Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book. Jessamine Chan does a good job of making you care for our main character, Frida Liu, despite her presenting with what most people and this specific society would consider terrible, especially as it pertains to the American standards of living. We are going through the ups, and mostly downs alongside Frida and her style of parenting. I thought the eeriness of the books and the knowledge on social workers were done well and you can tell that Chan either has a background in that area or did extensive research of people who have had encounters with social workers. With that said, the pacing was off at times. All in all, The School for Good Mothers is a heartbreaking story about motherhood and the things we would do for the people we love the most, in this case that would be our children.

Utterly chilling, absolutely compelling, all-too-plausible... This book made me feel anxious and stressed (....in the good way) the whole time I was reading it, because I could not believe what was happening. There's absolutely no relief and it's easy enough to know (mostly) what's coming and that just makes it worse when it arrives!

One of the best debuts I've read in a long time.

Beautifully written story on the nature and pressures of motherhood and what happens when it's allowed to be judged without any restrictions. I really liked the main characters, found them very multidimensional. Some interesting twists. Strongly recommend.

I'm not even a mother and this book delivered the gut punch of the century. It made me cry — several times!

This ambitious dystopia stars Frida as an exhausted mother that is sharing custody of her toddler with her ex-husband who ran off with another woman, all while trying to juggle her depression and a demanding job. When she has one really bad day, she ends up leaving her toddler alone at home for over 2 hours. This (rightfully) leads to a custody battle that lands Frida in a 1-year Draconian "reform" school/prison program for "bad mothers learning to be good" and a harrowing journey of trying to get her daughter back.

The beginning of the book before Frida is sent to the reform school is a bit of a slog to get through, but does set up many important things to the story -- Frida is a single mom struggling with her mental health, her husband's new girlfriend is a New Age health/wellness nut, and their version of society is one with an extreme level of surveillance -- a stepping stone to the extreme program at the reform school.

I sympathized with Frida throughout the story because I could see that she was an "every woman" of sorts: Just a normal person trying their best that happened to make a terrible mistake. I've seen other reviews mentioning that they couldn't root for her because of what she did, but I think it goes deeper than that. Contrary to what the program in the book expects of the mothers at the reform school, it's not possible to be a perfect mother and no woman is. Everyone makes mistakes to varying degrees, and to be a perfect mother as the dystopian state in the book (and to an extent, our society today) expects would mean having to be an automated mothering machine, dehumanizing mothers completely. This process is thoughtfully covered in the book through the program's rigorous lessons on the 10000 different types of hugs, how to teach empathy, how to physically fight attackers, and how to meet a child's every need perfectly as soon as they need it.

I don't want to give too much away about this book -- but I will remember it for a really long time. It illustrates the depths of a mother's love so vividly, it's like I could feel it myself. It also offers plenty to consider about modern attitudes of middle class motherhood, the double standards when it comes to how we view good mothers and good fathers, the role of the state in how we raise our families, and how hard it is for women in general to meet societal expectations.

If you're a fan of female-centric dystopia with light sci-fi elements, this one is definitely for you and I do plan on reading it again at some point in my life.

Frida Liu had a very bad day. Recently divorced after her husband’s affair, Frida is struggling with raising her one year old daughter. Like everyone else, she makes a mistake. This mistake lands her in front of a family court judge who sentences her to a year at a Big Brother-esque institution, where she will learn how to be a “good mother”. She must survive the year at this school for even a chance of being reunited with her daughter.

I absolutely loved this book. Frida is such an amazing character and Chan wrote her beautifully. I felt and understood everything that Frida was going through, even as someone without children. The novel touches on some excellent themes, such as racial equity and how society (and often other women) harshly judge mothers and hold them to a much higher standard than fathers. The novel asks “What is a good mother anyway? And who the hell gets to decide that?” I really loved how Chan examined different cultural parenting styles and validated them equally. I highly recommend this one!

