Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter

75 reviews

teoman753's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ladynocturnal's review

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

As a San Francisco native, I give this book my stamp of approval. I recommend this book to anyone struggling with our dystopian capitalistic reality. You are not crazy, life sucks.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

deli_neli_'s review against another edition

Go to review page

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

2.75

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ashaberstroh's review

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

dumbcumpster's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional funny sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

this book reminded me a lot of my year of rest and relaxation by ottessa moshfegh. it was a quick read, but a tough one; I genuinely sobbed throughout a lot of this book, but it also made me laugh. the narrator's internal monologue reminds me a lot of my own, and it was both eerie and comforting to see it reflected elsewhere. I tore through this book in just over a day. 

it was almost ergodic in how the author uses black holes and black pages and "e.g.:" and definitions throughout to mirror the content of the book. the black hole metaphor was a little heavy-handed for my taste, but the pomegranate metaphor really struck me. it's very heavy on internal monologue, childhood memories, and the narrator's internal thoughts feelings etc. 

I've seen multiple reviews mention how Cassie, the main character, sucks or is a bad person or whatever, which I think is strange. I think the whole point is to draw attention to how capitalism ruins people's lives and turns them into something they never wanted to be, out of sheer economic necessity. Cassie is vain, competitive, cowardly, irresponsible, pathetic, an addict, lacks self control, the whole shebang, but so are we all. Cassie being directly impacted by being mistreated at her job, abused by her mother, half-heartedly committed to by her kind-of boyfriend, extorted by her landlord, put at risk by the virus, etc, all makes her want to shrivel up and hide and die. I think that's all of us. Cassie is all of us. that's what makes her so uncomfortable to understand and to see her inner machinations laid bare.

I think you'll either get this book or you won't, and you'll know pretty quickly which camp you fall into. if you have any experience with depression or poverty, you'll probably get it. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

novelspirits's review

Go to review page

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

4.5

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

madelinemartin's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.0

For anyone dealing with changing jobs and burnout, this book is almost too relatable. 

The book juxtaposes the situation Cassie finds herself in and the surrealistic depiction of her mental health issues in sharp contrast to one another, providing a sinister air to the shady corporate dealings she is forced to do, and an edge of realism to her very asbtract mental health issues. The tone shifts as her issues worsen, and while there isn't a whole lot of plot, her spiral seems scarily, worryingly relatable.

While the way her thoughts and actions escalate at the end of the novel implies she is going to end her life, it could also be interpreted as choosing to embrace the black hole as a pathway to starting over, changing her reality — a new job, new city, or ending her complicated situationship.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

samanthamohun's review

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I am still at a loss for words for how to describe this book but I think a really good place to start is: this book is heavy. I cannot stress this enough, but if you are struggling with depression, this may not be the book for you.

And that is because the author does an incredible job at describing what it’s like to struggle with depression. Cassie, our FMC, is followed by a black hole that she has known all her life. As the story progresses through several all too realistic horrors (like a deadly virus spreading through the world, a job that overworks her to the point of mental and physical exhaustion, a situationship that adds to that exhaustion, living in a high COL city & witnessing extreme disparities between wealth and class, no true support system, and a difficult relationship with her mom), her black hole gets larger and louder. 

I saw this book described as a capitalistic hellscape and that truly nails the story. This book looks at the game: what we have to do, who we have to be, to survive in a capitalist society at the sake of who we are. It’s dark and full of points that make you reflect on life and work and what is going on. 

I enjoyed this book so much and definitely recommend. The writing was engaging and broken up with several definitions, facts, and a black hole itself. If you’re considering, please check TWs. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

tytrack99's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I loved the way this book was set up with definitions and parts of her lives used to explain the words defined. I loved the separation of parts with black hole facts. I loved the small science sprinkled in here and there. I did not love the plot. I enjoyed the story, but it too until the last 50-100 pages for anything to truly happen. It took me way too long to finish this book bc of that. Overall, I did enjoy it tho.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

errie's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

Expand filter menu Content Warnings