Chan's satirical world feels terrifyingly plausible. The reform school is less of a parent trap and more of a psychological obstacle course, complete with eerily lifelike robotic dolls that require maintenance with blue goo and demand endless patience. Real love doesn’t compute in this dystopia, not unless it’s been logged, measured, and sanitized. Parenting becomes performance art, and Frida is punished for everything from knife technique to emotional expression. It's less about learning and more about surveillance cosplay.
The novel's strength lies in its slow-burn horror, not gore, but gut-wrench. Readers are pulled into Frida’s emotional spiral, watching as the system breaks her down, pixel by pixel. The script she’s required to follow during video calls with Harriet, including being allowed to say “I love you” only once, is soul-crushing. It's mom-umentally cruel.
While the book occasionally stalls in its pacing, some passages linger a bit long without much plot movement, the emotional weight never truly lets up. Chan's language is sharp, her insights scalpel deep. This story cuts to the core of maternal identity, societal expectation, and state control.
In short, The School for Good Mothers is a cautionary tale that puts the “mom” in “monitored,” poking holes in the illusion of perfect parenting and laying bare the absurdities of a system that punishes women for being human.
Rating: 🍼 🍼 🍼 🍼 out of 5 baby bottles for a haunting, thought-provoking read that stumbles in pacing but delivers a powerful punch to the gut. Perfect for readers who like their dystopias maternal, emotional, and devastatingly real.
dnf
February 2, 2022
I’m sorry guys—I’m bailing out!!
I only got about a third of the way through, but I don’t think this is the ~vibe~ for me right now. Clearly I’m not going to be a great resource for why you should or should not read this but some of the feedback from my book club chat was—“repetitive in the middle”, “stressful & boring” and just kind of……I don’t know, weird?
There’s for sure some interesting concepts here, with commentary on the surveillance state, racism, sexism, authoritarianism, etc., so I wouldn’t completely write it off. But I would definitely exercise caution and maybe read a few *actual* reviews before going in.
*Thanks to Simon & Schuster for an advance review copy!
**For more book talk & reviews, follow me on Instagram at @elle_mentbooks!
January 23, 2022
After leaving her toddler daughter alone for two hours, Frida Liu is deemed to be a bad mother. The court has started a new program for parents that need to be "fixed". Frida along with almost 200 other women are sent to the program to learn how to be a proper mother. She has to complete the program or face losing her child. She has to attend the dumbest classes I have heard of to learn how to properly speak, bathe, care, and feed her child. Frida also has to learn to coexist with other women and all the drama that comes with it.
So let's talk about the fact there are near living dolls in this book, and I will have many nightmares about it for months to come. This would have been a 4-star book, but I hated the main character. Her husband cheats on her then leaves her with a newborn, does she get mad? Nope, she spends most of the time whining about it and wanting him back. Frida had ZERO spine. She just let everyone run all over her like a doormat. It seriously got ridiculous. I was expecting the dolls to revolt at some point, but my dreams were dashed.
So let's talk about the fact there are near living dolls in this book, and I will have many nightmares about it for months to come. This would have been a 4-star book, but I hated the main character. Her husband cheats on her then leaves her with a newborn, does she get mad? Nope, she spends most of the time whining about it and wanting him back. Frida had ZERO spine. She just let everyone run all over her like a doormat. It seriously got ridiculous. I was expecting the dolls to revolt at some point, but my dreams were dashed.
January 6, 2022
So much build up; so much promise. What a crying shame. This dystopian novel is conceptually strong, addressing the invasive nature of facial recognition software and government access to what should be private digital communication, but the execution is abysmal.
I received a review copy from Net Galley and Simon and Schuster.
Frida Liu is a new mother, and she’s got problems. She has severe postpartum depression, and she’s home alone with her baby, all day and all night, trying to work from home. She doesn’t want childcare; she wants to be with her daughter, Harriet, but she’s overwhelmed. The original plan was for her to be the stay-home mother, with her husband supporting the family, but at the same time Harriet was born, her husband fell for someone else.
One day—“just one bad day”—she is summoned in to work. She could have brought Harriet with her, or she could have called a sitter, but instead, she leaps into the car, leaving the baby in her bouncy chair at home, all alone. She tells herself she will quickly drop off and pick up info, and then she’ll zip back home, but instead, she allows herself to be caught up in reading and answering emails. Eventually, her phone rings. The caller tells her that her baby has been removed from her home by the police; neighbors were alarmed by the baby’s nonstop screams. Now, Harriet is going to live with her daddy and that woman, and there’s not much that Frida can do about it.
At the outset, I think this is a brave scenario for an author to choose. Leaving a baby under the age of two, which some would contend is the very worst age to leave a child unattended, is no small matter, and I am eager to see how Chan will play this. How will she keep me on Frida’s side in all of this?
Turns out she won’t.
I have seldom seen a less sympathetic protagonist, and clearly, Chan doesn’t intend for Frida to be a villain. Yet in all of the puling, the whining, the self-pity, Frida’s prevailing concern isn’t for her child’s well-being, it’s for herself. She needs her baby. She wants her baby. She wants her baby to want her. And so it goes.
