Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn

7 reviews

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

on_a_journey's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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

4.0

I enjoyed this novel. It was a great depiction of how migrating to another country is different for everyone and also how the struggles are similar for people who may have good or decent standing in their previous countries cross over the ocean and just have to make a way possible. Also the quote that depicts this exploration is, the grass is always greener on the other side. The stories presented in this book about the various people that migrated (though the main story is about Patsy) was well thought out. I enjoyed the setting of the times in both Jamaica and America, it was a walk back in recent history. However, I struggled with the child abandonment portion of the story because though Patsy had her reasons I still struggled with understanding why she didn't try to contact Tru for so many years. Also, to make it worse someone had to come into her life to give her a nudge to face her fear and contact her only child. I do agree with previous reviewers that the ending seemed very rushed and I would like to see more about Patsy and Tru rekindling their relationship and not just hear the letter that was written.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, and Grief

yuyuv's review

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

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

rachel_tb's review against another edition

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Classism, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Homophobia and Suicide attempt

Minor: Pedophilia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, and Suicide

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

brewsandbooks's review

emotional hopeful reflective 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

5.0

I loved this book so much. It was hard to get into because I needed to really sit down and read this book. I sat with the discomfort of watching a woman put herself first over her daughter, and how the trauma can be felt on both sides. Mix that in with the identity growth both women have and their search for fulfillment. This book is interesting and unique. Dennis-Benn is an excellent writer, and I was so glad to finally mark this book of my tbr pile. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Toxic relationship

rachaeldamms's review

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, Grief, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, and Self harm