Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn

23 reviews

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

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

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

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, Suicide attempt, Self harm, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Pregnancy and Miscarriage

shoshthemost's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Lesbophobia, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy

Minor: Classism

gidget_selby's review

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual assault

Moderate: Abortion, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Suicidal thoughts

jinxedbooks's review against another edition

Not for me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Self harm, Rape, and Abandonment

radfordmanor's review

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

bluberrybooks's review

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Transphobia

Moderate: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racism, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, and Child abuse

Minor: Animal death and Miscarriage

juliastern__'s review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Self harm, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Homophobia, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcohol, Miscarriage, Adult/minor relationship, Dysphoria, Bullying, Transphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Racism, Child abuse, Classism, Violence, and Mental illness

Minor: Abortion

onemorepagecrew's review against another edition

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

4.0

In Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn, we meet the protagonist of the same name and witness two of her journeys; one is her physical journey from a fictional city in Jamaica to New York City, and the second is her emotional journey between mother and individual person in this world.  Initially Patsy immigrates to the U.S. to be with her dear friend and once romantic partner, Cicely, and she leaves behind a young daughter, Tru.  The story splits from here and we follow Patsy’s life in NYC and Tru’s life in Jamaica, living with her father.  Both are struggling to understand their feelings for each other and their own identities, with very little communication between them.  

 

This novel was a very slow read for me, intentionally, so I could sit with the characters and try to understand them and not judge their choices (always my goal with books really, some just need more intention).  The writing is beautiful and evokes feelings – not always positive – for the characters.  It shines a light on a tough fact that many don’t want to hear – that motherhood and womanhood are not always working in partnership.  In this book, you witness them in conflict.  Patsy can’t seem to make them line up and she chooses her needs above all, with rippling effects for those around her.  It’s an emotional and deep read and if you like sinking into a book that’s very character-driven, this is an excellent choice.  

 

Content warnings: Abandonment, Self-harm, Homophobia, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Miscarriage, Alcoholism 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Racism, Self harm, and Homophobia

Moderate: Sexual assault, Miscarriage, Alcoholism, and Child abuse

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