This book left me with my mouth wide open. I can't. Left me so mad at this made-up world. I wanted to throw this book a few times then I realized it was my kindle and it wouldn't survive the throw.

The school was too extreme. It was set up for failure. It was a prison, not a school. Of course, the fathers had it way easier than the mothers. Not surprising in the least

I had to give it 5 stars. It kept me turning the pages. I wanted more and was sad every time I had to put it down. I needed to know what would happen next to Frida, to the rest of the mothers.

I feel like this could ve explored more. A sequel would be great. Maybe the robots rebelling. Emmanuel leading the rebellion. Just an idea lol.

A satire about the cult of motherhood"

A description from the author but I would describe The School For Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan more of a horror story about the cult of motherhood.

I needed time to process this debut novel by the very impressive writer. I both listened and read this story which helped me in understanding its not always sympathetic protagonist.

Frida Liu is a Chinese American at a point of mental crisis in her life. An only child from hard working immigrant parents she married and had her only daughter, Harriet, in her late 30s. Her white all American husband Gust has left her for the social media savvy much younger wealthy all American Susanna. Frida is ashamed that on her days with Harriet she is overwhelmed from lack of sleep, no help, job pressures and obvious postpartum depression. She makes a decision when she is having a "horrible day" that costs her to lose her parental rights.

To over compensate for failures in child protective services the government has instituted a year long live in school (prison) to correct the wrong behaviors of not "perfect" mothers. Taking a sci fi turn from West World the mothers are put in very surreal situations and evaluated by "Aunt Lydia" counselors (reference Handmaid's Tale) to get their kids back.

Narrator Catherine Ho was perfection as an overwrought scared confused Frida. She also helped me understand better some of Frida's later bad decisions just by the inflections of her voice.

Spending a year at this school with Frida made me very angry. I think mostly because as ridiculous as the process seemed I could see it happening for real. That is what makes it a horror story for me. Frida was judged without details, prosecuted without growth and condemned without compassion.

I received a free copy of this book/audiobook from the publishers via #netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book!

Frida is a mother who has one very bad day - one lapse in judgment - which leads to her daughter being taken by CPS. Because of this, she gets sent to a new program where bad mothers are taught how to be good.
I think this book is going to be hugely popular. In a time when everyone has an opinion about how one should mother their children but no one wants to actually give mothers the resources needed to succeed, this plot hits very close to home.

Lovers of The Handmaids Tale and The Lost Daughter will enjoy this story of what it means to be a good mother.
I will recommend this to many!

This is a haunting, evocative tale on societal expectations of motherhood, sacrifice, and love. Frida is a relatable, imperfect protagonist, and the injustices she suffers will make you ache for her.

I loved this book so much! For the last four days I’ve been completely consumed by this book, spending all my free time reading it, and all my work time telling my co-workers and customers about the robot babies (YES! Robot babies!).

The School of Good Mothers is a wholly original, dark satire about a dystopian surveillance-state in which bad parents (but let’s be real, it’s mostly mothers) are forced to spend a year in reform school to win back their parental rights. Is it really a spoiler to tell you the school for mothers is far mor arduous and abusive that the school for fathers? A tragic, and at times absurdly funny commentary on the impossible standards our society hold mothers to.

Imagine if your right to your child depended on proving that you could be a Pinterest-perfect parent.

In “The School for Good Mothers,” Jessamine Chan takes us into a near-future where child neglect is take very seriously, Single mother Frida Liu has a very bad day with her infant daughter. Her one error (an objectively terrible error, mind you) sends her into a system of assessment and reeducation designed to determine if she can continue to be a mother.

The testimonies of real people cease to matter - Frida is measured by machines and computers. Her feelings are analyzed via AI. Her actions are recorded and graded. She suffers horrific abuse at the hands of her teachers and therapists.

This story is fiction but the obstacle course of being a “good mother” is coldly familiar to any parent. Could any of us pass the test Frida must endure?

And is it even reasonable to expect anyone to do so?

A truly bizarre and at times stressful journey that I loved every minute of. It was terrifying, and I have spent the last few days circling around everything that happened.

Although this book took me sometime to get into, I ended up enjoying the story as a whole. It was a fresh take on the Science Fiction genre, and the commentary regarding our societies' CPS department was poignant and timely.

The main character, Frida, struggles with political powers to win custody of her child back after a horrible, very bad day. As Frida tries to fight and persevere, readers learn just how truly broken the CPS and court systems are. Yes we have strides to make to protect our children, but the missteps happening are truly illuminated through this story.

I was hopeful for more dynamic characters, but felt the ending fell a bit flat and predictable. It was an engaging read but I was ultimately left wanting more.

This ever so slightly dystopian novel is set in a near future world very much like ours. Main character Frida has one “very bad day” where she leaves her 18 month old daughter home alone for a few hours. Even in today’s world this could definitely land you on the radar of social services if you got caught, but in Frida’s world, not only does she end up losing custody but sent to the residential “school for good mothers” of the title in an experimental program designed to train those accused of abuse or neglect - or even much small infractions - with onerous rules, arbitrary standards and difficult tests.

This book is very atmospheric and definitely has vibes of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Joanne Ramos’ The Farm, and even just a touch of Klara and the Sun with the AI robot children the mothers have to practice on. It definitely was not an easy book to read from an emotional standpoint - the kind of book that makes you feel anxious while reading it; in fact at times I almost felt I’ll from being physically anxious. Even if you (rightly) condemn Frida’s actions at the beginning of the book, seeing what she goes through is chilling and heartbreaking, and all the more so because it feels so plausible and real.

This would make a great book club book because there is so much to discuss. Indeed, it is January’s pick for Read With Jenna (from the Today Show). It definitely is not the book for everyone, but it deeply affected me emotionally and I think will stay with me for a long, long time. 4.5 stars.

4!! I really enjoyed this book, a reflection on how society views mothers and motherhood, I think everyone should read this. While I am not a mother myself, it is very obvious how women are viewed in today's society. The struggle of being a caretaker and a provider for the family is the crux of this novel. It takes a look at what makes a good mother "good" and how that effects their children in the long run. Overall I would really recommend this to everyone truly.

I would first to thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the E ARC of the debut novel by Jessamine Chan, The School of Good Mothers. I feel like an outlier with my rating of 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'s, but the story fascinated me and gave me a glance into what might occur concerning parenting expectations in the very near future. The protagonist, Frida is a single, overwhelmed mom starting Day 4 of sleepless nights trying to soothe her toddler daughter Harriet. Frida needs a brief peaceful outing, just to get a coffee, but neglects to bring Harriet along. A terrible mis-judgement, yes, but does the horrifying, traumatic, heart-breaking and brutal punishment that Frida needs to endure fit the crime? It is hard not to give away spoilers, but I highly recommend this book move to the top of your To-Be-Read pile. This is a story of power and the abuse of that power by CPS, social workers, judges and the instructors (prison guards) and the injustice that comes after. The novel captures you until the end with excellent writing and good character development. The setting of the school is also a main character in the novel. Cameras everywhere, barbed wire fencing, sub- humane accommodations and intense and sometimes horrorfying "lessons" will stay in your mind long after you close the last page. #NetGalley

TL;DR REVIEW:

The School for Good Mothers is a wild ride of a novel. It’s not comfortable, but it’s extremely effective and absolutely does what it meant to do. I was so impressed.

For you if: You’re okay with books that aren’t always FUN to read, when it’s worth it.

FULL REVIEW:

“A mother can handle anything. A mother is always patient. A mother is always kind. A mother is always giving. A mother never falls apart. A mother is the buffer between her child and the cruel world.”

First, big thanks to Simon & Schuster for the electronic advanced copy of this book! What a way to start the year. This book is an absolutely wild ride.

The story is about a woman named Frida, a struggling single mom of a toddler who makes a terrible decision that costs her custody. In order to earn her daughter back, she must agree to an experimental new CPS program. It’s hard to say much more than that without giving things away, but suffice to say that the whole thing has a feeling of dystopia that’s just far enough inside the realm of possibility to be disturbing.

It’s been a long time since I read a book that stirred me up so much. I could have thrown it at the wall. There were several side characters that I desperately wanted to punch. Think like, Umbridge-level rage and frustration. That alone is an impressive feat. And yet the greatest triumph of the book, I think, is Frida as a character. She’s both sympathetic and unsympathetic. She forces us to confront our own ideas of what a mother should be, as we both recognize the absurdity of the standards she’s being held to and decide how we feel about the past decisions she’s made.

This book is a masterful look at the conflicting and absurd societal pressures and expectations of motherhood. If you can push your way through an uncomfortable book for the sake of the craft and impact of the story, pick it up.



CONTENT AND TRIGGER WARNINGS:
Suicidal thoughts; Self-harm and suicide (off screen); Child abuse/abandonment; Child custody battle; Infidelity

The School for Good Mothers was difficult for me to get through. It was well-written but a disturbing concept. Frida Liu leaves her young daughter home alone and is sentenced to one year in a prison for mothers who have committed a variety of crimes against their children. As a mom, I just couldn't imagine any of the events in the book being acceptable. I read an interview with the author in which she spoke about the satire in the novel. I had to focus on that while reading because what the mothers went through was so awful. She took elements of our society and views on "good mothers" and took them so far over what is acceptable. I finished the book a week ago and am still processing it. This would be my worst nightmare as a parent. While this book is disturbing, it does make you think. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC!

Based in a not-so-far-away future, Frida, a sleep-deprived single mother with post-partum depression and a poor support system, has a "bad day" and leaves her toddler home alone in an exersaucer for 2 hours. After a concerned neighbor calls and a welfare check happens, the child is taken into custody and Frida is determined unfit to be a mother and sent to a new government program called "The School for Good Mothers" so that she can learn the skills needed to be a worthy parent.

This book was hard to digest, it made me uncomfortable and I'll be gathering my thoughts for a while. The whole time I was reading all I could think about was the long-lasting emotional and physical trauma that each character was going through at the hands of the "system" and those in power. As someone who works with teens who have varying levels of CPS involvement in their home lives, it was heartbreaking to think of the impact this program would have on Harriet's future, as well as her mom's

Most prominently this book critiques the unrealistically perfect standards that we put on mothers. But it also examines both race and class disparities and the stressors that come along with them. At the end of the day, many of the mothers in the "school" would have benefitted from a stronger support system from the get-go rather than a fascist system that waits for them to make a mistake and uproots their whole entire lives.

At the end of the day, this was a great debut that could have used a little bit more development to make it more of a page-turner. The pacing of the book was slower and more repetitive than I thought it needed to be, I would have loved for it to have seen more character development across the board. That being said, this is an amazing book for discussions and I look forward to hearing other people's thoughts.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for sending me an ARC of The School for Good Mothers in exchange for an honest review.

CW: child abuse, suicidal thoughts, abandonment, emotional abuse, forced institutionalization, suicide, racism, torture, miscarriage, kidnapping

This book absolutely sucked me in and didn’t let me go until I was finished.

After a very bad day complete with a horrible lapse in judgement, Frida’s daughter is taken away from her. Now, Frida must report to a new kind of parental reformation school. A school to “cure” bad mothers and make them good again. If Frida completes the program and passes then she may get her daughter back. If she fails or drops out then she forfeits her parental rights.

Drawing comparisons to The Handmaid’s Tale I was immediately interested. This book is equal parts terrifying and enraging. I was so angry for Frida and all of the other “bad” mothers while I read this book. The psychological punishments and unfair discrepancies between the treatment of bad mothers vs bad fathers was hard to read. Chan’s commentary on the scrutiny and judgement mothers face is spot on.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster, Jessamine Chan & NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.