Thank you for this advanced copy of this gorgeous novel. I loved reading about the culture and beautiful descriptions of Jamaica and the Jamaican culture. I also loved reading about Brooklyn. It is definitely a powerful story re: life as an immigrant. I found the story really sad (that is reality though!). Additionally, I found it hard to keep track because there were several characters introduced that didn't actually add anything to the story.

Patsy yearns for a better life. She longs to join her friend and secret lover in America, and live the dreamed she has long for. When she finally gets a visa, she doesn’t hesitate, leaving behind her young daughter, Tru. When Patsy finally makes it, things do not turn out the way Patsy expected.

Dreams shattered, Patsy tries to navigate life on her own as an undocumented woman in a country where she knows no one. It wears on her physically and mentally.

Meanwhile back in Jamaica, Patsy’s daughter, Tru, is growing up. Tru struggles to belong. Abandoned by her mother, she feels like a burden to her stepmother and father, misunderstood by her peers and community, all while attempting to be true to herself in a culture that is not open or welcoming to her gender identity and sexuality.

I was blown away by this book. Patsy’s story is very familiar, especially to people in the Caribbean. It can become complicated, and this story captures the many complexities, and its potential consequence.

Nicole Y. Dennis-Benn writing is like poetry. I found myself sympathizing for Patsy while being completely heartbroken for Tru. Patsy was more than I expected, and easily one of the best books I have read all year.

Patsy is an exquisitely written novel that is, at times, too painful to read. It will make you sad and mad and sad again. It’s worth the pain, though, to be held in the spell of Dennis-Benn’s Gorgeous writing.

Many thanks to NetGalley and W.W. Norton Publishing for gifting me with an ARC of Nicole Dennis-Benn’s new novel, Patsy. Below is my unbiased review in exchange for the ARC.

Patsy is an immersive story of heartache, longing, doubt and acceptance. A story about motherhood and immigration, expectations and reality. Patsy leaves behind her young daughter, Tru when she is able to secure a tourist visa to America. But unbeknownst to Tru, Patsy has no plans to return. Patsy believes all her dreams and possibilities await her in the Land of Opportunity and she convinces herself that by leaving she will have a better chance of securing a promising future for Tru. However, reality quickly settles in and both Patsy and Tru discover life is not always fair and what we hope for.

Told in alternating chapters, Dennis-Benn chronicles Patsy’s journey in Brooklyn and the ensuing years of Tru’s childhood in Jamaica. Their similar parallels and experiences are a stark reminder that one place is often no better than another. While mother and daughter both learn to accept their situation and create a new life for themselves the pinning for each other never wanes.

I enjoyed the lush writing and true flavors of both Jamaica and Jamaican culture. Dennis-Benn is obviously familiar with both Jamaica and Brooklyn and has created some very rich characters. Quibbles: I thought the story was a bit too long andI felt there were too many side characters who were introduced but never added to the plot or storyline. While reading I was always engaged but I never felt myself thinking about the story or racing home to return to it. A solid read but maybe a bit of tighter editing would have made it more fluid.

Patsy is about the eponymous woman named Patsy who leaves behind a daughter in Jamaica to move to America in search of better opportunities in both love and money. The book spans over ten years, detailing mainly Patsy’s life in New York City but also focusing a little on some of the other characters, like her daughter Tru (a standout character; I’d love to see a novel from her POV). I particularly admired how the author has Patsy make unforgivable choices (like leaving her daughter) but convinces us to love her all the same, despite her selfishness and mistakes—a thing many other authors have tried and failed to do effectively. I also loved how the author wasn’t afraid of having her female characters love who they love and try to be who they truly are without any need to define their sexuality or gender identities with specific, inflexible labels.

Patsy and Tru, are the mother and daughter in alternate chapters of this heartbreaking story of chasing a dream of love and freedom from Jamaica to Brooklyn. Patsy's childhood was rough, and she decided at a young age that she would get a visa to go to New York to be with her best friend, Cicely. After several attempts, Patsy wins her coveted prize and plans for her trip. Patsy's determination overrides her guilt of leaving her daughter, Tru, behind. She decides that Tru will have a better life with her father, a policeman who is married with other children

Tru's devastation of feeling abandoned by her mother lasts for a very long time. Patsy doesn't give it much thought as she is sure that she will make enough money to send to her daughter and her mother. Naturally, life rarely turns out the way we plan it to in our hopes and dreams.

Both Patsy and Tru live through many years of heartbreak, loneliness, and despair. They both have to make great sacrifices to come to terms with the life that lays before them. Dennis-Benn writes with insight that is like an x-ray of the heart and mind. It helps us all to realize what dreamers suffer even after they have reached the shores of the land many of us take for granted.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc if this new novel.

This is a truly wonderful and important book. I had reviewed the author's very first novel years and years ago, and she's gotten even more eloquent.