Read With Jenna Book Club

The School for Good Mothers
By Jessamine Chan
Simon & Schuster, 9781982156121, January 4, 2022, 336pp.

The Short of It:

Loved this weird, quirky story about motherhood.

The Rest of It:

Frida leaves her toddler alone for a few hours and is reported to the authorities. Already struggling with her husband Gust leaving her for a younger woman, not able to find a career worthy or important enough to impress her parents, losing her child is the perfect ending to a very bad day.

But all is not lost because she has been sentenced to The School for Good Mothers. This school focuses on the basics of childcare, but gently builds to more complicated matters such as discipline, intent, empathy and the all important eye-contact and inflection and tone. And how is this accomplished? By assigning a life-like robot, or “doll” to each mother. One that requires the constant monitoring of the blue viscous goo that keeps them running. Failing to notice a rise in temperature, failure to change the doll’s fluid regularly, results in the loss of privileges such as phone calls home to her actual daughter, Harriet.

Frida, like most of the mothers in this school struggle with the idea of taking on a doll as their child. Let me tell you, these things are life-like and feel things. They express frustration and pain and it’s all recorded by the teachers and observers assigned to each mother. Data collection rarely points to the positives, but instead focuses on the one time Frida pinches her doll, leaving a permanent mark upon her form. The pressure to do well is palpable. Frida’s only goal is to get through it so she can get Harriet back but as she continues to lose her privileges, Harriet becomes more of a stranger as contact diminishes.

This was a surprise read for me. I am not sure what I expected but robotic dolls wasn’t it and yet I ate it up. Every word. It’s a strange story and very futuristic but if you compare it to today’s world, mothers are often given the short end of the stick when it comes to childcare. I really enjoyed Chan’s skill in regards to taking a reader through this experience without casting judgment on the parenting choices made.

Highly recommend but it isn’t a story to leave you all warm and fuzzy. It’s a little cold and sterile but I tend to like these kinds of reads.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Dear Edward
By Ann Napolitano
Dial Press Trade Paperback, 9781984854803, Feb 2021, 384pp.

The Short of It:

Young Edward is the sole survivor of a plane crash. His story is heartbreaking but hopeful too.

The Rest of It:

I knew a little about Dear Edward before starting it, but I wasn’t sure how Edward’s story would be told without it being too sad or depressing. I learned immediately that Edward was the sole survivor of a crash that killed 191 people including his mother, father, and brother, Jordan. The story is told in alternating chapters that take you from Edward’s current situation, to flashbacks of him on the plane. As the story progresses, those chapters taking place on the plane eventually lead up to the cause of the crash and the reactions of the passengers as it was happening.

This was an interesting way to tell this story. It allowed me to feel the sense of panic that everyone on that plane felt, but it was broken up into palatable pieces that you could digest without too much trouble. The sadness that Edward experiences is gently shared through his inability to sleep in his Aunt and Uncle’s house, his quiet reflection when asked to help one of the school administrator’s with a plant project, his close friendship with the young neighbor next door. His sadness can be felt in all the day-to-day interactions, especially the memories of his brother, Jordan.

So where does the hope come from? Without giving too much away, Edward is put into a position to help others and the way he goes about it, is touching. This was a nice way to move forward and to plan for the future which would be so uncertain to a young boy of 12.

I have seen some mixed reviews for this book. Many saying that they liked it but didn’t love it. I will say this, it holds you at arm’s length. Never going too deep into one part of the story and being very careful not to take you down too dark a path. I wouldn’t say the author chose to play it safe, it’s just how she chose to tell the story. Perhaps some of it was a little too convenient if hard to believe but this is a book where the “in-between” held my attention.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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