Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jiménez

40 reviews

goldenjunegem's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-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? Yes

5.0

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siobhanward's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

The challenge with this book is that it felt like Jimenez was not sure what genre she was trying to write. Most of the book read like a family drama - working through intergenerational trauma while trying to find a missing family member and reckoning with reality and life not being what you expect at the same time.

However, then there were some parts thrown in that almost made it seem like Jimenez was aiming for dark humour - the descriptions of the Catfight TV show, Nina's job drama (and the constant descriptions of the lingere she was selling). However, I found that these moments just made the story seem more bleak - these unfunny moments trying desperately to lighten a very sad story.

I wish Jimenez had just stuck to the family plot line - it was well done and I love that Delores was included in the POVs, as the mother character is often left out of these kinds of dramas. However, so much time was wasted on weird throwaway moments that it felt like Ruthy's plot line did not get the time it needed.

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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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.”

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carolinemwatson's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

4.75

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bookdragon217's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.75

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amandalorianxo's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense 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

3.25

I'm stuck between 3.25-3.5 stars for this one. First, the cursing/mature language didn't bother me. There were some reviewers that were appalled but are you living under a rock? Cursing happens whether we want it to or not so while it something to take notice of, it ultimately shouldn't have that much pull on a review? Unless linguistically it wasn't right but when you have a book set in New York- chances are characters will curse so *shrugs* Anyway, I liked the intial premise and I also loved getting the know the Ramirez family both as individuals and as a whole. But ultimately, I thought Ruthy herself didn't fully get a say when it came to her narrative & this is one of the few times where I wish a novel actually was longer in page length. I feel as if we didn't really get a great understanding of the seriousness behind Ruthy's disappearance. I also wasn't a fan of the ending.

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suhmown's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful tense medium-paced

3.75

3.75/5

This was a snapshot of the lives of three very different women from the same family and I felt so immersed in their feelings and emotions and moments. You hope with them— I thought I knew how it was going to end but with every ounce they believed, I believed with them.

That being said, I felt like the book lost itself in the middle
For a 200 page book, I wish every chapter had felt more intentional but there were a few right before their trip to Boston that dragged. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would read an entire tome from Delores POV.

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