The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan 

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 — ones 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, Frida must prove that she can live up to the standards set for mothers — that she can learn to be good. 

So right out of the gate, this is not an easy book. The subject matter is intense. The setting is slightly in the future, but so close to what we have in the present; it could be described as taking place in the distant tomorrow. 

The story itself seems to take place in the here an now, if slightly heightened. Until, that is, Frida is taken to a facility to rehabilitate her into a better mother. From then on, the book diverges wildly from the world we know. 

And yet. 

It also seems to narrow in on aspects of parenting culture that exist in the now. I can’t get into too many more details as this is a farce aimed at the demands made on parents (particularly mothers), as well as the lack of support they are given to fulfill these demands. The details are what cut deep. But I can say that in contrast to the difficult content, the writing itself is eminently readable. I found myself able to pick it up and breeze through a few chapters before I even knew how far I’d gotten. So if you are worried about the content being a bit too heavy, know that you can probably read this book in smaller, manageable bite-size sections without losing the flow of the narrative. And while I don’t think “enjoy” is quite the appropriate word for this one, I hope that you all read it and it stays with you after you’re done. 

Review by Adam

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki

Trigger Warnings: The book talks of miscarriage, slut-shaming, and attempted suicide. 

Every summer, Rose goes with her mom and dad to a lake house in Awago Beach. It’s their getaway, their refuge. Rosie’s friend Windy is always there, too, like the little sister she never had. But this summer is different. Rose’s mom and dad won’t stop fighting, and when Rose and Windy seek a distraction from the drama, they find themselves with a whole new set of problems. It’s a summer of secrets and sorrow and growing up, and it’s a good thing Rose and Windy have each other. 

This One Summer is a quiet book. Rather than having an action-packed plot affecting our main characters, most of the action is observed rather than experienced by our protagonists, Rose and Windy. All about growing up female, the book focuses on that pivotal summer between childhood and adulthood, where our main characters start to experience for the first time in their lives glimpses of the darker side of adulthood that awaits them as women. I also loved the color choice of blue for the book. It gives me a sense of nostalgia but also loss, a big theme in the book. The book was originally drawn in black and white, but the authors decided to print the book in blue. If you’re interested in graphic novels, contemporaries, coming-of-age books, and introspective books, check this one out.