The School for Good Mothers: A Novel

3.5

Meh. I expected this book to be more captivating, a page-turner, and it didn’t do that for me. More of dystopian-like societal read, it was an interesting concept that I just felt missed the mark. It was just reading disappointment after disappointment, which I understand to be the premise to exaggerate the severity of the consequences for Frida. The ending was lackluster and just felt for as short as the book was, the chapters dragged on and was not leaving me eager to turn the page.

Wow. What a story. I can’t begin to express how much this book moved me and changed my mindset on parenting. I’m not a parent and never will be, but the efforts people put in to care for the ones they love are extraordinary. This is a story of resilience.

I read this with anticipation for a different ending. It’s was disturbing.

Just... wow. The writing in this book was ok. Everything else was truly terrible. To clarify - The premise was great. I liked the idea of the dystopian world in which mothers were taken for minor mistakes, and was prepared for a 1984-style novel, but it just didn't connect. The heartbreaking parts could have carried it, but fell flat and just felt depressing. There was a serious lack of explanation about how things got this way and why basically no one fights the system. It also just felt illogical and implausible, while also not quite connecting any dots or feelings. I was depressed for the main character, but didn't connect with her or truly feel for her. I almost put this book down about 10 times and only continued with the hope that the ending would save it - it did not. The ending was perhaps the worst part. Nothing was resolved, yet there was no real "cliff-hanger" either. It just sort of... ended.