The School for Good Mothers

By Jessamine Chan

Book Overview

Longlisted for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel and the Carnegie Medal for Excellence Shortlisted for The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize Selected as One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of the Year

In this New?York?Times bestseller and Today show Read with Jenna Book Club Pick, one lapse in judgment lands a young mother in a dystopian government reform program where custody of her child hangs in the balance, in this "surreal" (People), "remarkable" (Vogue), and "infuriatingly timely" (The New York Times Book Review) debut literary fiction novel.

Frida Liu, a hardworking Chinese American mother, is pushed to the edge. She doesn't live up to the expectations set by her immigrant parents or her wellness-obsessed husband. Only with Harriet--cherubic and beloved--does she find a measure of fulfillment...until she has a very bad day.

In this close-to-future dystopia, the state targets mothers like Frida: mothers who check their phones, let their children walk home alone, or make one parenting error. Because of one mistake, Frida is sent to a government-run institution--a Big Brother-style reform school for "good mothers," where every move is monitored, and even her love is judged.

For custody to be returned, she must prove that a flawed mother can be redeemed and learn to be "good." Filled with dark wit and emotional urgency, The School for Good Mothers is an intense, captivating novel that scrutinizes upper-middle-class parenting, systemic surveillance of women, and the violence exacted by both the state and one another. It offers a transgressive exploration of motherhood, resilience, guilt, and the force of love.

Using spare, compelling prose, Jessamine Chan crafts an unforgettable, modern classic that resonates with readers of The Handmaid's Tale and 1984, while centering a richly drawn woman navigating class, race, and motherhood under the gaze of an unyielding system.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1982156139
• ISBN13: 9781982156138
• Release Date: February 2023
• Publisher: 37 Ink
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.4" x 7.6"

Customer Reviews

Repetitive

Would you like to read a book where you dislike every single adult in the story? Then this is the novel for you. Yes, the protagonist makes a huge error in judgment and is sent to the “school.” There, your story becomes repetitive. She gets up, has a bad day at school with the doll, goes to bed in tears, repeats it the next day, and the next day, and the next. SPOILER ALERT: The ending was the same; instead of thinking of her child and others, she pulls another self-destructive, stupid stunt.

Creative and unsettling

I had no idea what this was about going into it so everything seemed so unpredictable. I loved this book; super creepy and incredibly creative. Not only was the plot gripping but nearly all the characters were interesting or entertaining.

Heart-rending

You know how sometimes you read a sci fi dystopia book and you think, "Hey, that looks like my house!" That was very much how I felt reading about the cameras set up in the main character's house. Reminded me far too much of things that have happened to mothers I know. This book tore me open. I wanted to kill characters in it brutally and mercilessly. This book will gut you and drive you to violence. Read it.