Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Girl and the Goddess: Stories and Poems of Divine Wisdom by Nikita Gill

4 reviews

purplehulk713's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious 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

Simply hermosa. An enchanting expression of Hindu mythology, Indian culture and its clashing views (even the incongruous ones within the Hindu belief system where many queer gods and goddesses exist, but stigma and discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community remain) throughout the last century to the present day, through the perspective of a girl visited by true goddesses to help her navigate her dharma, as the book puts it. Nikita Gill is her own brand of divine, dancing in the footsteps of the goddess Saraswati herself, and always lifting up her readers with her incredible talents to find the divine in themselves. As the goddess Ratri says to Paro,

“You don't see the wind . . . But you do know it is there. You know it exists. You feel it. Faith works the same way.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Mental illness, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Biphobia, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Body shaming

bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

4.5

A beautiful poetry collection telling the coming of age story of Paro. I learned a lot about partition and the Hindu Gods and Goddesses! Gill remains one of my favorite poets and this collection was a unique one 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Biphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Homophobia, and War

Minor: Child abuse and Body shaming

rini's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Xenophobia

lennie_reads's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Thanks to NetGalley and Ebury Press for this ARC. 

So before I wrote this review I checked my notes from reading it and at the end I've put 'just wow' so that might give you some insight as to the time of this review!

This book is written in prose and interspersed with Hindu mythology and illustrations. It follows the life of Paro; from before she was born, her childhood and up to her time at University. 
It's hard to describe this book because I feel that it's something that you have to experience yourself but I will say that it's an empowering, feminist, queer, body celebratory, heritage embracing emotional rollercoaster. 

The book deals with a lot of heavy subjects including racism, sexual assault, sexism, societal expectations (especially for Desi women) whilst also threading through visits from gender fluid Hindu deities who tell Paro (and the reader) a story that is relevant to whatever struggle she is going through at that time. 
I LOVE Hindu mythology so I loved this part just as much if not more than that main story, as well as the absolutely fierce unapologetic and awe inspiring deities.

My heart absolutely ACHED for Paro, and especially life as a queer individual in India. Until reading this book I was unaware that Section 377 in India was only repealed in 2018!!! 

'Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code is a section of the Indian Penal Code introduced in 1861 during the British rule of India. Modelled on the Buggery Act of 1533, it makes sexual activities "against the order of nature" illegal.'

This book made me cry and ngl I'm getting emosh writing this review because it's all coming back to me. All I can say is Nikita I love you, I love this story and I will be recommending it to everyone.

CW: homophobia, biphobia, misogyny, sexism, racism, religious bigotry, sexual assault, rape, child abuse, paedophilia, violence, xenophobia, islamophobia, hate crime, genocide, violence, body shaming, mental illness

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Sexism

Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault