Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

My Sweet Girl by Amanda Jayatissa

11 reviews

cath_reads_books's review

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.25

This was a wild ride! I think it’s my favorite of Amanda Jayatissa’s so far. 

The story follows Paloma, a Sri Lankan orphan, who is adopted by the Evans couple and moved to the United States. There’s clearly something in Paloma’s past that haunts her; she has a terrible relationship with her adoptive parents, she drinks on medication that have interactions with alcohol, and she doesn’t seem to have any real friends. She also judges every person she comes across extremely harshly, as though she’s the best person on the planet, when in reality she’s an absolute asshole. She’s also extremely manipulative and conniving, and will do anything to keep herself in a good position. I found myself wondering many times if she was legitimately a psychopath. 

The book goes back-and-forth between telling the story of present day Paloma and young Paloma living at the Sri Lankan orphanage.

As I continued to hear more of the experiences about the orphanage, I started to suspect that Paloma wasn’t really Paloma at all, but instead was a close childhood friend posing as her to get their shot at a better life. By the end of the book I found out that this was absolutely the case. 

What I didn’t expect was that the real Paloma was still alive and had planned on elaborate revenge scheme to try to take her place back from the pretender. The REAL Paloma was even more insane than the pretend one too, and layered on her own schemes to make the pretend Paloma look unhinged. The last few chapters of this book were beyond intense, and I had no idea which Paloma I was actually reading about for a while there. The last chapter had me grinning ear to ear when I figured it out.

4.25 of 5 stars from me! Top-notch writing with an insane cat and mouse game between two psychopaths lol. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Vomit, Pedophilia, Drug abuse, and Death of parent

thenovelmaura's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This review is going to be all over the place because I have mixed feelings about this book. Earlier this year I was trying to rekindle my love for thrillers by reading ones that are written by diverse authors. Jayatissa is Sri Lankan, and the incorporation of a ghost from Sri Lankan folklore added another layer to Paloma's story (and her unreliable narration). While there wasn't a ton of time for nuance, I did like certain aspects of the adoption narrative, such as Paloma's rejection of her heritage, her adoptive parents' obvious white savior complex, and the microaggressions she faced while living in San Francisco.

I can't rate this super highly due to the many plot holes, and the pacing really dragged at points. You also have to have a high tolerance for rudeness to enjoy Paloma's thoughts on, well, everyone in her life. But if you like gory, dark, tense thrillers, you'll probably enjoy this unique spin on the "I discovered my roommate's dead body and the cops don't believe me" premise.

I do love the kind of thriller ending where the "bad guy" gets away with it.

I'm also giving Jayatissa some grace because it's a debut novel and putting her next book on my TBR!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Murder and Mental illness

Minor: Racism

tammyanntchou's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Blood

Moderate: Cursing, Alcohol, Death, Mental illness, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Suicide attempt, Car accident, Death of parent, Racism, Self harm, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Child death, and Sexual content

cc_shelflove's review

dark tense fast-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

5.0

This is a book that I am going to be thinking about for a while. Paloma is a 30-year-old woman who was adopted at a young age from a Sri Lankan orphanage to the idyllic Californian family. Her dream would finally be fulfilled. She would come to America and live a life better than she could have ever imagined. Told in alternating timelines, the reader gets glimpses of Paloma's current dealings in California and her life at the orphanage. One thing the reader finds out quickly, though: Paloma is fucking nuts. The woman is batshit crazy! She is even more unhinged than Yellowface's June Hayward. I was hooked from the first chapter as she mixed an alcoholic beverage with her prescription medication. Sounds like a good idea, right? Bad things begin happening to those around Paloma, she thinks she has stalkers, she tries to dodge her therapist... the list goes on and on. She was a train wreck that I could not look away from. Did someone really follow her from Sri Lanka to seek revenge all these years later, or is Paloma simply losing it?

I will admit that in reading this book, I identified reasons why it might not be for everyone. We cannot believe much of Paloma's recollections due to her drinking habits (think The Girl on the Train). I personally love an unreliable narrator! 🥃 Additionally, the word 'fuck' appears seemingly on every page. This did not take away from the story for me, but I know it could be bothersome to some. If you want to read about a chick who swears a lot and loses her marbles, pick this up. The ending was soooooooooooooo worth it. 🤯

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Self harm, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Stalking

Minor: Miscarriage

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

The plot of this book is compelling and finding out what happened in Sri Lanka that led Paloma to the life she has in California drove my desire to keep reading. That said, Paloma is very, very unlikeable. So detestable that had it not been for an intriguing plot, I probably wouldn’t have finished the book. She treats everyone like garbage and is only concerned about herself. There is no growth or change over the course of the novel. She’s just mean. The twists and turns of the novel do, in some ways, make up for the faults of the protagonist though. All in all, it was a fun read that kept me on my toes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Abandonment, Blood, Bullying, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racism, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Confinement, Toxic friendship, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Car accident, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Death of parent, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

thedrolldiaries's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Ooo this was a good one! A dark, sinister, Sri Lankan-inspired twist on

Jane Eyre

!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Stalking, Violence, Addiction, and Abandonment

amandaglowgetter's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Racism, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Bullying

Minor: Death of parent

hkburke2's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This helped keep me listening to a book even during a stressful week, so I'd say it was engaging. Some of it felt predictable but the writing and characters kept me interested to see how the (predictable) twist would unfold. 

I'm just not a fan of the "I'm drunk/on meds so I can't even trust myself!" device. I wish that hadn't been a part of this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Child death, Death of parent, Addiction, Violence, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Murder, and Mental illness

Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia

pugreads's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness

serendipitysbooks's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

 My Sweet Girl is a psychological thriller. Paloma Evans grew up in a Sri Lankan orphanage but was adopted by an American couple when she was twelve. At the time she thought she was the luckiest girl in the world, and that her life proper was really about to begin. But at age thirty things are clearly not going so well for Paloma, and she is haunted by a secret from her past.

Plot wise there’s a lot going on including a dual timeline (I found the orphanage storyline the more compelling), an unreliable narrator, a disappearing dead body, a possible stalker, nosy and suspicious neighbours, not to mention a ghost.

Overall the book was fine. Detracting from my enjoyment was that I suspected the major twist very early on. Additionally I often found Paloma and her behaviour very irritating and couldn’t always bring myself to care about what happened to her. The pluses for me were the explorations of race, immigration and transracial adoption.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Confinement, Sexual assault, and Vomit

Moderate: Mental illness and Murder