Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter

8 reviews

teoman753's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Suicide, and Drug use

Moderate: Sexism and Suicidal thoughts

madelinemartin'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
• 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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Classism, Abortion, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Misogyny, Addiction, and Pandemic/Epidemic

wild_rose_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Abortion, Addiction, and Mental illness

Moderate: Gaslighting, Child abuse, Sexism, and Classism

Minor: Infertility and Sexual content

errie's review against another edition

dark emotional

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Abortion, Medical content, and Police brutality

Moderate: Classism, Infidelity, Sexism, Suicide, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Pandemic/Epidemic

ourladyofcats's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Classism, Drug abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Alcohol

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

rachaelwho's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Deeply depressed and depressing. Everything felt inevitable, though for a brief shining moment here and there I thought that

Cassie would destroy the company before she died

.  That was the main will she/won't she of the book for me, otherwise I could see it all in front of me, but not in a bad way. It did take me a weirdly long time to realize that

Cassie had reproduced her relationship with her parents in her friends

.
I would not have called this magical realism. There's no indication that the black hole is literally, physically there.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Abortion, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Drug abuse, Misogyny, Infertility, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Racism, Addiction, Colonisation, Sexism, and Sexual content

servemethesky's review

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Sarah Rose Etter has done it again. The Book of X is one of my favorite books of all time. For me, Ripe did not surpass it. Etter’s critique of capitalism and depiction of our current dystopia is spot-on, but it was almost painful to read at times because it’s so real and bleak. The Book of X is more surreal and removed from our current moment, so I preferred it and the emotional punch it packs.

Nonetheless, Ripe is beautifully done. The prose is sharp and gorgeous. The bite-sized chapters make it easy to fly through this book. For those who have read The Book of X, you might see the ending coming. I love that the ending can be read in a hopeful light depending on how you feel about the research presented on wormholes. 

The pregnancy plot was not my favorite aspect. It definitely gives the novel a sense of urgency, but it was hard to watch the protagonist do cocaine and drink while knowing she’s most likely pregnant. If you’re currently trying and struggling to get pregnant, you might want to skip this book for now. I appreciate the realistic depiction of abortion, though, and Etter’s clear point that women deserve the right to choose.

Etter’s use of definitions, research, notes, and examples felt so different and fresh to me in The Book of X, and a little more familiar and expected here. They’re utilized effectively, though. I loved how she structured the novel around the layers of a pomegranate. So creative + brilliant.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Sexism, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Drug abuse

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Suicide