But wait, there’s more. The worst thing of all is that this eighteen-month-old baby is not accurately depicted developmentally. Discussions around the care of Harriet are premised on Harriet’s ability to understand abstract concepts that no child this age is capable of. At first, I anticipate that it’s only Frida that holds these expectations and that others—her ex, or the professionals within the child welfare system—will set her straight, but no, they all buy into these assumptions as well. Then I wait to see if there is some aspect of this futuristic, dystopian world that renders children different from those in our real world today; nope! At one point, Harriet bites someone, and Frida tells her to “apologize at once!” This is a kid barely old enough to walk. Give me a fucking break!
The plot wanders and Frida wallows; at about the 30% mark I commence skimming. I read the last 25% carefully to be sure there’s no grand aha, no surprising event that causes all of this to make sense, or at least to mitigate it, but there’s no redemption to be found. Where are the editors? There are editors, right? How did this wasted trainwreck of a novel end up on Oprah and other prestigious lists and websites? I just don’t get it.
Not recommended.
I received a review copy from Net Galley and Simon and Schuster.
Frida Liu is a new mother, and she’s got problems. She has severe postpartum depression, and she’s home alone with her baby, all day and all night, trying to work from home. She doesn’t want childcare; she wants to be with her daughter, Harriet, but she’s overwhelmed. The original plan was for her to be the stay-home mother, with her husband supporting the family, but at the same time Harriet was born, her husband fell for someone else.
One day—“just one bad day”—she is summoned in to work. She could have brought Harriet with her, or she could have called a sitter, but instead, she leaps into the car, leaving the baby in her bouncy chair at home, all alone. She tells herself she will quickly drop off and pick up info, and then she’ll zip back home, but instead, she allows herself to be caught up in reading and answering emails. Eventually, her phone rings. The caller tells her that her baby has been removed from her home by the police; neighbors were alarmed by the baby’s nonstop screams. Now, Harriet is going to live with her daddy and that woman, and there’s not much that Frida can do about it.
At the outset, I think this is a brave scenario for an author to choose. Leaving a baby under the age of two, which some would contend is the very worst age to leave a child unattended, is no small matter, and I am eager to see how Chan will play this. How will she keep me on Frida’s side in all of this?
Turns out she won’t.
I have seldom seen a less sympathetic protagonist, and clearly, Chan doesn’t intend for Frida to be a villain. Yet in all of the puling, the whining, the self-pity, Frida’s prevailing concern isn’t for her child’s well-being, it’s for herself. She needs her baby. She wants her baby. She wants her baby to want her. And so it goes.
But wait, there’s more. The worst thing of all is that this eighteen-month-old baby is not accurately depicted developmentally. Discussions around the care of Harriet are premised on Harriet’s ability to understand abstract concepts that no child this age is capable of. At first, I anticipate that it’s only Frida that holds these expectations and that others—her ex, or the professionals within the child welfare system—will set her straight, but no, they all buy into these assumptions as well. Then I wait to see if there is some aspect of this futuristic, dystopian world that renders children different from those in our real world today; nope! At one point, Harriet bites someone, and Frida tells her to “apologize at once!” This is a kid barely old enough to walk. Give me a fucking break!
The plot wanders and Frida wallows; at about the 30% mark I commence skimming. I read the last 25% carefully to be sure there’s no grand aha, no surprising event that causes all of this to make sense, or at least to mitigate it, but there’s no redemption to be found. Where are the editors? There are editors, right? How did this wasted trainwreck of a novel end up on Oprah and other prestigious lists and websites? I just don’t get it.
Not recommended.
September 27, 2022
1.5⭐️
Wait. What? No.
I won't say it openly offended me but wow oh WOW did it attempt some serious damage.
This is a case of 'I get it. I live it everyday. You don't have to spoon feed me over exaggerated renditions of misogny and racism to get me to feel something'.
I don't disagree with anything the author was trying to say. But the way it was being said lacked nuance and appeal in my opinion. It was hyperbolic to the upmost degree. It was hard to follow along because the situations were so outlandish. I can get behind that in a lot of circumstances but this book wanted to act like it was realistic and predicting the future. I don't think so. I mean, maybe I'm wrong. I know that society puts an unrealistic and unfathomable expectation on mothers. But the stakes this book put forth were ridiculous to say the least.
I read the whole thing. And YES, I did cry at the end. But that doesn't mean the book is good. It means I was 2 margaritas in and looking for a dramatic movie moment.
Wait. What? No.
I won't say it openly offended me but wow oh WOW did it attempt some serious damage.
This is a case of 'I get it. I live it everyday. You don't have to spoon feed me over exaggerated renditions of misogny and racism to get me to feel something'.
I don't disagree with anything the author was trying to say. But the way it was being said lacked nuance and appeal in my opinion. It was hyperbolic to the upmost degree. It was hard to follow along because the situations were so outlandish. I can get behind that in a lot of circumstances but this book wanted to act like it was realistic and predicting the future. I don't think so. I mean, maybe I'm wrong. I know that society puts an unrealistic and unfathomable expectation on mothers. But the stakes this book put forth were ridiculous to say the least.
I read the whole thing. And YES, I did cry at the end. But that doesn't mean the book is good. It means I was 2 margaritas in and looking for a dramatic movie moment.
February 17, 2022
I was really excited to read this book and had super high hopes going in. It sounded intriguing. The book started off super interesting and then it just got too dark and creepy for me. The surveillance cameras to watch Frida in her home and then the school was just too over the top extreme for me. It was hard to read, especially I think being a mother myself. I was satisfied with the ending however, I had to push myself to finish the book to get there. This one was just not for me.
