Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn

9 reviews

eclecticreadswithash's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

💬 "To Patsy, who hasn't dreamed in years, America is a coffin." 

WOW! More people should know about this book!! 

Patsy, a Jamaican woman, gets a visa to America, longing to be with her childhood friend and crush Cicely. In doing so, she leaves her five-year-old daughter, Tru, behind. What follows is a beautifully written, nuanced story of immigration, motherhood, and growing up feeling unwanted. It smoothly alternatives between Patsy and her undocumented life in New York, and Tru still in Jamaica trying to get by without her mother. 

This book was gut punch after gut punch. I was truly in awe of everything that Patsy and Tru went through. It didn't leave me always rooting for Patsy and I think that's really important. Patsy's decisions were never easy, but that also doesn't make her a good person. 

It's an incredibly relevant story to tell today with immigration being such a hot topic and I'd encourage anyone to give it a try. It will stick with you for a while! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm

Moderate: Body shaming, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

missmarguerita's review against another edition

dark emotional funny informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Grief, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Classism, and Deportation

nefariousbee's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

this was such a surprise. I picked it almost randomly for a reading challenge and it grabbed me by the heart and squeezed until my chest hurt before I could realize what was happening.
I ugly cried. I relate to Patsy and Cicely's story and seeing the culmination broke something in me. my heart doesn't let go either. and this was a very painful reminder of that.
above all, this books is so honest about so many *ugly* things. the reality of being undocumented, the illusion of ingrained motherhood, the social pressure on queerness. I appreciate the book for all of that so much.
it's not an easy read, but it's one that stays with you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Transphobia, Blood, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Gun violence, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Deportation

yuyuv's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Abortion, and Alcohol

radfordmanor's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

emmalange102's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Abandonment

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Blood, Abortion, and Alcohol

bookishandlegal's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

This is a beautifully written, character driven story about a woman immigrating to the US from Jamaica and the daughter she leaves behind. There is really great, but also somewhat subtle, LGBT rep. The descriptions from both Patsy and Tru of depression are so good and relatable. Even though I don’t have anywhere near the same struggles as either of these characters, the descriptions of darkness hovering over your shoulder and the actions/feelings that come along with it really hit home for me. 

This was a slow paced, primarily character driven story. I usually love character driven stories but parts of this one really dragged for me and it was hard to get into. I think I was in a weird headspace and had I read this at a different time it would have been an easy 5 stars for me. But I found the beginning half of the book really slow and I was finding myself sloughing through it and forcing myself to read it. The chapters generally got shorter after the first third or so of the book and that definitely helped me feel like I was reading faster. The switching perspectives between Patsy and Tru (US and Jamaica) also worked really well and kept the story engaging. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and would definitely recommend it! Especially for fans of character driven, slower plot stories. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Body shaming, Homophobia, Miscarriage, and Sexual content

sophieh's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Death of parent

rachaeldamms's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt