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raichoreads's review against another edition
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
4.5
This was a tremendously enjoyable book to listen to. I feel sad coming to the end and also deeply satisfied. Each of the women in this family were complicated and surprising in refreshing ways. It was easy to slip into the experience of each character. Super dense for a short read!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Child death, and Sexism
Minor: Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Physical abuse
avisreadsandreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, Racism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Murder
delz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez is a layered social commentary. Living in poverty means limited access/choices in food, employment, and housing. This also means that if you fall under the description of POC and are poor and you disappear the police/press are either going to blame you or just not be bothered looking for you. Ruthy is the middle daughter in the Ramirez family. The family struggles. Both parents work and live paycheck to paycheck and the three girls are struggling students. In 1996 Ruthy was expected home no later than six, but when she doesn’t come home by seven Dolores loads her other two daughters into the car to look for her. Days turn into months, and months turn into years. The stress of the disappearance leaves dad dead and Dolores with an illness. Now it’s 2008 and Nina the youngest has just graduated college and can’t find a job. Jessica the oldest has had a baby and works in a hospital. One night Jessica’s insomnia has her watching a particularly nasty reality tv show when she sees someone she’s positive is Ruthy. Each chapter is from the pov of the three sisters and the mom. Their thoughts about Ruthy, their own lives and their feelings about each other.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Medical content, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Cancer, Homophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Rape, Death of parent, Racism, Vomit, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
atamano's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Toxic relationship, Bullying, and Cursing
Moderate: Racism, Violence, Death, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Murder, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Alcohol
Minor: Chronic illness and Vomit
dixiecarroll's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Racism, Rape, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, and Pedophilia
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Ruthy Ramirez disappeared when she was 13 years old and her family hasn’t been the same since. More than a decade later her sisters spot her on tv, a contestant on a particularly trashy reality show. This book, as the title suggests, looks at what happened to Ruthy - although not in the way you might necessarily expect. It’s told from multiple points of view - Ruthy’s sisters, her mother and Ruthy herself. It covers some pretty heavy topics, although not in graphic or gratuitous ways. The story is told with a lot of warmth and humour - some of which worked for me and some of which didn’t. Overall an entertaining family story which explores some of the realities of being a woman of colour, but does so in a unique way which isn’t overly heavy.
***Quotation contains spoilers***
“…this Ruby we’d chased hundreds of miles from New York was not our Ruthy by some other port woman, exploited on TV like so many other brown and Black girls and women, but not ours. Not an imposter, but a sister of ours in her own right.”
***Quotation contains spoilers***
“…this Ruby we’d chased hundreds of miles from New York was not our Ruthy by some other port woman, exploited on TV like so many other brown and Black girls and women, but not ours. Not an imposter, but a sister of ours in her own right.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, and Misogyny
lindsayerin's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Child death
Moderate: Murder, Classism, Racism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Medical content, Pregnancy, and Vomit
raphynette's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Rape, Racism, and Child abuse
ooohgoshtara's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was a good read. It’s the story of Ruthy Ramirez a 13-year-old Puerto Rican girl who never makes it home after track practice and the impact her disappearance has on her family. Many years later one of her sisters is watching tv and thinks she sees Ruthy on a trashy reality tv show called ‘Catfight’. This leads Ruthy’s mom and sisters to embark on a journey to bring Ruthy home.
A very much character driven story told from multiple POV’s. The POV’s of Ruthy’s mother, her two sisters and Ruthy herself. This story is heartbreaking yet has perfectly timed humor. A powerful exploration of family, death, grief, childhood, and generational trauma. It also highlights the way that missing Brown and Black girls and women are often ignored. I have seen some comments about their being too much profanity, but I didn’t notice. I guess I took it as how actual people would talk. The characters, the plot all came across as real and authentic to me.
The story also touches on childhood sexual abuse, racism, discrimination, and death.
#RuthyRamirez #NetGalley #ClaireJimenez
A very much character driven story told from multiple POV’s. The POV’s of Ruthy’s mother, her two sisters and Ruthy herself. This story is heartbreaking yet has perfectly timed humor. A powerful exploration of family, death, grief, childhood, and generational trauma. It also highlights the way that missing Brown and Black girls and women are often ignored. I have seen some comments about their being too much profanity, but I didn’t notice. I guess I took it as how actual people would talk. The characters, the plot all came across as real and authentic to me.
The story also touches on childhood sexual abuse, racism, discrimination, and death.
#RuthyRamirez #NetGalley #ClaireJimenez
Content Warnings
Minor: Grief, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Racism
saucy_bookdragon's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I received a digital ARC of this through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts expressed are my own. The book will be released on 3/7/2023.
A more accurate title for What Happened To Ruthy Ramirez would be Who's Ruthy Ramirez as the book is less focused on the mystery and more on Ruthy and the women in her family as characters. This focus helped with the main theme of how often Black and brown girls go missing. Despite the dark subject matter, the book goes down easy thanks to the snarky humor throughout. However, the characters felt too distant and unremarkable, the prose and plot got boring because of the use of minute details and mundane scenes, and the story needed more narrative tension (the sisters were oddly unmotivated to figure out what was going on with Ruthy/Ruby until towards the end).
A more accurate title for What Happened To Ruthy Ramirez would be Who's Ruthy Ramirez as the book is less focused on the mystery and more on Ruthy and the women in her family as characters. This focus helped with the main theme of how often Black and brown girls go missing. Despite the dark subject matter, the book goes down easy thanks to the snarky humor throughout. However, the characters felt too distant and unremarkable, the prose and plot got boring because of the use of minute details and mundane scenes, and the story needed more narrative tension (the sisters were oddly unmotivated to figure out what was going on with Ruthy/Ruby until towards the end).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Racism, Kidnapping, and Misogyny
Minor: Homophobia