This book will be published January 4, 2022.
Thank you Net Galley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.
This book will be published January 4, 2022.
Thank you Net Galley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.
December 28, 2021
I am struggling with how to review this one because the writing and the premise of this book are good, but I didn't enjoy it? I don't know, just hear me out! I was really excited to read Jessamine Chan's debut dystopian novel,
The School for Good Mothers
because I was hearing that it had Handmaid's Tale vibes. In today's current political climate, these types of books are great self reflections on how we need to keep in mind what is happening in our society.
When Frida Liu leaves her daughter Harriet home while running to work, she is contacted by Child Protective Services. Frida is now at the mercy of the government after her daughter was reported to the agency due to Frida's apparent "neglect and abandonment." After being deemed unfit, Frida is being watched by the government, and soon after is enlisted into a program for mothers who need to be taught how to become better mothers. Will Frida live up to the test?
The book sounds really good, right? Well, sadly this book is extremely repetitive and slow, with only the insight from Frida, rather than any world building to how the government has become this authoritative. This book may be dystopian, but it really sounded more of a book about divorced parents. I didn't really resonate with where the book was trying to go. I wish we had more of a bird's eye view of how society was handling this type of controlled government behavior.
However, I did enjoy the social commentary about being Chinese American in Philadelphia and the struggles Frida had with her ex-husband Gust. Frida is a very strong protagonist and I felt for her throughout the book. The School for Good Mothers is dark and emotional, sad and provoking, and most importantly, ended very powerfully. The final chapters really saved this book from being a 2 star read into a 3 star read.
When Frida Liu leaves her daughter Harriet home while running to work, she is contacted by Child Protective Services. Frida is now at the mercy of the government after her daughter was reported to the agency due to Frida's apparent "neglect and abandonment." After being deemed unfit, Frida is being watched by the government, and soon after is enlisted into a program for mothers who need to be taught how to become better mothers. Will Frida live up to the test?
The book sounds really good, right? Well, sadly this book is extremely repetitive and slow, with only the insight from Frida, rather than any world building to how the government has become this authoritative. This book may be dystopian, but it really sounded more of a book about divorced parents. I didn't really resonate with where the book was trying to go. I wish we had more of a bird's eye view of how society was handling this type of controlled government behavior.
However, I did enjoy the social commentary about being Chinese American in Philadelphia and the struggles Frida had with her ex-husband Gust. Frida is a very strong protagonist and I felt for her throughout the book. The School for Good Mothers is dark and emotional, sad and provoking, and most importantly, ended very powerfully. The final chapters really saved this book from being a 2 star read into a 3 star read.
October 10, 2023
Jessamine Chan's disturbing, dystopian novel, The School for Good Mothers, focuses on mother shaming. Frida, a young mother, has what she refers to as a bad day and leaves her daughter, Harriet, in an exercise saucer for two and a half hours while Frida goes out for coffee and to work.
In the state-controlled society, neighbors, friends, and family turn in "bad mothers" who are then sent to prison under the guise of being a school to learn to be a good mother. While imprisoned, the mothers are given dolls that are creepier than anything I have read in horror stories. These dolls emulate children of all ages and also measure the number and types of hugs they receive from the mothers. Lots of data and surveillance are done on the mothers as well as training about kidnappings, pedophiles, stranger danger, car accidents, etc.
I have also been reading The Rulebreaker: The Life and Times of Barbara Walters and it discussed the criticism Barbara Walters received about being a mother while having a successful career. The word opprobrium was used and I wasn't familiar with it. It means harsh criticism. The point was made that men are rarely referred to as bad fathers while they aggressively pursue their careers but women are expected to reduce or eliminate their career aspirations when they have children.
Dystopian novels are often disturbing because they reflect some realities that are often rationalized or ignored. The School for Good Mothers is not a light read. It is a gut-punching, thought provoking, haunting novel.
In the state-controlled society, neighbors, friends, and family turn in "bad mothers" who are then sent to prison under the guise of being a school to learn to be a good mother. While imprisoned, the mothers are given dolls that are creepier than anything I have read in horror stories. These dolls emulate children of all ages and also measure the number and types of hugs they receive from the mothers. Lots of data and surveillance are done on the mothers as well as training about kidnappings, pedophiles, stranger danger, car accidents, etc.
I have also been reading The Rulebreaker: The Life and Times of Barbara Walters and it discussed the criticism Barbara Walters received about being a mother while having a successful career. The word opprobrium was used and I wasn't familiar with it. It means harsh criticism. The point was made that men are rarely referred to as bad fathers while they aggressively pursue their careers but women are expected to reduce or eliminate their career aspirations when they have children.
Dystopian novels are often disturbing because they reflect some realities that are often rationalized or ignored. The School for Good Mothers is not a light read. It is a gut-punching, thought provoking, haunting novel.
April 25, 2021
I appreciate the questions and concerns that the author raises about modern day parenting, but the execution is so over the top ridiculous that I can’t even finish it.
September 15, 2022
Knackered mother neglects toddler daughter, gets sent to reform at institution with living dolls and unattainable expectations. Not a cheerful book.
