The School For Good Mothers

Jessamine Chan

What a great idea for a story! The School For Good Mothers is an extremely interesting and well written read that is hard to categorise. I suppose the fact that it’s dystopian has to be mentioned but there’s a lot more than that going on here. This novel will really make you feel and to think and to contemplate uncomfortable possibilities for the future of our western world. Looking forward to seeing what Ms Chan does next.

Many thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Frida is a struggling single mum, juggling a new job in a new town, the breakdown of her relationship, a toddler. She is lonely, tired, frustrated, depressed. One day she makes a really bad mistake, and her life is set on a path over which she has no control.

The premise of the book is brilliant. Motherhood is hard and we all make mistakes (although I do think leaving a toddler alone for two hours is a pretty serious one). This dystopian novel takes the fear of government involvement and intervention to a whole new level, with terrifying consequences for Frida.

The novel is a real opportunity to hold a mirror up to the unrealistic expectations we have of women in general, of mothers in particular, and how society is so judgemental. The cruelty of child services, who seemed less concerned about making sure that Harriet was happy and loved, and more about punitive and unreasonable punishments and making mothers (and - to a lesser extent - fathers) jump through impossible hoops to get their children back, is portrayed really well, leaving the reader as frustrated as Frida. And her confusion, her desperation, her regret, shame and fear all come across so well - this is definitely an emotionally-charged read.

But there were several things that didn't really work for me. First of all, I felt that what Frida did wasn't believable. She is an intelligent, loving mother. I found it hard to imagine that she would leave Harriet alone, however stressed she was. I felt that her 'crime' should have been lesser. And while I appreciate that the 'school' is supposed to be extreme, what was lacking for me was a motivation. Why did the state do this? What did they hope to achieve? If this had been set in the UK, I would have believed that it could be done as a way to simply punish people, or a way to take away benefits (which seems to be the sole purpose of our current government - along with making money for themselves) but it's set in the US so I was expecting there to be some money-making motive behind it all.

I also felt that there were a lot of stereotypes used in the portrayals of the other mothers in the school, and also that the narrative was far too long.

It's a shame - because there's a really excellent novel here. I just think that the great idea at the heart of it doesn't reach its full potential.

Three and a half stars based on the quality of the writing - which is excellent - and on a wonderful idea that has got a little lost.

This is a dystopian story. I found it difficult to connect to the characters. It is slow paced. I enjoyed the concept but not the delivery

Thirty six year old Frida Lui is an emotional wreck after her husband left her for another woman. She is lonely and sleep deprived and feels the pressure of not having a career that matches up to the sacrifices made by her Chinese immigrant parents.

Frieda makes a poor decision regarding her eighteen month old daughter Harriet.

The state keeps an eye out for parents who exhibit behaviours of child neglect and after her mistake they judge Frida to be a candidate for the authoritative institution that will measure her ability to be a devoted mother. "The school for good mothers"

Within the clutches of the state, Frida must prove that a bad mother can learn to be a good mother. Failure to measure up may mean losing her daughter for good.

She has to demonstrate using a preprogrammed "living doll" that she will put the doll first and that she understands that she is to have no needs or desires other than being a mother. They have to repeat the mantra every morning:

"I am a bad mother, but I am learning to be good"

This is an emotional and heart wrenching story which will pull at your heartstrings.

Highly recommended if you enjoy dystopian novels.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

A truly harrowing tale, beautifully written. A thought-provoking horror story about a possible future for careless mothers. (And given the current political climate in the US, it didn't take much of a stretch to imagine it happening.) Even more worrying, what's considered "careless" could happen to any mother on any day.

It's thought-provoking, but also left me with my stomach clenched in a tight ball, which didn't make for a relaxing read. But it did make me think.

Harrowing and heartbreaking dystopian novel about the role of women in modern society, the double standards they encounter, and the rise of "big brother" and AI technology.

Shortly after their daughter is born, Frida discovers her husband is having an affair. She agrees not to ask for alimony in their divorce but then spends her time with her daughter also trying to juggle working from home so she can keep her job.

