Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn

19 reviews

moll_g's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.5

This is a challenging book that tackles a lot of heavy issues and made me feel a lot of things. I really enjoyed it overall but it can be very intense in parts. The characterisation and character development was very well done and I think that it being from two different perspectives worked really well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

Moderate: Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, and Pregnancy

Minor: Alcoholism, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, and Murder

ajdotcom's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

4.5

The emotions in this book really caught me off-guard. Taking place over 10+ years, it's a complicated and nuanced story of motherhood, the immigrant experience and queerness, told from the third-person points of view of Patsy, a Jamaican woman living in New York, and Tru, her daughter who she left in Jamaica. It took me a while to get into- although I think that says more about my being used to being catered to as a white reader from the Global North than it does about Dennis-Benn's writing- but the second half was absolutely breathtaking. From the 50% mark, I finished it in four days. I nearly cried near the end, and I couldn't put it down in my final reading session. I highly recommend- and I especially recommend sticking with it if you're finding it hard to get into at the start.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Homophobia, Miscarriage, Racism, and Sexual assault

The triggering content ramps up in the second half, with

flashbacks to child sexual abuse and a miscarriage, and a graphic suicide attempt.

The first half contains some descriptions of racism and depression.

lucyf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-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: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Xenophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, and Classism

keatynbergsten's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful sad slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

aaaaaaaaa's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

just fantastic. a beautifully queer story. perfect depiction of intergenerational family trauma. will be recommending this to everyone

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Abandonment

Moderate: Self harm

Minor: Suicide attempt

msennflinn's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Homophobia, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

kaleidoscope_heart's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Suicide

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, Physical abuse, and Transphobia

questingnotcoasting's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

 This had a slow start but after about 100 pages it really got under my skin, almost without me noticing. The dense description meant the energy of both New York and Pennyfield, Jamaica felt really vivid. All of the characters were complex but I found Patsy in particular really interesting. I was often conflicted about her, rooting for her but also hoping she'd make better decisions for the sake of her daughter Tru. It's a difficult read at times, about poverty, racism, trauma and guilt and ultimately I really appreciated the journey of both Patsy and Tru trying to find happiness against the odds, without compromising who they are. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, and Self harm

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Racism, and Sexual assault

tina94's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

• 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

Moderate: Mental illness