A review by bookishandlegal
Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

This is a beautifully written, character driven story about a woman immigrating to the US from Jamaica and the daughter she leaves behind. There is really great, but also somewhat subtle, LGBT rep. The descriptions from both Patsy and Tru of depression are so good and relatable. Even though I don’t have anywhere near the same struggles as either of these characters, the descriptions of darkness hovering over your shoulder and the actions/feelings that come along with it really hit home for me. 

This was a slow paced, primarily character driven story. I usually love character driven stories but parts of this one really dragged for me and it was hard to get into. I think I was in a weird headspace and had I read this at a different time it would have been an easy 5 stars for me. But I found the beginning half of the book really slow and I was finding myself sloughing through it and forcing myself to read it. The chapters generally got shorter after the first third or so of the book and that definitely helped me feel like I was reading faster. The switching perspectives between Patsy and Tru (US and Jamaica) also worked really well and kept the story engaging. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and would definitely recommend it! Especially for fans of character driven, slower plot stories. 
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