The writing & the idea of this story are good, but I didn’t really like it? Very unreasonable standards for mothering and I found it ridiculous that a mother can be judged on how good of a mother she is by attempting to love a robot. Often the story was repetitive & I had a hard time getting through the second half of the book. The ending was pretty good though.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I'm not entirely sure how to review this book. I couldn't put it down, which is often the sign of a good book in my opinion. But, the whole time I read, I felt sick and uncomfortable, which I suppose is the point. The novel is being compared to The Handmaid's Tale and I understand why, but I think the general tone and feelings that arise are different. Both leave the reader uneasy, but I think for slightly different reasons -- in order to avoid spoilers, I won't go into detail on this point.

This novel explores the expectations that society has for women, generally, and mothers specifically. Additionally, it examines how race factors into those expectations and heightens them. This entire book feels like you're underwater watching a horror film, but the horror isn't graphic and over the top, it's realistic, which makes it even scarier. So many of the "mistakes" that occur are mistakes that happen and CPS methods for determining parental fitness are accurate but then slightly exaggerated or taken to an extreme.

I'm not sure "enjoy" is an adjective I can use to describe my reading experience. However, I thought this book was powerful and an interesting concept. However, I did have a few issues with the execution of the book. The pacing -- it felt repetitive and too long at points. The lack of emotional reflection -- Frida is struggling with the reality of her situation and that's apparent, but there wasn't as much emotional reflection as I would've expected or liked to see. One thing that I did think this book did well shows the double standard applied to parents, namely mothers and fathers. When the mother makes a mistake, there is a massive overcorrection, but as a general matter, the dad wasn't perfect by any means and also didn't seem to support the mother as much as he should have. Not to mention, aspects of the breakdown of the marriage were never really teased out. While some of the more emotional, reflective aspects of the book were lacking, I was still completely gripped by the story and had to see what happened.

Recommend for fans of Handmaid's, but will give CWs: child loss, child endangerment, parental neglect, infidelity, abuse

Giving this one a 3.5 but will not be rounding up to 4 stars. I didn’t really like this book, but I also didn’t hate it. I wouldn’t rate it any lower because I know it will stick with me. This is not a forgettable book! I am not quite sure what I was expecting when I read the premise, but what I actually read was so far off from my original thought. This one turned out to be absolutely wild. Not in a bad way, but just such of a mind bender that I was constantly thinking this cannot really be happening. The book starts off pretty strong then takes a sharp left turn into a dystopian nightmare, one in which I was often questioning my own sanity. I would actually prefer to see this as a movie to be quite honest!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for this ARC!

"The School for Good Mothers" by Jessamine Chan is my first five-star read of 2022! It has set a very high bar for the rest of the books I will read this year! This book was so close to perfect, it's difficult for me to believe it's a debut.

Because I work in the court system, the story really hit home for me. The school described in this book and the lengths the state will go to terminate parental rights is not all that farfetched; indeed, some of it was eerily familiar. The disparities between the expectations and the treatment of mothers and fathers is really right on point. This dystopian story is all too believable. It is chilling and thought provoking...and a bit triggering for all of us who have had just one bad day affect the rest of our lives. I was completely absorbed into Frida's story and my heart bled for her and all of the mothers who were set up to fail right from the beginning.

Ms. Chan is a talented writer and I am looking forward to reading more from her. She is definitely a writer to watch!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the privilege of reading an advanced digital copy of this fabulous book in exchange for my honest review.

This book is about to get a lot of hype, and I believe it’s well deserved. The School for Good Mothers is a haunting debut from Jessamine Chan that will stick with you for a long time.

Frida Liu is having a bad day. With bad days come bad decisions, and before she knows it, her child has been taken away and she’s given two options:
1. Never see her daughter again
2. Attend a new government school aimed at retraining women into “good mothers” (and even then, potentially never seeing her daughter again)

Frida, of course, chooses option two. What follows is a dystopian tale that feels almost too real at times. From tattletale neighbors to doll children that feel real emotions, you may have to take a few breaks and remind yourself we’re not quite there…yet.

The pace seemed slow at times and rushed at others, but I appreciate that. It felt as if we were right there in Frida’s brain as she tries to process what in the world is going on in this strange place where the rules are always changing and the finish line seems to move farther away each day. Overall, I enjoyed it (but also had very high anxiety while reading it, tbh).

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

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 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 train-wreck of a novel end up on Oprah and other prestigious lists and websites? I just don’t get it.

