Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

A Mother Must Never Look Away. A Good Mother Can Do Anything.

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

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Frida Liu is a 39 year old woman, recently divorced and co-parenting their 18-month old Harriet with ex husband Gust. On one of her custody days, Frida is dealing with days of insomnia and Harriet has an ear infection. In a burst of insomnia-fueled insanity, Frida puts Harriet into her bouncer and leaves to go get a cup of coffee. Then she remembers that she left an important document at the office, and so goes to get that. Then she has to answer some emails. […]

“I am a bad mother, but I’m learning to be good.”

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

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I first saw The School for Good Mothers (2022) by Jessamine Chan on Barack Obama’s list of recommended books–although I also saw it on NPR’s Best Books List. It seemed interesting, a little feminist, and a little subversive, so I was excited to read it.I first saw The School for Good Mothers (2022) by Jessamine Chan on Barack Obama’s list of recommended books–although I also saw it on NPR’s Best Books List. It seemed interesting, a little feminist, and a little subversive, so I was excited to read it. […]

Excellent Book Club Fodder

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

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CBR 14 Bingo – Font (for the font of knowledge you’d get from this amazing school for mothers! jk) This novel would be well suited for a book club – it’s accessible and easy to read, while also brimming with topics that groups (largely of women, often of mothers) enjoy debating. The book has a point of view, but it also leaves a lot of room for the reader to consider and interpret. The title begs the question – what is a “good” mother?  Is […]

I am a bad mother but I am learning to be good.

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

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CBR14 BINGO: Rec’d Square (Barack Obama’s Summer 2022 Reading List. And, just about everybody’s book club recommends this.) This is a really tough one to review without giving BIG plot points away. Proceed with caution. It’s easy to feel guilty when you’re a mother. When my son was born almost 7 weeks early, a social worker came to visit me in my hospital room while he was still in the NICU. From what I remember from that day 17 years ago, the social worker was kind […]

“I am a bad Mother, but I am learning to be good.”

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

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I finished this book several days ago, but I feel like I might need even more time to fully digest it. I think this review is going to be difficult to write, just because I’m still sorting through all of the feelings that the book brought up. Frida Liu is a struggling single mother, living in the near future in Philadelphia. She gave up her career to have her baby, Harriet. When her husband, Gust, leaves her shortly after Harriet’s birth, Frida is forced to […]



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