A Read with JennaTodayShow Book Club Pick In this taut and explosive debut novel, one lapse in judgement lands a young mother in a government reform program where custody of her child hangs in the balance. Frida Liu is struggling. She doesn't have a career worthy of her Chinese immigrant parents' sacrifices. She can't persuade her husband, Gust, to give up his wellness-obsessed younger mistress. Only with Harriet, their cherubic daughter, does Frida finally attain the perfection expected of her. Harriet may be all she has, but she is just enough. Until Frida has a very bad day. The state has its eyes on mothers like Frida. The ones who check their phones, letting their children get injured on the playground; who let their children walk home alone. Because of one moment of poor judgment, a host of government officials will now determine if Frida is a candidate for a Big Brother-like institution that measures the success or failure of a mother's devotion. Faced with the possibility of lo
Selected as One of Barack Obama's Summer 2022 Reading List Picks! In this New York Times bestseller and Today show Read with Jenna Book Club Pick, one lapse in judgement lands a young mother in a government reform program where custody of her child hangs in the balance, in this "surreal" (People), "remarkable" (Vogue), and "infuriatingly timely" (The New York Times Book Review) debut novel. Frida Liu is struggling. She doesn't have a career worthy of her Chinese immigrant parents' sacrifices. She can't persuade her husband, Gust, to give up his wellness-obsessed younger mistress. Only with Harriet, their cherubic daughter, does Frida finally attain the perfection expected of her. Harriet may be all she has, but she is just enough. Until Frida has a very bad day. The state has its eye on mothers like Frida. The ones who check their phones, letting their children get injured on the playground; who let their children walk home alone. Because of one moment of poor judgement, a host of gove
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERAN OBAMA'S 2022 SUMMER READING PICKA BETWEEN THE COVERS NOVEMBER 2022 PICK'Will resonate with fans of Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere' ELLE'Destined to be a feminist classic - kept me up at night' PANDORA SYKES'The Handmaid's Tale for the Squid Game generation' TELEGRAPHFrida Liu had fed and changed her toddler Harriet. She had a work deadline - an article to finish, a job hanging by a thread, a file she'd left in the office. She would go get it.Harriet would be fine. But then the neighbours heard her crying. Soon, the state will decide that Frida is not fit to care for her daughter.That she must be re-trained. That bad 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, perfectionism and parenthood.A riveting, thought-provoking read' DAILY MAIL'A remarkable, propulsive novel' VOGUE'A portrait of our fanatical culture of judgement against women, and
In this taut and explosive debut novel, one lapse in judgement lands a young mother in a government reform program where custody of her child hangs in the balance. Frida Liu is struggling. She doesn't have a career worthy of her Chinese immigrant parents' sacrifices. What's worse is she can't persuade her husband, Gust, to give up his wellness-obsessed younger mistress. Only with their angelic daughter Harriet does Frida finally feel she's attained the perfection expected of her. Harriet may be all she has, but she's just enough. Until Frida has a horrible day. The state has its eyes on mothers like Frida--one's who check their phones while their kids are on the playground; who let their children walk home alone; in other words, mothers who only have one lapse of judgement. Now, a host of government officials will determine if Frida is a candidate for a Big Brother-like institution that measures the success or failure of a mother's devotion. Faced with the possibility of losing Harriet