Not recommended.

Amazing! Loved it and will for sure be reading more by this author! Will make sure to tell others about it as well!

This book is for fans of A Handmaid's Tale and readers who like novels which depict a stark future where common sense has disappeared. The mothers enrolled in the school are being punished for making mistakes with their children. Many mistakes are minor but the women are trained to call themselves bad mothers who are trying to be good. This is their last chance to gain back custody of their children and they seem destined for failure as they try to watch robot dolls without making any errors. Readers will sympathize with the main character, Frida who loves her young daughter Harriet.

I had a love / hate relationship with this book. It was extremely well-written with well-developed characters and a unique dystopian storyline. Very Handmaid's Tale-ish, in my opinion. I felt an emotional attachment to each character and her plight. However, overall I found the entire situation just heartbreaking and somewhat depressing. I felt angry throughout the book at the injustice of it all and found myself feeling stressed and anxious, (kudos to Chan for her ability to evoke strong emotional reactions through her words) despite knowing this was fiction (it did not feel like fiction). I will be watching for more from Jessamine Chan as I think she's a talented author with an ability to hook a reader right from the beginning. I'd definitely read more from her.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan is a thought-provoking, unsettling dystopian novel where "bad" mothers are forced to attend a year-long parenting school, even for minor offenses. Under mass surveillance, parents are punished by CPS and have their children taken away in the name of protection. A prison-like school has been created to teach mothers and fathers separately how to be good parents while keeping them away from their loved ones. The story follows Frida, a single Chinese-American mother in her late 30s who has a really bad day and makes a mistake. She is a layered, textured character and we really understand her interior life.

Certain parts of the novel were incredibly upsetting and thought-provoking. How do you create metrics for what makes a good mother? Can empathy be quantified? If we were monitored all the time, how would our parenting appear under outside scrutiny? What happens when we're judged for our worst parenting moments? It also made me question how we judge parents now as "unworthy," and viewing them as bad mothers when compared to ourselves. So often, mothers especially are judged harshly for their actions or inaction with little to no empathy for what they may be experiencing. The writing style is superb and it is a really gut-wrenching read. This affecting book will stay with me.

Thank you Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much @netgalley and @simonbooks for providing me this advanced copy of The School For Good Mothers!
Such a compelling and thought-provoking read and I am so glad that this book and author @jessamine.chan are getting well-deserved credit! If you didn’t already see, this book is the @readwithjenna pick for January 2022.
Easily a 5 star read and without giving too much away, the characters are flawed, authentic, and likable. While I am not a mother, I have been around children and families, and study child development so I found this look at child welfare fascinating. Frida’s experience of motherhood in relation to other characters and all the information that is out there on parenting felt very genuine. This dystopian world felt very possible. Overall, this was a haunting and wonderfully written book. I highly recommend you check it out!

Wow this book was so good and SO FUCKED UP. I had so much anxiety in some parts, and I can't believe how it ended. This is the first book I've read by Jessamine Chan and I look forward to reading many more by her.

I had a difficult time rating this one because I hated this so much, but also, I didn’t. In the end I settled on a 3.5 rounded to 4 because I couldn’t put it down AND Chan did such a good job at making this scenario feel both unbelievable and prescient at the same time while addressing so many issues. I did struggle to relate to the MC, Frida, in the beginning but later felt some kind of kinship toward her and then ending absolutely broke my heart.
Following Frida’s “bad day” she is given the opportunity to either go to a school that can train her to be a good mother or have her parental rights taken away. She chooses the school. The school separates the mothers into groups based on the age and sex of their children; and then gives the mothers AI dolls of similar age to their removed children to learn and practice with. Which is absolutely horrifying. If that wasn’t horrible enough the training and standards the mothers are held to are ridiculous.
Overall if you’re a fan of dystopia and are looking for book with The Handmaid’s Tale vibes, this would be a good pick.

Frida Liu, an insomnia-afflicted single mother (her husband left her for his decade-younger mistress when Frida was three months postpartum with their daughter) had a bad day. She left her young toddler at home to run an errand—an errand that should have taken minutes but turned into a couple hours.

“What she can’t explain, what she doesn’t want to admit, what she’s not sure she remembers correctly: how she felt a sudden pleasure when she shut the door and got in the car that took her away from her mind and body and house and child.”

