It's here! Browse the 2024 Penguin Christmas gift guide
The School for Good Mothers

The School for Good Mothers

‘Will resonate with fans of Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere’ ELLE

Summary

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
AN OBAMA'S 2022 SUMMER READING PICK
A 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' TELEGRAPH


Frida 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 mothers in particular' METRO

Reviews

  • A remarkable, propulsive novel
    Vogue

About the author

Jessamine Chan

Jessamine Chan's short stories have appeared in Tin House and Epoch. A former reviews editor at Publishers Weekly, she holds an MFA from Columbia University's School of the Arts and a BA from Brown University. She lives in Chicago with her husband and daughter. This is her first novel.

Instagram: @jessamine.chan
Twitter: @jessaminechan
Website: jessaminechan.com
Learn More

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more