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wild_rose_reads's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Suicide, Abortion, Addiction, and Mental illness
Moderate: Gaslighting, Child abuse, Sexism, and Classism
Minor: Infertility and Sexual content
caroisreading's review
- 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
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.
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
virgcole398's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Suicide, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Police brutality, Toxic friendship, and Sexual content
smallmac's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug use, Drug abuse, and Pregnancy
Minor: Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Abortion
absolute_bookery's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Bullying, Drug use, and Suicide
savvylit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
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.
Graphic: Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Classism, Drug abuse, Suicide, Abortion, Bullying, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Medical content