School for Good Mothers

I was SO excited for this book. The synopsis sounded like a creepy, modern day take on the Stepford Wives. That s NOT what this book turned out to be. Still I had high hopes for it.

The story follows a thirty-something woman names Frida, as she attempts to overcome the consequences of what she calls her, “very bad day.” After her marriage dissolves, Frida is resigned to co-parent with her ex-husband and his seemingly perfect new wife. A lapse in judgment calls into question her ability to care for their toddler, Harriet. After the police and social workers get involved, the Court mandates that Frida take a residential parenting course at a government run “school.” If she completes the course successfully, she may just have a chance to get Harriet back. But… is the school designed for her and the other mothers to fail?

Although this story was not what I expected, I was drawn in immediately. The writing was so vivid that it was easy to slip into the mind and emotions of the main character. I found myself being afraid with her and for her. When she was nervous, my heart rate increased. It is not east for an author to drag a reader in so completely, but I think Chen did a fantastic job with that.

The setting of the story felt pretty nondescript throughout. From Friday’s home, to the police station, the courthouse and even the campus of the school; it all felt a bit generic. I am not sure if this was done purposefully, maybe to illustrate that it could happen to any woman in any corner of the country; as there is quite a bit of social commentary in the book. In general, the setting was a thin backdrop and the story could have taken place anywhere. The characters are what brought this story to life. Frida is not a likable character necessarily, but I found myself rooting for her even when she made it hard.

The mothers that we meet at the school are widely varied and add so much texture to the story. We also meet a few male characters, but I didn’t find that they added much to the overall story, except to stand in contrast to how the mothers were treated. They added a dash of conflict that was short lived and fairly bland.

This book is billed as a thriller, so I kept waiting for the big thrilling reveal and I was grossly disappointed when I was not given that. There was no bi mystery, even though Chen makes the reader believe that there will be. Maybe this was a conscious choice on Chen’s part, but it was incredibly frustrating as a reader.

I gave the book 3 stars. Although there were things about it that I enjoyed, ultimately it was just barely okay and the ending left me scratching my head.

This slow-burning dystopian drama builds the suspense gradually, as our familiar world begins to turn dark and troubling. It begins with intrusive surveillance, directed at a frazzled mother who leaves her baby alone for a couple hours--something she calls a terrible mistake, and for which she truly feels remorse. When Child Protective Services intervenes, they introduce a pilot program that installs cameras everywhere in our protagonist's home. She fails to satisfy the agency's demands for sufficiently committed motherhood and is sent to what appears to be a reeducation camp. Things spiral into a darkness of absurdity and thought control after that. Chan's debut novel is a well-crafted exploration of the hostility and attempts at social control directed at mothers who don't meet society's model of total sacrifice and erasure of identity to satisfy the needs of their children. She evokes at times the style of George Saunders in the absurdities encountered during her "reeducation". The barbs are particularly stinging after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, as pregnant mothers become subject to the state's disregard of their own health for the sake of their unborn children.

Excellent, compelling reading, but I can’t say I loved the book. It was deeply disturbing (I guess the point?). Really a lot to think about how we treat mothers in our society.

DNF'd this one at about 42% and never came back to it! I know the goal of the book was to make the reader feel confused and disoriented and to keep them guessing but it just didn't work for me.

I’m not even sure how to rate this. As a new mom this was intense and disturbing. Obviously a well written and a creative story, but I felt sick while reading and am still sick after finishing it. Netgalley gave me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book fucked me up.

I had a hard time getting through this book. It was a great cautionary tale and I was engrossed until about 65% when I just felt like.... okay when is something new going to happen.

I had a hard time finishing this one. I think the subject wasn’t for me, but the writing was good and the set up was compelling.

When Frida makes a seemingly simple bad decision, her beloved daughter is taken away from her. In order to redeem herself and regain custody of her daughter, Frida must undergo training and prove to the state that she can be a good mother. I found this book disturbing but also saw some parallels to our present foster system woven through it. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

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.

Nearing forty, Frida's life is unlike anything she'd envisioned for herself. She's failed to live up to the expectations of her Chinese parents, both in her career pursuits and by marrying a white man. They briefly forgave her for the latter since it brought Harriet, their new granddaughter, into the family, but forgiveness went out the window once her husband left her for a younger woman. Even her parenting skills are debatable. On a particularly bad day, Frida has a lapse in judgment and leaves her daughter unsupervised at home for several hours, leading one of her neighbors to contact the police. Not only does it result in a loss of custody, Frida is shipped off to a Big Brother-like institution to determine if she should regain access to her daughter ever again. For the next year, she'll have to undergo a series of tests and evaluations to prove she's worthy of being a "good mother" to Harriet.

I thought this was a good debut novel but not one I'd easily recommend, especially if you're post-partum. It takes a certain mood to power through given how bleak the book is. The author did a great job constructing Frida's world and how she fit into the surveillance state but there were too many repetitive scenes and thoughts. The novel could have used less characters too. There were too many to keep track of, and too many that were meeting similar fates. It was a lot, and it would have been nice if there was something to grab onto and feel hopeful for. I found myself skimming the further I got toward the end.

Chen does a good job in this book of creating an all too believable dystopia. The main character's mistake that sets off her situation is so frustrating, but it is also something that an exhausted, overstretched, overstressed mother could imaginably do - unfortunately.

I received an advanced digital copy of this novel from the author, publisher and NetGalley.com. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The School for Good Mother's is a deeply emotional novel of what it means to be a "good mother". Set in the future where after just one mistake, a woman's whole life is upended, her daughter is taken away from her and she has to prove to the state, through odd and depressing training, that she is worthy to be a mom.

This novel is disturbing in the best way, and a little depressing. I loved it from beginning to end.

5 out of stars. Excellent read!

This book hits it all -
- harsher rules for POC
- utilizes stereotypes to show differential treatment
- men granted more leniency
- women pitted against each other
- anti any non male/female relationships
- anti any woman's sexuality j
- anti any woman's identity outside of traditional roles
- majority of "mothers" are young - late teens/early twenties

Wow. This book takes a hard look - but not unfounded. Not unfounded. This is women's future - reported for mostly minor infractions, pooled with those with pose actual threats to their children. Terrifying.
Chan does an amazing job of using American culture - without extremism. This is what we are on the brink of!

This is the best novel of 2022. Such an important story, can't wait for the adaptation. Also, I had a debut in 2022.

I picked this book up when I was about 6 months pregnant. I found the beginning of the book triggering. Though the stress of motherhood is DEFinitely real, I just could not get behind the main character and her reasoning behind her transgression. I found myself hating her voice and all of her actions and it was a distraction for me from the novel.

This wasn't for me.

this was an interesting premise, but the style was quite irritating to me and I ended up not finishing. I may revisit at some point in the future, but for now this book just was just too negative for me at the moment.

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I really enjoyed this one the plot kept me interested until the end which is not easy, and the characters were engaging and believable. I highly recommend this book.

Does a great job probing the scary and frustrating realities of being a mother even while set in a fictional world. You could feel the main character's fear and anger throughout, and it kept me reading to the last page.

Thanks so much for the review copy. I just love a great debut novel. I look forward to reading more books by Chan. Thanks again

I couldn't decide whether to give this book 3 stars or 4 stars. After much thought, I decided it deserved 4 stars because it definitely held my interest. The 3 stars would have just been because it was a very uncomfortable book to read. And think about what it would be like if this kind of situation were a reality.