April 21, 2023
The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan is a Dystopian and Literary Fiction Story!
Thirty-six-year-old, single mom, Frida Liu is an emotional mess!
Frida's husband has left her for another woman, she's lonely, sleep deprived, and feels the pressure of having a career that doesn't measure up to the sacrifices made by her Chinese immigrant parents.
The only shining light in her life is her 18-month-old daughter, Harriet. Despite her immense love for her child, Frida makes a very poor decision.
The state keeps an eye out for mothers like Frida who exhibit behaviors of child neglect. Now after one mistake they'll be judging Frida to determine if she'll be a candidate for the authoritative institution that measures her ability to be a devoted mother.
Within the clutches of the state, Frida must prove that a bad mother can learn to be good. Failure to measure up may mean losing her beloved Harriet...
The School for Good Mothers is a story about the lack of compassion within family social services concerning women, children, and mental health. The author uses a creative premise layered with twists and extremes of the dystopian genre, yet it feels believably, dangerously, and uncomfortably close to today's society.
The main character of Frida is impeccably developed, however, other characters feel either temporary, not totally present, or one dimensional. For me, Frida is enough!
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Catherine Ho whose gender voicing and voice for the main character, Frida, is almost perfect.
The School for Good Mothers is a complicated, emotional, and heart-wrenching story where no one comes out unscathed and it's a punch to the gut type of read. If you decide to read it, I recommend you go in as blind as possible for ultimate enjoyment!
3.75⭐rounded up!
Thirty-six-year-old, single mom, Frida Liu is an emotional mess!
Frida's husband has left her for another woman, she's lonely, sleep deprived, and feels the pressure of having a career that doesn't measure up to the sacrifices made by her Chinese immigrant parents.
The only shining light in her life is her 18-month-old daughter, Harriet. Despite her immense love for her child, Frida makes a very poor decision.
The state keeps an eye out for mothers like Frida who exhibit behaviors of child neglect. Now after one mistake they'll be judging Frida to determine if she'll be a candidate for the authoritative institution that measures her ability to be a devoted mother.
Within the clutches of the state, Frida must prove that a bad mother can learn to be good. Failure to measure up may mean losing her beloved Harriet...
The School for Good Mothers is a story about the lack of compassion within family social services concerning women, children, and mental health. The author uses a creative premise layered with twists and extremes of the dystopian genre, yet it feels believably, dangerously, and uncomfortably close to today's society.
The main character of Frida is impeccably developed, however, other characters feel either temporary, not totally present, or one dimensional. For me, Frida is enough!
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Catherine Ho whose gender voicing and voice for the main character, Frida, is almost perfect.
The School for Good Mothers is a complicated, emotional, and heart-wrenching story where no one comes out unscathed and it's a punch to the gut type of read. If you decide to read it, I recommend you go in as blind as possible for ultimate enjoyment!
3.75⭐rounded up!
August 21, 2021
I'm so sorry I finished this book. I almost gave up at about 25%, then again at 50%, then decided that there must be something I was missing so I plodded along. (Shakes head!!)
Some critics have compared it to Handmaid's Tale, and the premise is (unfortunately) more plausible in the short run and has the same chilling effect as Atwood's novel. The similarity stops there. Frida had a very bad day and did the unthinkable. She left her 16 month old daughter along while Frida left the house for a couple of hours. Neighbors reported the cries, Hannah was taken away, and Frida was sent to a recently developed retraining facility designed to turn "bad mothers" into "good mothers". Frida's classes include how to speak motherese, how to instill empathy, how to defend against pedophiles, how to protect a child from danger, and much more. The mothers are given android children on which to practice their skills. Fascinating, right?
However, the narrative is too focused on the minutia of classes and daily life and too focused on Frida's infinite amount of whining. Yes, she's lost her child. Yes, her husband has found happiness with another woman. Yes, the school is cruel in its "coursework" and punishments. Yes, Frida is struggling to understand some cultural differences between the way she was raised and what's considered "good mothering" by the teachers at the school. All this is actually compelling and should have sucked me right into the story, but Frida just keeps whining about it over and over. Even more distressing is the total lack of hope in this story.
This is a book that started out strong with an amazing premise that was believable and heartbreaking. I don't really know what went sideways, but I cannot recommend this to anyone. This might be the lowest rating I've ever given. I just feel sad about that.
SPOILERS ---- Some mothers commit suicide, and many more are contemplating it (including Frida). The AI children are just plain creepy and it takes WAY too long for Frida to become attached and for the child to respond. There seems to be a randomness to the "curriculum" -- one minute the leaders are punishing the mothers, the next they are planning parties. ??? BIG SPOILER -- after all this, after seemingly endless lessons, punishments, regrets & atonement from Frida, several moments of enlightenment, Frida still loses custody. Then she runs away with Hannah in the last 2 pages. WHAT??!! By that point, I didn't care and any emotional attachment had been lost many pages prior.
Some critics have compared it to Handmaid's Tale, and the premise is (unfortunately) more plausible in the short run and has the same chilling effect as Atwood's novel. The similarity stops there. Frida had a very bad day and did the unthinkable. She left her 16 month old daughter along while Frida left the house for a couple of hours. Neighbors reported the cries, Hannah was taken away, and Frida was sent to a recently developed retraining facility designed to turn "bad mothers" into "good mothers". Frida's classes include how to speak motherese, how to instill empathy, how to defend against pedophiles, how to protect a child from danger, and much more. The mothers are given android children on which to practice their skills. Fascinating, right?
However, the narrative is too focused on the minutia of classes and daily life and too focused on Frida's infinite amount of whining. Yes, she's lost her child. Yes, her husband has found happiness with another woman. Yes, the school is cruel in its "coursework" and punishments. Yes, Frida is struggling to understand some cultural differences between the way she was raised and what's considered "good mothering" by the teachers at the school. All this is actually compelling and should have sucked me right into the story, but Frida just keeps whining about it over and over. Even more distressing is the total lack of hope in this story.
This is a book that started out strong with an amazing premise that was believable and heartbreaking. I don't really know what went sideways, but I cannot recommend this to anyone. This might be the lowest rating I've ever given. I just feel sad about that.
SPOILERS ---- Some mothers commit suicide, and many more are contemplating it (including Frida). The AI children are just plain creepy and it takes WAY too long for Frida to become attached and for the child to respond. There seems to be a randomness to the "curriculum" -- one minute the leaders are punishing the mothers, the next they are planning parties. ??? BIG SPOILER -- after all this, after seemingly endless lessons, punishments, regrets & atonement from Frida, several moments of enlightenment, Frida still loses custody. Then she runs away with Hannah in the last 2 pages. WHAT??!! By that point, I didn't care and any emotional attachment had been lost many pages prior.
April 29, 2022
At first, I didn't know where this was going. It was like The Handmaid's Tale in some ways. A future in the United States in which women and men who have been negligent or abusive to their children are taken away to an institution that teaches them how to be a "good" parent is the main aspect of this world. I can see that this could be become an actual reality. The world Jessamine Chan has her characters inhabit is our world, but with this added vicious treatment of "bad" mothers and fathers.
It is a reform school for them both, but the bad mothers are treated much more harshly. The misogyny of our current world is magnified and expanded on. The belief itself is unsustainable and out of reach for most women, that they can be perfect mothers. Mothers who never think of anything else, except their child. The main character is an Asian American woman named Frieda Liu. What she did is awful. She left her little daughter, Harriet, alone for more than two hours in a walker. She left the house, got a coffee, and retrieved some papers from work. It was at the end of a horrendous weekend and she was on edge and distracted. That is no excuse. She did a terrible thing, but the punishment does not fit the crime.
One of her neighbors reported the toddler crying and the police came. Frieda is ashamed and despondent. She hates what she did and wants to atone for it and make it up to her daughter, but what they put her through is unfathomable. My heart ached for her and the tears came later, as I realized after a year in this torture chamber, that she would not receive Harriet back.
It is a reform school for them both, but the bad mothers are treated much more harshly. The misogyny of our current world is magnified and expanded on. The belief itself is unsustainable and out of reach for most women, that they can be perfect mothers. Mothers who never think of anything else, except their child. The main character is an Asian American woman named Frieda Liu. What she did is awful. She left her little daughter, Harriet, alone for more than two hours in a walker. She left the house, got a coffee, and retrieved some papers from work. It was at the end of a horrendous weekend and she was on edge and distracted. That is no excuse. She did a terrible thing, but the punishment does not fit the crime.
One of her neighbors reported the toddler crying and the police came. Frieda is ashamed and despondent. She hates what she did and wants to atone for it and make it up to her daughter, but what they put her through is unfathomable. My heart ached for her and the tears came later, as I realized after a year in this torture chamber, that she would not receive Harriet back.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 7, 2022
'The School for Good Mothers' by Jessamine Chan was very different from any other book I have encountered to date. Main character Frida Liu comes from a traditional Chinese family with all the "typical" expectations of being the perfect mother, wife, and daughter. She is frustrated (and seemingly bored) with her role as a work at home mom and primary caregiver to her young daughter, Harriet. She makes one bad decision (what she refers to continually as her "very bad day") in regards to protecting Harriet and is sent away to the government run "School for Bad Mothers." Here, she is constantly made to repeat a mantra stating she is narcissistic and a bad mother while attempting to prove she is worthy of regaining custodianship of Harriet - by attempting to parent a preprogrammed "living" doll and teaching her "proper" human behavior. Frida also has to show she puts the doll first and that that she understands she is to have no needs or desires other than being a mother. She should desire no other relationships in her life - and if she does she is demonstrating not being worthy of getting her daughter back. The men have their own school and the expectations and demands are not as high and seem extremely unfair in my opinion. In addition, the counselors and those judging the mothers don't seem to have children of their own. How can you judge what being a parent is like if you are not one? You can have an idea, but I think you truly learn by doing. The ending is not what I expected and was hard to swallow. Thank God there is nothing like this in real life is all I have to say. Wow. Just... wow.
Narrator Catherine Ho does a wonderful job as the solo narrator and could not have brought this book into fruition for the listeners enjoyment more perfectly. Great job!
Narrator Catherine Ho does a wonderful job as the solo narrator and could not have brought this book into fruition for the listeners enjoyment more perfectly. Great job!
April 14, 2023
This was a really good reminder for me to take more notice of blurbs rather than making assumptions based on titles and internet hype. I expected this to be your classic sad girl read, but was in fact confronted by a stark, dystopian, nightmare hellfire. Interesting.
