The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

by Hannah Harvey

Overview & Summary

Imagine this: you're scrolling on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, etc. to come across a video or post of a mother with their child. Everything seems fine on the surface, until you open the comments. Babies should only be eating organic, whole foods! Children shouldn't have access to iPads. Why don't their toys have more color? Don't you put your kid down for bed at a decent time? Your kids' clothes are too mature for their age! Even beyond the seemingly-endless expanse of social media, you've probably seen tips for mothers in one format or another. Maybe you've seen them on a random blog post, in the Lifestyle section of the newspaper, or even in a dusty box in the attic where your mom keeps all your newborn items. It seems the world just can't get away from analyzing the "best" methods of parenting, especially as it's targeted towards mothers. But what would happen if this judgment extended beyond verbal scrutiny? That's the idea Jessamine Chan tackles her 2022 The School for Good Mothers, as she illustrates a world where mothers aren't just scrutinized, but stripped from their title as a parent while they attend a school designated to making them the best, most textbook-style mother. 

The book follows Frida, a Chinese-American mother who struggles with the frenzy and stress of everyday life. After putting her daughter, Harriet, into a bouncy chair while she goes to another room, and several minutes turns into several hours, she returns to find that her daughter has been taken into the custody of her ex-husband. She's given a choice: she can either relinquish all custodial rights to her ex, or she can attend a year-long "reform" school for mothers. At the school, Frida is forced to parent AI-powered robot dolls, doing everything with them as she'd have to do with her own daughter, Harriet. Whether it be playdates, potty training, or feedings, Frida's every move is watched by the government. And if she makes a mistake? According to a Columbia Magazine review by Rebecca Shapiro, she must recite the lines: "I am a bad mother, but I am learning to be good." Or, even worse, "I am a narcissist. I am a danger to my child."  

The Perfect Mother: An Impossible Standard

The novel, while inherently dystopian, explores the important idea of motherhood in contemporary society, where mothers often face heavy criticism for not following strict, arbitrary guidelines. A review by Jayme Lemke writes that "the most chilling part of the narrative is how easy it is to imagine a path towards such a future." Chan's story draws into question a system that already exists today, and how it defines what a mother should be. She questions the dynamic between mothers and fathers, which suffers from an extreme imbalance as a result of gender stereotypes. In the novel, these expectations are both set and heavily enforced by an institutional authority. For Frida and the other women attending the school, their worth becomes defined not by their individual personalities, needs, or desires, but by how well they can excel at meeting requirements. The punishment Frida faces for a lack of perfection satirizes common criticism faced by mothers today, whose identities become dampened by the weight of conforming to societal norms. 

Another key contributor to the conversation of gender in the novel comes from the perceived "naturalness" associated with motherhood. For the mothers in the story, their ability to nurture is seen as instinctual rather than an active choice. Because of this assumption, they are demeaned and devalued as individuals. The ideal of a "perfect" mother is identified as maintaining a sense of obedience, self-sacrifice, and unwavering restraint. In feminizing these traits, their success is corroborated by a patriarchal system built on suppressing their agency while giving leeway to fathers. Shapiro writes, "Notably, there is a father’s section of the school, and their path back to custody seems clearer; their mistakes are more easily forgiven, and even minor efforts they make with their dolls are acknowledged and praised." Thus, Chan is not only criticizing unrealistic standards imposed on mothers, but the gendered power structures that divide parenthood. 

Big Brother, Meet Mommy

Many of the dystopian themes present in the novel are ones we can observe in a variety of other movies, novels, TV shows, etc. The book is frequently compared to Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale for its depiction of entrapment within motherhood. While not as vastly different from our world as other dystopian texts, governmental control of a people is highlighted through the surveillance experienced by Frida in the reform school. The mothers aren't only watched by cameras throughout the facility, but also by the AI-powered dolls they're forced to take care of. This extends beyond simple observation, as the dolls are able to detect any emotion on the mothers' faces. If they display any sort of unhappiness, dissatisfaction, stress, or disassociation, they receive punishment. Thus, Chan's world exudes a typical, yet valuable theme of entrapment that both resembles and distorts our current reality. While the story stays grounded in a slightly-near future America, the elements of bureaucratic control elevates the novel to a unique kind of dystopia. 

Reviews & Closing Thoughts

This novel would make a great addition to a course on gender and dystopia. From its commentary on the experience of motherhood, to the strict, borderline Big Brother-type surveillance mothers experience both in and out of the reform school, there is certainly much to dissect in a classroom setting. Plus, it's critically acclaimed and a New York Times bestseller! Below are some snippets from different reviews on the book, and a link to a trailer for the book posted by Penguin Books. 

"This book is a horror story so potent it will fill even the most diligent parent with an itchy impulse to panic-clean, to straighten up, to act like someone’s watching." -Kate Knibbs, WIRED

"A mother reading it doesn’t close the book, sigh, and think, Thank god the world’s not really like this. No, she closes it and knows she must be very careful." -Kate Knibbs, WIRED

"The instructors are looking for perfection. But of course, no human is capable of it, and Chan captures brilliantly the mommy-shaming culture that — even in the real world, with no robot dolls in sight — makes perfection seem not just possible but expected." -Rebecca Shapiro, Columbia Magazine

Works Cited

Knibbs, Kate. “Dystopia Is All Too Plausible in ‘the School for Good Mothers.’” Wired, Conde Nast, 24 Jan. 2022, www.wired.com/story/school-for-good-mothers-dystopian-reality/.

Lemke, Jayme. “Social Control at the School for Good Mothers.” Econlib, 11 Apr. 2024, www.econlib.org/social-control-at-the-school-for-good-mothers/.

Shapiro, Rebecca. “Review: The School for Good Mothers.” Columbia Magazine, magazine.columbia.edu/article/review-school-good-mothers. Accessed 10 Dec. 2025.