One particularly bad day, Frida is beyond exhausted from her daughter's continuing illness which prevents her from sleeping, when she discovers she has left an important document at work. The decisions she makes that day have devastating consequences for the rest of her life.

Her ex-husband and his new partner do not backup her claims about her daughter's sleep, as by this time she has recovered, and in any case, there are two of them to handle everything whereas Frida is far away from any friends or family who could support her and is also struggling financially after having left her job and moving away from New York to support her husband's career.

Happening at a time when social services are under heightened scrutiny, Frida finds herself enrolled in a residential program which seeks to re-educate mothers with the assistance of incredibly lifelike robot dolls which also record their every moment.

Not only do the instructors have a dated idea of a woman's role within the home, the way men and women are treated during their training and the expectations placed on them are poles apart, as is the perceived value of having the father rather than the mother in the child's life.

This is by no means an easy read. The process quickly spirals out of proportion, and within all the seemingly scientific data, the results and their interpretations are inevitably coloured by individual attitudes and preconceptions. Whilst we can't condone Frida's behaviour, we are forced to consider how relatively small transgressions could lead to dire consequences, how trying to do the right thing by other people and with good intentions can backfire, and how our fate can be drastically altered by our sex and race.

I was a bit apprehensive about this book as it seems to have a ton of bad reviews on Goodreads. However, whilst it's certainly not perfect, I actually enjoyed reading it and kept thinking about it when I wasn't reading it.

Frida leaves her toddler daughter Harriet alone in the house whilst she pops to get a coffee and to work. Someone reports her to the CPS which starts a spiral of removed custody, court cases and ultimately ends in Frida being sentenced to a year in a school to learn how to be a good mother.

The main problem with the book, I think, is that it's very difficult to sympathise with Frida as what she did was wrong. You can't just leave your toddler alone in the house because you've had enough. So she did deserve some sort of punishment, just not to this extreme level.

The other main issue is that this is dystopian fiction, the rules of this world are different to ours, but it's never explained why a mother's rights can be removed so easily and how this school exists. I kept wondering why Harriet's father Gust didn't make more of a fuss that the mother of his child was sent away for a year and unable to have any contact with Harriet other than a couple of video calls.

There were a few other things I found annoying but I still found myself wanting to pick it up, and having a little cry at the end. The main character is very difficult to warm to, and the book feels very long. I think that's because it's sole focus is the school and the lessons, it would have been nice to have had a different perspective throughout the story, perhaps from Gust showing how Harriet was handling the separation.

I seemed to have just listed everything I don't like about this book and I don't think I'd recommend it really. But it hasn't put me off Jasmine Chan's writing, I'll be looking out for what she does next.

The download date was unfortunately missed, I would be happy to re-review if it became available again. I have awarded stars for the book cover and description as they both appeal to me. I would be more than happy to re-read and review if a download becomes available. If you would like me to re-review please feel free to contact me at thesecretbookreview@gmail.com or via social media The_secret_bookreview (Instagram) or Secret_bookblog (Twitter). Thank you.

This book was a hit and a miss for me. It sounded great but it just fell flat. I did not like any of the mother's but had compassion for what was going on for them in their individual lives. It was an ok book but it didn't grip me at all.

Everything about this book gave me Handmaids Tale vibes and that being a favourite of mine I went in with high expectations. And whilst I still believe this story has potential in its current incarnation it fell short.

My main issue is that there seems to be little remorse from the main characters. I acknowledge that their punishment was extreme but due to the characters complete lack of responsibility nor acceptance that their actions were wrong in the first place I really struggled to emphasise with their situation.

I am also confused as to the angle Chan was trying to pitch this story, was it the unrealistic expectations of mothers? If so why were the characters terrible mothers? Was it the unequal treatment of mothers of colour within the child welfare system? If so why were these only hinted at through secondary characters? Was it the difference between working class mothers and those with more affluence? Again why then was the main character only choosing to live a more difficult life through her own pride, there is many references to her parenting ability to provide for her.

Finally the linear timeline the book is written created a flat reading experience, I wonder if it would have worked better in an dual timeline jumping from the school back to explain how she arrived there. There was a distinct lack of cliff hangers in its current form. Frieda was at the school for a year and boy did that year drag!