The concept, sending mothers to a prison/school to improve their maternal abilities with the help of robot babies under impossible, crushing standards, is genuinely haunting to read. I found it surprisingly upsetting and intense, and it’s certainly a bleak reading experience. The writing style veers sharply from touching and poignant, to cold and brutal. It’s a great eye-opening reminder of the pressures and scrutiny that women face more and more, expected to provide nothing but immediate perfection as a mother and sacrificing everything of themselves in the process.
Very clever and a great story, but uncomfortable. I’d say enjoy but I mean, you won’t.
The concept, sending mothers to a prison/school to improve their maternal abilities with the help of robot babies under impossible, crushing standards, is genuinely haunting to read. I found it surprisingly upsetting and intense, and it’s certainly a bleak reading experience. The writing style veers sharply from touching and poignant, to cold and brutal. It’s a great eye-opening reminder of the pressures and scrutiny that women face more and more, expected to provide nothing but immediate perfection as a mother and sacrificing everything of themselves in the process.
Very clever and a great story, but uncomfortable. I’d say enjoy but I mean, you won’t.
January 6, 2022
Wow, this book just left me in a little trance, unable to think of much else all day. This dystopian society was a little too close to the way our society seems to be heading regarding motherhood. The unrealistic self-expectations and the expectations that society puts on mothers to hold everything together while making it look easy.
Frida, in the midst of a broken marriage and an unfulfilling career has one very bad day (as she terms it). Frida, a middle class, Chinese leaves her not yet 2-year-old, Harriet, alone in the house as she runs to her office to pick something up. Unfortunately, that quick errand ends up being over 2 hours. After her neighbors call the police, she is pegged as a delinquent mother, and is told by the child authorities that if she wants any chance of getting her child back, she must attend a “school” with other bad mothers for one year where she will be trained on how to be a good mother.
The mothers at the school are treated basically as prisoners and must repeat the mantra every morning, “I am a bad mother, but I am learning to be good.” The mothers are put through a series of “Units” where they must learn a skill and then perform it to the best of their ability in the hopes of scoring high. If they score low, they lose the few privileges they have. These units are disturbing and seek to make all mothers fit into a perfect mold which will enable them to be successful mothers. The only thing that carries the other mothers through this experience is the hope of seeing their children again and regaining custody.
“We’re putting you in high-pressure scenarios so we can see what kind of mother you are. Most people can be good parents if they have absolutely no stress. We have to know that you can handle conflict. Every day is an obstacle course for a parent.”
There is so much more I want to explain about this story, but the more you discovery for yourself through reading, the better. The author made such astute observations about racial inequities, gender assumptions and the many roles mothers play. Frida’s is such a well-developed character, you feel her every emotion, even when it’s not one you would have chosen. You find empathy for her and for the other mothers, and root for their success. There was such a sad and lonely undertone, and as a mother myself, my emotions were taut. About three-fourths of the way into the book, it started to feel a tad repetitive, but overall this book was just amazing. Beautifully written. I loved endings that are not tied up in a nice little bow - this one hit the nail on the head. Such an imaginative, shocking and frightening look at a futuristic society.
“She didn’t mean to talk about a heart being squeezed, hopes she won’t be punished for it. They’ll joke about it when Harriet is older. It will be their code for sorrow and longing. In truth, the sorrow barely touches her heart at all.”
Highly recommend if you enjoy dystopian novels. The subjects are meant to make you uncomfortable and the author was just a master at that.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the advance copy to read and review. Pub date: 1.4.22
Frida, in the midst of a broken marriage and an unfulfilling career has one very bad day (as she terms it). Frida, a middle class, Chinese leaves her not yet 2-year-old, Harriet, alone in the house as she runs to her office to pick something up. Unfortunately, that quick errand ends up being over 2 hours. After her neighbors call the police, she is pegged as a delinquent mother, and is told by the child authorities that if she wants any chance of getting her child back, she must attend a “school” with other bad mothers for one year where she will be trained on how to be a good mother.
The mothers at the school are treated basically as prisoners and must repeat the mantra every morning, “I am a bad mother, but I am learning to be good.” The mothers are put through a series of “Units” where they must learn a skill and then perform it to the best of their ability in the hopes of scoring high. If they score low, they lose the few privileges they have. These units are disturbing and seek to make all mothers fit into a perfect mold which will enable them to be successful mothers. The only thing that carries the other mothers through this experience is the hope of seeing their children again and regaining custody.
“We’re putting you in high-pressure scenarios so we can see what kind of mother you are. Most people can be good parents if they have absolutely no stress. We have to know that you can handle conflict. Every day is an obstacle course for a parent.”
There is so much more I want to explain about this story, but the more you discovery for yourself through reading, the better. The author made such astute observations about racial inequities, gender assumptions and the many roles mothers play. Frida’s is such a well-developed character, you feel her every emotion, even when it’s not one you would have chosen. You find empathy for her and for the other mothers, and root for their success. There was such a sad and lonely undertone, and as a mother myself, my emotions were taut. About three-fourths of the way into the book, it started to feel a tad repetitive, but overall this book was just amazing. Beautifully written. I loved endings that are not tied up in a nice little bow - this one hit the nail on the head. Such an imaginative, shocking and frightening look at a futuristic society.
