{"product_id":"9781668000335","title":"The School for Good Mothers","description":"\u003cb\u003eLonglisted for the \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ePEN\/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eLonglisted for the 2023 Carnegie Medal for Excellence\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eShortlisted for The Center for Fiction 2022 First Novel Prize\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eSelected as One of Barack Obama’s Favorite Books of 2022!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn this \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestseller and \u003ci\u003eToday \u003c\/i\u003eshow 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” (\u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e), “remarkable” (\u003ci\u003eVogue\u003c\/i\u003e), and “infuriatingly timely” (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e) debut novel.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrida 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.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eUntil Frida has a very bad day.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThe 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 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.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eFaced with the possibility of losing Harriet, Frida must prove that a bad mother can be redeemed. That she can learn to be good.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eAn “intense” (\u003ci\u003eOprah Daily\u003c\/i\u003e), “captivating” (\u003ci\u003eToday\u003c\/i\u003e) page-turner that is also a transgressive novel of ideas about the perils of “perfect” upper-middle class parenting; the violence enacted upon women by both the state and, at times, one another; the systems that separate families; and the boundlessness of love, \u003ci\u003eThe School for Good Mothers\u003c\/i\u003e introduces, in Frida, an everywoman for the ages. Using dark wit to explore the pains and joys of the deepest ties that bind us, Chan has written a modern literary classic.","brand":"Jessamine Chan","offers":[{"title":"S\u0026amp;S\/ Marysue Rucci Books |  Paperback \/ softback | Trade paperback (US) |  2022-01-04","offer_id":44150962651391,"sku":"9781668000335","price":24.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0329\/9075\/7001\/products\/BNCImageAPI_50489583-8eaf-4444-93be-06a154b88b31.jpg?v=1643079698","url":"https:\/\/riverbookshop.com\/products\/9781668000335","provider":"River Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}