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The school for good mothers: a novel
(Book)

Book Cover
Average Rating
Published:
New York : Simon & Schuster, 2022.
Format:
Book
Edition:
First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.
Physical Desc:
324 pages ; 24 cm.
Status:
Description
Longlisted for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel
Longlisted for the 2023 Carnegie Medal for Excellence
Shortlisted for The Center for Fiction 2022 First Novel Prize
Selected as One of Barack Obama’s Favorite Books of 2022!

In this New York Times bestseller and Today show Read with Jenna Book Club Pick, one lapse in judgement lands a young mother in a 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 novel.

Frida Liu is struggling. She doesn’t have a career worthy of her Chinese immigrant parents’ sacrifices. She can’t persuade her husband, Gust, to give up his wellness-obsessed younger mistress. Only with Harriet, their cherubic daughter, does Frida finally attain the perfection expected of her. Harriet may be all she has, but she is just enough.

Until Frida has a very bad day.

The state has its eye on mothers like Frida. The ones who check their phones, letting their children get injured on the playground; who let their children walk home alone. Because of one moment of poor judgement, a host of government officials will now 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 a bad mother can be redeemed. That she can learn to be good.

An “intense” (Oprah Daily), “captivating” (Today) page-turner that is also a transgressive novel of ideas about the perils of “perfect” upper-middle class parenting; the violence enacted upon women by both the state and, at times, one another; the systems that separate families; and the boundlessness of love, The School for Good Mothers introduces, in Frida, an everywoman for the ages. Using dark wit to explore the pains and joys of the deepest ties that bind us, Chan has written a modern literary classic.
Also in This Series
Copies
Location
Call Number
Status
Last Check-In
Ashland Adult Fiction
CHAN
Available
Jan 10, 2024
Boulder Junction Adult Fiction
FIC CHA
Available
Dec 2, 2022
Hayward Adult And Young Adult Fiction
CHA
Available
Jun 8, 2023
Hurley Adult Fiction
F CHA
Available
Sep 12, 2023
Land O Lakes Adult Fiction
FIC CHA
Available
Jan 23, 2023
Madeline Island Adult Fiction
F CHA
Available
Aug 28, 2023
Presque Isle Adult Fiction
F Cha
Available
Jul 7, 2023
Sayner Adult Fiction
CHAN
Available
Jul 3, 2023
Spooner Adult Fiction
F CHA
Available
Sep 26, 2023
Superior Adult Fiction
FICTION Chan, Jessamine
Available
Jan 4, 2024
Washburn Adult Fiction
FIC CHA
Available
Feb 10, 2023
More Like This
Other Editions and Formats
More Details
Language:
English
ISBN:
1982156120, 9781982156121, 1982156139, 9781982156138

Notes

Description
"Set in near-future America, The School for Good Mothers introduces readers to a government-run reform program where bad mothers are retrained using robot doll children with artificial intelligence. Protagonist Frida Liu, a 39-year-old Chinese-American single mother in Philadelphia, loses custody of her 18-month-old daughter, Harriet, after she leaves Harriet home alone for two hours on one very bad day. To regain custody, Frida must spend a year at a newly-created institution, where she practices parenting with bad mothers from all over the county. There, she learns to love an uncannily life-like toddler girl doll in order to demonstrate her maternal instincts and prove to her family court judge that she deserves a second chance. Frida is an outsider in every way: better educated, more affluent, and the only Asian. The mothers, whose transgressions range from benign to horrific, are under constant surveillance. If they don't pass all the school's tests, their parental rights will be terminated. Inspired by dystopian classics such as 1984, Never Let Me Go, and The Handmaid's Tale, the novel eviscerates the dominant American parenting culture, while highlighting the tragedy of state-sponsored family separation. Is there one right way to mother? Can a bad mother ever be redeemed? With warmth, heart, and dark humor, the novel tells a timeless story of a mother fighting to win back her child, and her struggle to hold onto her integrity while being indoctrinated"--Provided by publisher.
Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Chan, J. (2022). The school for good mothers: a novel. First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition. New York, Simon & Schuster.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Chan, Jessamine. 2022. The School for Good Mothers: A Novel. New York, Simon & Schuster.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Chan, Jessamine, The School for Good Mothers: A Novel. New York, Simon & Schuster, 2022.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Chan, Jessamine. The School for Good Mothers: A Novel. First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition. New York, Simon & Schuster, 2022.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
Staff View
Grouped Work ID:
d908a191-c675-31b3-81d8-d3a6a50227e0
Go To GroupedWork

Record Information

Last Sierra Extract TimeMar 20, 2024 02:16:38 PM
Last File Modification TimeMar 20, 2024 02:17:09 PM
Last Grouped Work Modification TimeMar 28, 2024 04:42:22 AM

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