Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn

53 reviews

friendlypoet's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Homophobia

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

zoenelson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-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

A beautiful book exploring the intersectionality of themes related to poverty, gender, sexuality, immigration, trauma, family, and grief. Check the trigger warnings for your own well-being. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Blood, and Abortion

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

bookwormdystopian2's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

Moderate: Racism

emalinehoward's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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: Self harm, Sexual violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Homophobia

arisol's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

For a novel that I picked up without a direct recommendation, I enjoyed this tremendously. The storyline gripped me and the characters touched me in a way that I didn't expect. I so appreciate the way the emotions and their specific relationship with mental health are described, so subtle while obvious in their descriptions for what they represent. I can tell so much heart and soul went into the novel in a way I appreciate immensely and makes me want to read more by this author.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Self harm, Transphobia, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

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

thelaurasaurus's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

Following the story of Patsy, an undocumented immigrant in New York, and her daughter, Tru, left with her father and his wife in Jamaica, this book isn’t an easy read but it is an engaging one. It shows life in all it’s messiness. 

 

I enjoyed the way in which the story developed, with snippets of backstory being shared every now and then, adding a completely different element to something which I thought I had understood. Because of this, I found that my feelings about Patsy and her behaviour changed as the book progressed. 

 

Another thing which I appreciated was the depth of most of the characters - with a couple of exceptions (maybe just one), I don’t think any of them can be considered entirely good or entirely bad. Some of them do terrible things, but also have redeeming qualities. 

 

The book raised a lot of questions for me about the immigrant (and specifically undocumented immigrant) life and status. I think this was exacerbated by Cicely’s character feeling underdeveloped for me. We very rarely hear her voice, so most of what we learn is through what Patsy reads into a situation. It’s clear what Patsy expected to happen when she got to the US, but what did Cicely think was going to happen? In a book which ties most things up quite neatly at the end (which I loved), I didn’t ever feel like I got closure on this. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Miscarriage and Pregnancy

laurenw22's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful reflective medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Miscarriage

filmnoirz's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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

3.75

this covers so many topics and issues prevalent in jamaican culture- and hit me and my mommy issues right in the gut.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Xenophobia

Moderate: Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Racism