Yes, Frida’s situation is extreme, but I don’t know any mother who hasn’t thought about this at least once. Chan takes very real feelings/situations—being sleep-deprived, mothering a young toddler on top of starting a new, full-time job, AND dealing with a shitbag spouse who had an affair and then left her with a newborn—and pushes them to the extreme. What’s so terrifying about this novel is that everything felt like it *could* happen.

Frida’s neighbors report her to CPS, who remove Frida’s daughter Harriet to the care of her ex-husband and install cameras in every room of Frida’s apartment. She is then charged with neglect and abandonment and is sentenced to a year at The School for Good Mothers. If she leaves the program early or fails out, she loses her parental rights to Harriet completely and is placed on a registry that is basically like a sex offender registry—notified to jobs and places she lives, etc. So, the stakes are pretty damn high.

The school is wild, involving creepy AI toddlers and mantras like “I am a bad mother, but I am learning to be good.” Oof just typing that gives me the chills!

As you might imagine, this was incredibly difficult to read as the mother of a toddler. Chan did her job by making me feel All The Things as I read this: empathy, disgust, anger, fear, terror. I had to put it down multiple times because it got too much to bear. It’s not dystopian in the classic sense; we don’t get details on how the US got this place, but that doesn’t detract from the story—a story about power, surveillance, and what it means to be a good mother.

The School for Good Mothers is the HandMaids Tale of this generation. Dystopian but oh so close to what we are seeing in the polities of the far right in the states. It will make you gasp, rage, scream and hopefully work towards cultural change. On all the most anticipated lists, already destined to be one of the breakout novels of 2022. This one deserves it.

It's been quite some time since I've read a book that made me both think and feel as deeply as The School for Good Mothers. Its been even longer since I stopped my breakneck reading mid-book to call friends or kin and say, "Oh! Oh! Oh! Order this book!"

Author Jessamine Chan forces her readers to consider a world that is so close to what we're living right here, right now, in 2022. Maybe all it would take is a few viral memes and a resulting legislative hurricane to create the alternate reality in which main character Frida Liu finds herself.

Frida is a highly intelligent, well-educated outsider: by virtue of being bi-racial and bi-cultural, and of being a working mother of a very young child, trying to balance her professional responsibilities with the bizarre realities of caring for a sick, demanding baby (all on an hour or two of sleep per night) -- with no nearby support network on which to rely.

So, yes, on one profoundly sleep-deprived, mind- and heart-frazzling morning, she makes an astonishing mistake and leaves her child home alone. It's the consequences to her actions that are truly terrifying.

Frida discovers that there's a new school of thought in the state's Child Protective Services, so new that even her family courts attorney is in the dark. Parents who show a single lapse of judgment can now have their parental rights suspended and be sentenced to a year-long stint in a reform school for mothers (or a separate one for fathers).

The parents instantly surrender any hope of privacy or empathy. Their success in regaining access to their children depends upon their performance at the school, with realistic androids subbing in for their children. And the cards are definitely stacked against them, especially the mothers,

In her depiction of the schools themselves, Chan shows us just how close we might be to the totalitarian excesses of the old Soviet Union or the current-day Communist China. She made this reader think hard about what we give up of our freedom when we opt for hyper-security.

But there was a lot of feeling as well: the fearful jitters at each example of how narrow-minded and cultish the (I emphasize: state-sponsored!) school's requirements were; the tears that impeded my reading at numerous points in the narrative.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advance readers copy.

An excellent debut, reminiscent of "The Handmaid's Tale" in theme. Chan's premise about a futuristic government that puts "unworthy" parents through heavily surveilled classes to win back visitation/custody is fascinating alone, but the writing, attention to detail, and cultural observations (like how the mothers are much more harshly criticized than the fathers) really elevate it. Looking forward to reading Jessamine Chan's future works.

I absolutely loved this take on motherhood through a dystopia slant. The government is watching mothers and their actions in public. Our flawed main mother is being g watched as she tries to raise her own perfect daughter. An interesting and inventive novel.

This dystopian tale explores strong themes relating to motherhood, parenting, race, gender, and then some. It is unsettling and a wee bit anxiety-provoking, so if you are a parent, your need to hug your children will be powerful. Because my feelings on this book are truly all over the place, I believe this to be an excellent selection to discuss and process with other readers. Whether you love it or hate it, Chan’s book is most definitely…SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT!

I normally love dystopian books like this, however this one was just okay for me. There just wasn't much excitement in it, and I felt it dragged on. This had so much potential and it just wasn't there. I think it would have broken it up by adding in more of the backstory, or even of how the country got to the creation of this type of school.