Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn

7 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

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

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

emmalange102's review

challenging emotional sad medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment and Rape

Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Sexual assault, Self harm, Rape, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Sexism

Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, and Blood

bookishandlegal's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Body shaming, Homophobia, Miscarriage, and Sexual content

sophieh's review

dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, and Transphobia

Minor: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault

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