I dislike writing negative reviews and this one particular has left a sour taste in my mouth because as I said I can see the potential in Frieda’s story. It is hard work being a mum and we do have such crushing expectations placed on us daily but this just didn’t capture that and left me disappointed I’m sorry.

Thank you for the ARC in view of an honest review.

I loved this book and I knew I would before I even started reading. I have a real thing for dystopian fiction where mothers are oppressed and controlled so yeah, this book was sort of written for me! ha ha...
Frida, along with all other mothers are constantly monitored and assessed by the Government. Talk about stressful right?! After a minor slip up Frida is placed in a Government run 'school' where she will be taught how to 'be a good mother' and will have to pass all assessments or face losing her Daughter forever.
The writing of the whole situation is very cold, clinical and emotionless which from reviews it looks like some other readers struggled to connect with, however, I felt the opposite way. It gave me really creepy, numb vibes. As if the whole thing is so overwhelming that Frida had to switch off her emotions just to survive. At times you can just feel her sliding down into nothingness where her hope is so destroyed she feels like nothing she does matters.
And let's not even talk about the freaky as f*** life like dolls that the school gives to the mothers to practice on. Jeez, it sends a cold shiver through me just mentioning them briefly.
Overall this was a fantastic dystopian and I highly recommend it

The School for Good Mothers is a science-fiction book aimed at adult women. This novel leans fully into the popular 'unhinged women' trope. The result is a highly-dislikable protagonist who the reader never fully becomes invested in and is unable to root for. While her unfiltered thoughts are presented on the page and an attempt is made for you to become empathetic towards her - it just doesn't work. Because of this removal of care, I found that I struggled through The School For Good Mothers. There was lots of potential for this novel and while I did enjoy the overall concept (the school, the robots) I thought the execution fell flat.

“I am a bad mother, but I am learning to be good”

A world where any misstep in mothering (or fathering) can allow the state to take your children and confine you in a re-education centre until your parenting is up to scratch.

Frida is a single mother, raising her child after her husband leaves her for a younger woman. Overworked, depressed, sleep-deprived and desperate Frida is reported to the authorities when she leaves her toddler alone for two hours. Frida must complete a course at the School for Good Mothers to have a chance of retaining any parental rights over her daughter. There are elements of Never Let Me Go in the uncanny setting of the School with the clone-like staff and the frankly chilling dolls as well as the dystopian setting only slightly removed from our own world.

Chan has created a powerful tale about motherhood. She doesn’t gloss over the fact that some people are bad parents, they can be deliberately cruel and neglectful even abusive but many they can also be exhausted, stressed, poorly-educated, isolated or discriminated against leading to poor choices and a lack of options. She asks questions about a pitiless system that accepts no extenuating circumstances, that has the same demands of everyone regardless of their situation, that always demands perfection and punishes anything less. There are mothers from all walks of life at the school but minority ethnic groups, immigrants and migrants and lower-class women are deliberately overrepresented to emphasise their additional challenges and barriers.

I personally loved the fact that what Frida did (her “very bad day”) wasn’t immediately excusable. In that moment, in those two hours, she was patently not a “good mother”, but this is what makes Chan’s questions really hit home. In her world only perfect mothers are good mothers, where do we draw the line? Where do we allow regret and rehabilitation?

The concept of the story intrigued me. I enjoyed the way the author wrote, accessible and emotive. Immediately the author made us feel for Frida and all the other mother's in their situation, I liked the way that she highlighted that some of the mother's were in the school for trivial things whilst others were there for more serious actions. I was hooked and couldn't stop reading, always wanting to know how else the instructors would torture Frida in the name of being a better mother.
I think this is a story that would resonate with anyone, it's interesting how she included many different issues not only racism and sexism, but also the treatment of father's and how there is a double standard when it comes to parenting and the punishments they are given.
All in all I would recommend this book.

love dystopian fiction and is one of the best! This was such a chilling disturbing read and I couldn't put it down. This book reminded me in places of A Handmaid's Tale and I was desperately hoping Frida would get her daughter back. I would have liked a longer less abrupt ending but overall a great read that I would highly recommend. Thank you to the publishers for this ecopy to review.

One of my books of 2022 for sure- The School for Good Mothers is a brutal take on the cult of appropriate motherhood, putting your child above all your own needs, being hyper vigilant to any and all possibilities, and what could happen if you dont meet the standard. Its a harrowing story of not being heard, of trying to meet unobtainable and changing standards, being constantly judged and of how men and women are treated differently in parenthood as in so many other things. I couldnt stop talking about it or recommending it to people, it is unbelievably good.

Frida is struggling; her husband left her after their baby Harriet was born and started a new relationship with a younger woman; she's finding it hard to bond with her daughter, work is pressuring her, her parents are getting older - lots of worries. She makes a really bad choice - she leaves her young child alone in the house for 3 hours, whilst she goes and picks up some work from the office.

A neighbour reports her and from then on, her life completely changes. Harriet is sent to live with her father permanently whilst the state monitors Frida for six months - cameras are installed in her apartment, all emails and conversations are tracked, her movements logged, everything. Frida is completely contrite, she knows she's done wrong and tries to show this but after six months, a judge decides they're not convinced that she's fit to look after her daughter without 'retraining' and she is sent to 'The School for Good Mothers' for a year, a new state initiative to re-educate failing mothers in how to be better. Some of her cohort were violent or abusive to their child, whilst others have been reported simply for letting their child walk round the block - nothing happened to the child but the mother had been reported on the basis of 'what if?'
The story follows Frida and the other mothers through their year at the School, what they are taught and how they are taught is fascinatingly bleak. Oh and the ending.....

Brilliant brilliant brilliant.

I would never have called myself a fan of dystopian fiction, but have been surprised how much I have enjoyed a couple of books in the genre, and the premise of this book sounded intriguing, with failing mothers having their children taken away and being sent to an institution to learn how to be a "good mother". It started off promisingly but after some initial jaw-dropping moments the story slowed down for me and became all too repetitive and I found myself less and less engaged. I ploughed on, but when it it finally got more interesting, it came all too quickly to an abrupt end. Great idea, just didn't quite work for me.

Whilst dystopian books aren’t my usual genre I’ve read and loved several speculative fiction/dystopian in the past so when The School for Good Mothers was reduced to 99p AND Richard & Judy selected this as one of their Winter Book choices I downloaded it and started to read it with 9 online friends as a buddy read.

Firstly I am a really fast reader and initially we agreed to stop after the first 10 chapters to discuss. I started the book and after quite a long time I realised I was only at chapter 2… this book has such long chapters that we then agreed to stop at chapter 5 due the the extreme length of each chapter.

Our first discussion was.. oooh interesting… fascinating idea… imagine being taken away from your children for being a bad parent… let’s all read the next 5 chapters and chat online in a few days.

Second chat…ooh creepy… ohhh scary…. Let’s finish the book as we are now over halfway.

1 buddy then dropped out.. and slowly each member admitted to skim reading certain parts… but being not me…oh no I was determined to read it it’s in entirety….

Was there going to be a twist, was something interesting going to happen? Will this book pick up the pace? Will I understand why R&J picked this book?

No, no, no and no are my answers.

Never have I felt quite so underwhelmed at the end. The only positive thing I can say is that once I finished it I was able to start a new book.

I don’t like giving negative reviews, but I can’t actually find any positives about this book. I didn’t like any of the characters. I didn’t particularly enjoy the writing, the chapters were far too long and it was repetitive.

The blurb sounded great but I gave up at 50%. Thought it was far fetched Abad to be honest rubbish, sorry not for me at all

Frida leaves her daughter home alone for a couple of hours and gets sent to school to learn how to parent again.

I‘m giving this 3 stars as it was certainly a page-turner, although there was a lot I didn‘t like. It‘s billed as dystopia, which it is, and there was a lot that felt like it could really happen. However there was no set-up as to how this point had been reached, and everything else in the world, other than the school seemed just like today‘s world.

It was also unrelentingly depressing and a bit repetitive in places. I‘m glad I read it though, and think it would make a great book club discussion. 1w