This is a novel that is going to stay with me. It is an eerie dystopian take on the system and it's "help and support" to "rehabilitate" parents. Specifically, the book focuses on mother's and retraining them to be better - in a year-long prison-esque setting. The women are sentenced by family court judges, and their performance will determine whether or not they'll be reunified with their child(ren). There's a school for the father's as well, and we see glimpses of the differences in the way men and women are held to completely different standards. There's also significant commentary on race and how that plays a role in the way society and our government view moms.

As someone who dedicated my career to working with youth "in the system," I can tell you the parallels to the real world "system" exists. Obviously, this is extreme in its dystopian nature, but damn... it's there. Kind of an IYKYK scenario.

There's a fair amount of conversation around the storytelling itself - a lot of readers didn't enjoy how "clinical" or "flat" it read. However, I felt this added to the story. To me, it actually added dimension to Frida in particular. It helped to demonstrate how hollow she felt.

Overall, I found this novel to be a well written commentary on mothering, government systems, and social justice. Infuriating and bleak, it's a book to read when you're looking for an adult dystopian novel that will have you questioning "what is the government capable of?". It is a book I can see myself reading again to gain further insight and make more connections.