Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez

Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jiménez

34 reviews

thereadertay's review

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emotional funny fast-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

4.5

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dixiecarroll's review

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dark funny lighthearted mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC! This was a fast read and while the material settles around a missing child and how this impacted her family, it was filled with light moments and funny situations. Some of the writing was a little strange (switching tenses within a single POV) and the ending took a major heavy turn, but otherwise this was well worth the read and was interesting. Felt like an episode of crime junkie - the unsatisfying depressing ones.

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siobhanward's review

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dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

The challenge with this book is that it felt like Jimenez was not sure what genre she was trying to write. Most of the book read like a family drama - working through intergenerational trauma while trying to find a missing family member and reckoning with reality and life not being what you expect at the same time.

However, then there were some parts thrown in that almost made it seem like Jimenez was aiming for dark humour - the descriptions of the Catfight TV show, Nina's job drama (and the constant descriptions of the lingere she was selling). However, I found that these moments just made the story seem more bleak - these unfunny moments trying desperately to lighten a very sad story.

I wish Jimenez had just stuck to the family plot line - it was well done and I love that Delores was included in the POVs, as the mother character is often left out of these kinds of dramas. However, so much time was wasted on weird throwaway moments that it felt like Ruthy's plot line did not get the time it needed.

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readergrl37's review

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challenging emotional funny mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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carolinemwatson's review

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challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

4.75

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amydunning's review

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adventurous funny hopeful sad medium-paced

3.5

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angelkisses's review

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emotional funny sad

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

4.0

tragicomedy at it's finest. I'm surprised this is Jimenez's debut novel because it is expertly crafted. all the praise for it mentions how Jiménez deftly weaves together dark and heavy subjects with light hearted hilarity and family dramatics & they're correct! It is difficult to combine two moods that contrast to this degree but Jimenez proves it is possible! I'm excited to dive into their short stories at some point in the future because I imagine her snappy voice suits the medium very well.

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