The School For Good Mothers By Jessamine Chan
Synopsis.
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. What’s worse is she can’t persuade her husband, Gust, to give up his wellness-obsessed younger mistress. Only with their angelic daughter Harriet does Frida finally feel she’s attained the perfection expected of her. Harriet may be all she has, but she’s just enough.
Until Frida has a horrible day.
The state has its eyes on mothers like Frida — ones who check their phones while their kids are on the playground; who let their children walk home alone; in other words, mothers who only have one lapse of judgement. Now, a host of government officials will 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 she can live up to the standards set for mothers — that she can learn to be good.
This propulsive, witty page-turner explores the perils of “perfect” upper-middle-class parenting, the violence enacted upon women by the state and each other, and the boundless love a mother has for her daughter.
The Review
Now repeat after me…
“I am a bad mother, but I am learning to be good”
Jessamine Chan
THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD MOTHERS
The entire premise of this book will give you chills. And anxiety. And it will haunt you.
BUT!
The execution was a bit lacking. I really wanted this one to be my first five star of the year but unfortunately after the intense beginning, It fizzled.
Actually, it peaked and dropped a couple different times. There was a cycle of intense, anxiety-inducing situations (crisis) followed up by lengthy explanatory (showing proof) sections that often caused lulls in my reading.
I found myself glazing over much of the time the mc was at “the good school”. I often found it boring. At around page 178, more than halfway, I had thoughts of abandoning it. But Scribd came in clutch and I finished the last half on audiobook format.
Sometimes I do this when I’m not enjoying the book. Most times I do this when the pacing is off. For this book, it was a mixture of both.
Setting aside all of that I felt the author did a great job of allowing you to decide the mc’s fate in the readers mind. Jessamine did not tell me how to feel about Frida. Frida did that.
Btw, I did not enjoy the narration specifically the parts where the narrator was acting out childrens voices. Those portions completely took me out of the story. And I as a reader have a HUGE problem sympathizing with characters when I don’t enjoy the vocal performance.
Overall, this one was a very mid-range 3 star.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
What are you reading on this day before pub day?
What are you prioritizing at the beginning of the year?
Tell me…
