The novel concerns a woman, Frida, who is sentenced to a period at an experimental facility intended to rehabilitate mothers accused of even minor parenting infractions.

[2] Two articles published in The New Yorker, one by Rachel Aviv concerning a mother's experience with family courts, and a second by Margaret Talbot about an effort in Providence to close the "word gap", both informed Chan as she wrote the story.

[1][3] The novel includes a large cast of characters, and Chan found creating unique, full-fledged personalities for the mothers at the titular facility "quite challenging".

"[8] The School for Good Mothers has received comparisons, due to its subject matter and thematic content, to the novel The Handmaid's Tale by Canadian author Margaret Atwood.

[11] Through her production company, Freckle Films, actress and producer Jessica Chastain purchased the rights to adapt the novel as a television series.