Finally, a book that once I finished reading it* I wanted to talk about it with everyone. There’s a bit of dystopia—okay, I suppose the whole premise is dystopian—but it is so real and raw that it could be happening in Somewhere, USA and once leaked to the public, we wouldn’t be surprised.
*Let’s be real, while I was still reading it.
My book cover of The School for Good Mothers has a quote from Vogue referring to it as similar to Margaret Atwood and Kazuo Ishiguro, and that is possibly the best way to describe this book. What I envy most about Chan’s writing is that she knows—really, really knows—Frida, her protagonist. The characters are strongly built, realistic, and they are given with circumstances with realistic outcomes, despite their semi-Sci-Fi surroundings.
Once I got into it* I flew through to the ending.
*The first 3-5 chapters of any book are historically rough for me to get through.
My only negative comment about this book was when I tried to bring it into reality, the could this really happen question. There were a few loop holes in the logistics of it all that came to life the day I began taking Lance through the entire plot.
But, even still…and this might be wrong, but…I don’t care—I loved it. Maybe because, the way I see it, so long as the writing is strong, fiction can be flawed. There can be aspects that make you ponder aloud, But, how would this work and Could that have really happened that way? And What about XYZ?
You got to the point of talking about it and discovered some flaws? Worth it.
Here are my favorite quotes:
“Her baby was healthy. Her healthy baby will grow up to have a healthy mind. Better and purer than he mother’s. She has Harriet’s future to consider now. The girl she can become if her mother is living, the girl she’ll never be if her mother takes her own life.”
“In this light, no one would be able to tell that they’re losing hope. That they’re dangerous women. Women who can’t control themselves. Who don’t know the right way to love.”
“Only you girls these days think and think and think. I didn’t have time to do that. That is a luxury. I couldn’t get emotional. I had to work.”
Rating: 4/5
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