Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn

5 reviews

klawrence1206's review

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.0

The content was interesting and very thought provoking. The author has a beautiful style to her writing. But for me, parts were disjointed and jumped around between places and points in time. Her editors did an injustice to this book.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Lesbophobia, Infertility, Hate crime, Death of parent, Self harm, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Classism, Sexual content, Rape, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, and Child death

juliastern__'s review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad slow-paced

5.0

---

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

sikah42's review

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

Being from the Caribbean, its refreshing to read a book with actual creole in it. It made me so excited to read those parts and made me feel closer to home. I felt seen.
Patsy is a very complicated woman having gone through so much trauma at such a young age, it’s understandable why she did the things she did.
She does make some dumb decisions, like when

She slept with Fiona’s boyfriend. He clearly had nothing to offer her besides a good time. If she really just wanted to sleep with the next available body, she should have just slept with the store owner. That guy would at least be beneficial to her struggle. Getting to this part almost made me drop the book entirely, but I wanted to know if she ever redeemed herself in Tru’s eyes./

. The ending was bittersweet but satisfying

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Cultural appropriation

rigbees's review

challenging emotional 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

Lately, I've been skeptical of trauma novels recommended to me, particularly if the person recommending them to me doesn't share an identity group with the author. This isn't because the trauma novel is bad or that the story shouldn't be shared. Rather, I'm skeptical about the way in which we consume trauma for entertainment. Even when an author is discussing painful experiences, the audience is not always there to listen.

Patsy is a novel that's about trauma and (eventually) healing from it. The novel follows Patsy, the title character, as she leaves her daughter in Jamaica and overstays her travel visa to the United States. Patsy experiences difficult challenges and lacks community support, both in Jamaica and as she gets established in NYC. The bulk of the book is about the way she struggles through life, managing to continue moving forward but failing to thrive. However, by the end of the novel

she starts to find healing through her relationship with Claudette, when she is able to embrace aspects of her identity that she's suppressed since being assaulted as a teenager.

Alongside Patsy's story is woven in the experiences of the child she left behind, Tru. 

This book is well-written. I am glad that I read it, as it talks frankly about difficult experiences of racism, homophobia and trauma. It is written, in my opinion, as a novel aimed at those who have experienced similar circumstances. I think that it's a very good novel overall, and one that enriched my life in reading it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt

Moderate: Homophobia, Transphobia, Biphobia, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Racism

Minor: Hate crime

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. 

---

Content Warnings

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

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