“She didn’t mean to talk about a heart being squeezed, hopes she won’t be punished for it. They’ll joke about it when Harriet is older. It will be their code for sorrow and longing. In truth, the sorrow barely touches her heart at all.”
Highly recommend if you enjoy dystopian novels. The subjects are meant to make you uncomfortable and the author was just a master at that.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the advance copy to read and review. Pub date: 1.4.22
June 8, 2023
I liked the overall message of this novel about the scrutiny and sexist expectations mothers face in contemporary society. Aside from that though, I found The School for Good Mothers a chore to read. First, the plot seemed like such a mess to me. The novel’s synopsis notes that it focuses on upper-middle-class parenting, which is fine, but women of different class backgrounds were lumped in together in this dystopian school system as if their “crimes” or mistakes were the same?? As Samantha writes about cogently in her review, child separation and revoking parental rights does occur especially for Black and brown mothers so it felt odd and underdeveloped for this to serve as the premise of this novel. The plot didn’t make sense; I get that dystopia requires some suspension of disbelief, though so many random things happened that I found myself flipping pages just to get through to the end.
Jessamine Chan’s writing also felt dry and repetitive. The characters came across as one-dimensional. I think Chan made an honest attempt at portraying some of the racial injustices Black and Latinx mothers face as well as the specific microaggressions experienced by Asian American women, though the racial element of the book didn’t feel richly explored and stayed on the surface level. Our main character, Frida, is angry at white people at times (totally understandable) yet predominantly dates white men, and this tension isn’t interrogated in any deep way. Overall, ugh, a lot of promise, and I can see why this book is popular, but it didn’t impress me.
Jessamine Chan’s writing also felt dry and repetitive. The characters came across as one-dimensional. I think Chan made an honest attempt at portraying some of the racial injustices Black and Latinx mothers face as well as the specific microaggressions experienced by Asian American women, though the racial element of the book didn’t feel richly explored and stayed on the surface level. Our main character, Frida, is angry at white people at times (totally understandable) yet predominantly dates white men, and this tension isn’t interrogated in any deep way. Overall, ugh, a lot of promise, and I can see why this book is popular, but it didn’t impress me.
May 13, 2022
The premise was great, the execution was not it. Had to quit — got to Chap13, skipped to 19 and had to call it a day.
The level of misery was beyond. I could see what Jessamin Chan was trying to do, but she ain’t do it!
She tried to break the reader without answering what I believe to be some simple questions: Why? Why is everyone receiving the same insane punishment? Are there no levels to this? The story is bleak for bleakness sake. I’ll have to pass.
Where? Where are all the families speaking up, knowing that this could be them at any moment? Everyone (Gust, Susanna) was just watching the injustice go down in the most insane of ways. Were they so caught up in their own lives that they’d let their former spouse be treated so despicably and in such a disposable way? The limitations and restrictions used to abuse our main character, Frida, with no intervention as the other parent watched on? Sounds illogical. No petitions? Nothing? Dystopian aside, a little more research would have made this story better imo.
I could not take any more. I wasn’t even sticking around to find out anymore about this universe, these robots, nothing. Skipped ahead and the last chapter was just not giving what it needed to give.
This was kind of a bust. Maybe if I wanted to writhe around a little more I would have stayed down in the mire, but a bitch needed some light so this book has to get abandoned.
The level of misery was beyond. I could see what Jessamin Chan was trying to do, but she ain’t do it!
She tried to break the reader without answering what I believe to be some simple questions: Why? Why is everyone receiving the same insane punishment? Are there no levels to this? The story is bleak for bleakness sake. I’ll have to pass.
Where? Where are all the families speaking up, knowing that this could be them at any moment? Everyone (Gust, Susanna) was just watching the injustice go down in the most insane of ways. Were they so caught up in their own lives that they’d let their former spouse be treated so despicably and in such a disposable way? The limitations and restrictions used to abuse our main character, Frida, with no intervention as the other parent watched on? Sounds illogical. No petitions? Nothing? Dystopian aside, a little more research would have made this story better imo.
I could not take any more. I wasn’t even sticking around to find out anymore about this universe, these robots, nothing. Skipped ahead and the last chapter was just not giving what it needed to give.
This was kind of a bust. Maybe if I wanted to writhe around a little more I would have stayed down in the mire, but a bitch needed some light so this book has to get abandoned.
February 26, 2022
As a mother myself, being separated from my children would be a living nightmare so I found the premise of this story frightening.
As a parent myself, I don't claim to be a perfect parent whatsoever and admittingly I've made a mountain of mistakes at parenting but...
I would never have left my child home alone, unattended for 2 hours! I think what Frida did was selfish but I also didn't believe she deserved to be away for an entire year.
When it comes to the social commentary on how harshly we judge or are quick to deem women “bad mothers” this book nailed it.
I also loved the concept of the book. Initially the story drew me in with intrigue. However, halfway through I found myself checking to see how much longer I had left because of the stories repetitiveness. There is a Iarge portion in the middle where nothing happens. I also struggled to find a consistent theme. There are instances of racism, sexism, how brutal mothers are judged, and of course the harshness of this fictional child protective services but none of these were consistent.
As a parent myself, I don't claim to be a perfect parent whatsoever and admittingly I've made a mountain of mistakes at parenting but...
I would never have left my child home alone, unattended for 2 hours! I think what Frida did was selfish but I also didn't believe she deserved to be away for an entire year.
When it comes to the social commentary on how harshly we judge or are quick to deem women “bad mothers” this book nailed it.
I also loved the concept of the book. Initially the story drew me in with intrigue. However, halfway through I found myself checking to see how much longer I had left because of the stories repetitiveness. There is a Iarge portion in the middle where nothing happens. I also struggled to find a consistent theme. There are instances of racism, sexism, how brutal mothers are judged, and of course the harshness of this fictional child protective services but none of these were consistent.
July 30, 2022
I have high hopes for the show, which is in development. details here
The School for Good Mothers sets out on the wrong foot. In an attempt to imagine a world not so distant in the future where motherhood is closely monitored, scrutinized, and pruned, Chan leaves out some essentials for good storytelling- a captivating protagonist and equally gripping writing.
Frida Liu is fairly new to motherhood. Being a single working mother, she is suffocated. So one day, she decides to leave her crying 8-month-old alone for a few minutes, which turns into an hour. Chan expects us to empathize with a mother who deliberately left her child unsupervised, which is the first mistake for me. Had Frida taken accountability for her action and been denied a chance to improve before being sent into the titular reforming school, my reaction would have been entirely different from that now. Instead, she faults everything and everyone else.
There were multitudes of such instances where Frida came through as annoying and whiny, a combination that drove me nuts. Chan's inefficient characterization leads to a lackluster protagonist who, in my humble opinion, definitely needed some sort of therapy before becoming a mother. Frida is an example of why not all women need to become mothers. And if Chan was attempting to portray/represent post-partum depression, unfortunately, it missed the mark by a mile.
The School for Good Mothers sets out on the wrong foot. In an attempt to imagine a world not so distant in the future where motherhood is closely monitored, scrutinized, and pruned, Chan leaves out some essentials for good storytelling- a captivating protagonist and equally gripping writing.
Frida Liu is fairly new to motherhood. Being a single working mother, she is suffocated. So one day, she decides to leave her crying 8-month-old alone for a few minutes, which turns into an hour. Chan expects us to empathize with a mother who deliberately left her child unsupervised, which is the first mistake for me. Had Frida taken accountability for her action and been denied a chance to improve before being sent into the titular reforming school, my reaction would have been entirely different from that now. Instead, she faults everything and everyone else.
There were multitudes of such instances where Frida came through as annoying and whiny, a combination that drove me nuts. Chan's inefficient characterization leads to a lackluster protagonist who, in my humble opinion, definitely needed some sort of therapy before becoming a mother. Frida is an example of why not all women need to become mothers. And if Chan was attempting to portray/represent post-partum depression, unfortunately, it missed the mark by a mile.
March 23, 2025
Wanted to give this four stars, though my heart is so broken. But because I can hope for them, I give the book all five.
I cannot understand. Are there really schools like this? Reminds me of a cross between One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Handmaid’s Tale. Cruel. So cruel. So nonsensical. Complete oppression. I really, really, really hope these schools do not exist.
I cannot understand. Are there really schools like this? Reminds me of a cross between One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Handmaid’s Tale. Cruel. So cruel. So nonsensical. Complete oppression. I really, really, really hope these schools do not exist.
June 1, 2024
Štai ir turim didžiausią vasaros hitą - visa Lietuva skaitys ant visų įmanomų šezlongų, pamatysit.
Įspūdingas Chan debiutas, ašaras nusivaliusi išgūglinau viską skersai išilgai.
Beprotiškai įtraukianti, beprotiškai tikroviška.
Suprantu gi, kad čia literatūra, bet taip įsiurbė, kad, regis, Kristijonui iš paskos pradėjau sekiot, net neleisdama žmogui atsikvėpti nuo bučinių.
Kas yra gera mama? O bloga? Ar yra pasaulyje toks testas, kurį gerai atlikusi esi paskelbiama ponia tobuląja? Kiek valstybė gali kištis į asmeninius moterų pasirinkimus? Kodėl tėvams neva viskas paprasčiau ir už viską jiems atleista?
Ir kraupau, ir ašarojau, ir eilinį kartą supratau: nuo realybės iki distopijos tėra saujelė bepročių, kuriančių neva tobulo pasaulio sistemą. Netoli čia jų ieškot reikia…
Labai labai labai rekomenduoju.
Įspūdingas Chan debiutas, ašaras nusivaliusi išgūglinau viską skersai išilgai.
Beprotiškai įtraukianti, beprotiškai tikroviška.
Suprantu gi, kad čia literatūra, bet taip įsiurbė, kad, regis, Kristijonui iš paskos pradėjau sekiot, net neleisdama žmogui atsikvėpti nuo bučinių.
Kas yra gera mama? O bloga? Ar yra pasaulyje toks testas, kurį gerai atlikusi esi paskelbiama ponia tobuląja? Kiek valstybė gali kištis į asmeninius moterų pasirinkimus? Kodėl tėvams neva viskas paprasčiau ir už viską jiems atleista?
Ir kraupau, ir ašarojau, ir eilinį kartą supratau: nuo realybės iki distopijos tėra saujelė bepročių, kuriančių neva tobulo pasaulio sistemą. Netoli čia jų ieškot reikia…
Labai labai labai rekomenduoju.
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