Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter

10 reviews

sarahrosebooknook's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Addiction, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Body shaming, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Abortion, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, and Bullying

caroisreading's review

dark emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

This book laid bare all the wounds of my own tech startup traumas. You could read this seriously, or with the levity of dark comedy that it's sold as. It's so exact in its descriptions, the desperate conversations, branded swag, agonizing all-hands, diversity metrics (lack thereof), the hostile undertones that erupt eventually. I felt massive anxiety and nausea reading this. 

Cassie is a marketing writer at Voyager, a user data startup promising ROI for its customers. She is far from home, not happy in San Francisco, barely affording rent and needing to buy outlet groceries despite being "senior" in a big tech job. Every day is a new nightmare, as she works endless hours and performs, to be told she's not performing. She relies on drugs, and a half-relationship with a chef, who admits he and his girlfriend are trying an open relationship. Throughout her life, she is followed by a black hole that grows and shrinks. She becomes infatuated with black hole research. 

Sarah Rose Etter is a talented writer, and doesn't hold back in her relentless descriptions of late-stage capitalism, have and have-nots, sexism, depression, the helplessness and bitterness of an entire generation trying to survive pandemics and a housing crisis.

I had a hard time sorting through the many metaphors being thrown at us -- fruit and seeds, black holes and space, fire and filth, bloody meat, singularity. On top of this, dictionary definitions marked each chapter, which felt oddly campy and a bit of a disservice to the quality of the writing. All of this made for a distracting read, when I really just wanted to sit in the heart of the rage and recollections of our disintegrating narrator. 

This is also a cast of horrible people that you'll need to be fine with hating. Even with Cassie, who endures verbal abuse at home and at work, you'll likely become frustrated, and belabored with the self pity displayed on each page. 

You should still give this a try if you're okay mentally with a lot of depressing and triggering content, have survived the woman-in-tech experience (weak laugh), and like trippy, unstable narrator reads. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Blood, Bullying, Infertility, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Abortion, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Excrement, Pandemic/Epidemic, Cursing, Drug use, Misogyny, and Addiction

cmc741's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Reading this as a someone who’s not doing well atm and is also Called Cassie in hindsight wasn’t one of my best ideas. The ending was a bit of a let down but it’s definitely a book that will stick with me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Abortion

maartabarrales's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Too close man.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Bullying, Abortion, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

sophia_'s review against another edition

dark funny tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy

Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Abortion, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Minor: Alcohol, Vomit, Alcoholism, Addiction, Excrement, Classism, and Bullying

katilein's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

4,5 with a different ending. Check the TW before reading.

Great writing but a big bummer. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Abortion, Child abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Self harm, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Suicide attempt

sideshowsips's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Bullying, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Addiction

ukponge's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Mental illness, Abortion, and Emotional abuse

absolute_bookery's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

Loved this! A very sharp and witty reflection on the 'corporate hustle'. Sad to read but so relatable! Would recommend?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Bullying, Drug use, and Suicide

savvylit's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Ripe is an absolutely brutal masterpiece. Part nuanced portrayal of depression and part damning cultural criticism, Etter's ability to capture the cognitive dissonance of modern life is both unparalleled and wildly disturbing.

Right from the start, Ripe is a ferocious anti-work satire. In the first few pages, Cassie introduces readers to her fellow tech workers aka "Believers." Believers are an unidentifiable horde of tech worshipers who are so plugged in that they have no other discernible traits. Then, in obvious juxtaposition to the Believers' homogenous version of Silicon Valley, Cassie observes the happenings of a variety of homeless encampments. Later, as employees specific to VOYAGER are introduced, their seniority is described via the type of prestige, company-branded athleisure wear that they each proudly don. (CEOs wear half-zips).

Perhaps it was Cassie's black hole or the unsettling Believers, but I initially thought that Ripe was going to be a dystopian novel. However, it quickly became clear that the events in Ripe are set in early 2020. (Headlines mention a new virus that is quickly spreading globally, San Francisco's skies are red with wildfire). Ripe being chock-full of dystopian-esque descriptions of the recent past made me - like Cassie - disassociate from my own reality. (All of that happened!! It's still happening!!)

Last but not least, I greatly admired Etter's ability to make such a bleak story incredibly riveting. Though I found multiple aspects of Ripe to be too personally relatable & on-the-nose, I highly recommend it to anyone who is in a good mental place to handle intense descriptions of depression.

Thank you @netgalley & @scribnerbooks & @sarahroseetter for my advanced reader copy of Ripe in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Classism, Drug abuse, Suicide, Abortion, Bullying, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Medical content