'We have your daughter'
Frida Liu is a struggling mother. She remembers taking Harriet from her cot and changing her nappy. She remembers giving her a morning bottle. They'd been up since four am.
Frida just had to finish the article in front of her. But she'd left a file on her desk at work. What would happen if she retrieved it and came back in an hour? She was so sure it would be okay.
Now, the state has decided that Frida is not fit to care for her daughter. That she must be re-trained. Soon, mothers everywhere will be re-educated. Will their mistakes cost them everything?
The School for Good Mothers is an explosive and thrilling novel about love and the pressures of perfectionism, parenthood and privilege.
There is a good story buried here, a story that is scarily not far fetched or hard to believe. It could be a manual for certain parts of society; I have no doubt that some readers will be nodding along, agreeing that that's exactly the way mothers should act, that the actions of the school are entirely justified.
Sadly, a lot of the goodness is buried under repetativeness, a main character that I found annoying, and an irritatingly openended ending (a pet peeve of mine, but not of everyone's, I absolutely accept.)
The writing is skillful, and I did find myself very emotional at one point. Parts of Frida's experiences at the school were absolutely horrific. I can't say that I didn't enjoy this, because I did, in spots. The idea behind it was very clever and very well thought out. For me personally, it could have been better, but I definitely recommend it as a great read.
The School for Good Mothers publishes on the 3rd of March, 2022. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
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