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The school for good mothers / a novel by Jessamine Chan.

Chan, Jessamine, (author.).

Summary:
"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.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9781982156121
  • ISBN: 1982156120
  • Physical Description: 324 pages ; 24 cm
  • Edition: First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.
  • Publisher: New York : Simon & Schuster, 2022.

Content descriptions

General Note:
"Read with Jenna"--Cover.
Subject: Chinese American women > Fiction.
Single mothers > Fiction.
Motherhood > Fiction.
Genre: Science fiction.
Dystopian fiction.

Available copies

  • 60 of 64 copies available at SPARK Libraries.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 64 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Albright Memorial Library SCI/FI CHAN (Text) 50686016126539 Adult Fiction Available -
Albright Memorial Library SCI/FI CHAN (Text) 50686016156858 Browsing Available -
Albright Memorial Library SCI/FI CHAN (Text) 50686016157005 Adult Fiction Available -
Altoona Area Public Library F CHA (Text) 33240004930312 Adult Fiction Available -
Bangor Public Library F CHA (Text) 75011000369246 Adult Fiction Available -
Bethel Tulpehocken Public Library CHA (Text) 33249024485801 Fiction Available -
Blossburg Memorial Library F CHA (Text) 30063000270134 Adult Fiction Available -
Boyertown Community Library CHA (Text) 33249024836144 Fiction Available -
Cambria County Library FICTION Cha (Text) 85131001825109 CACM Fiction Available -
Carbondale Public Library SCI/FI CHAN (Text) 50688010874221 Adult Fiction Available -

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250 . ‡aFirst Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.
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500 . ‡a"Read with Jenna"--Cover.
520 . ‡a"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"-- ‡cProvided by publisher.
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