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What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez
What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez | Claire Jimenez
21 posts | 23 read | 23 to read
A deeply powerful, raw debut novel that's "equal measures hilarious and haunting" (Crystal Hana Kim), of a Puerto Rican family in Staten Island who discovers their long?missing sister is potentially alive and cast on a reality TV show, and they set out to bring her home. The Ramirez women of Staten Island orbit around absence. When thirteen?year?old middle child Ruthy disappeared without a trace from the local bus stop, it left the family scarred and scrambling. One night, twelve years later, oldest sister Jessica spots a woman with Ruthy's distinctive birthmark on her TV screen in a trashy reality show called Catfight. She rushes to call her younger sister, Nina. The woman's hair is dyed red, and she calls herself Ruby, but the birthmark under her right eye is recognizable. Could it be Ruthy, after all this time? The years since Ruthy's disappearance haven't been easy on the Ramirez family. Their mother, Dolores, struggles with mental health, weight gain, and diabetes; Jessica juggles a newborn baby with her hospital job; and Nina, after four successful years at college, has returned home to medical school rejections and now works in the mall folding tiny, bedazzled thongs at the lingerie store. After seeing maybe?Ruthy on their screen, Jessica and Nina hatch a plan to drive up to Boston where the show is filmed in search of their long?lost sister. When Dolores catches wind of their scheme, she insists on joining, along with her best friend, Irene. What follows is a family road trip and reckoning that will force the Ramirez women to finally face the past and look toward a future--with or without Ruthy in it. Told in multiple brash, distinctive voices, and filled with humor and truth, What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez explores female familial bonds and cycles of generational violence, poverty, and silence in a world that allows little room for Brown women. This is a vivid family portrait, in all its shattered reality, replete with snark, impatience, resentment, tenderness, and, of course, love.
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Deblovestoread
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Surprise book mail is the best mail! @Gissy Thank you for the #LitsyLove reply and especially for the book, bookmark, stickers, etc. I so enjoyed having you for my swap partner in the #FoundFamily swap and sending these extras was the sweetest thing. YOU are the sweetest!

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Love it 😍 6mo
Gissy I‘m glad you like it🤗❤️❤️❤️ 6mo
48 likes2 comments
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jdiehr
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Pickpick

I enjoyed this short audiobook read by the author.

8th grade Ruthy Ramirez doesn't come home from school one day.

Years later, her sisters swear that they see their missing sister on a reality show.

Could it be Ruthy??

My only complaint about this audiobook is that the author used the word 'woman' when it should have been 'women' - not just once, but multiple times. Not sure if that was intentional, but it really bothered this grammar nerd.

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KT1432
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Pickpick

As others mentioned, this was different from what I expected but I still enjoyed the story of 3 Ramirez women coping with the loss of Ruthy when she disappeared at 13 & the hope that drives them to track her down when they believe they see her on a reality TV show. Overall very light-hearted and humorous despite some tough topics, yet heartbreaking. The author narrates exactly how she probably envisioned for the reader to experience this. 3.5⭐️s

KT1432 #pop23 MC name in title #aardvark #audiobook #audio 14mo
20 likes1 comment
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
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#Bookmail
#TBR

Slowly adding to my #aardvark collection!

60 likes1 stack add
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NikkiKey94
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Pickpick

It took me a minute after I finished this book to digest what I had just read. This book definitely wasn‘t what I was expecting but it was so good anyway. I definitely look forward to more from Claire Jimenez.

paper.reveries Books that hit when you least expect it feel that much more impactful, hey? Happy you liked it! 1y
NikkiKey94 @paper.reveries yes I agree! It‘s not very often when I finish a book I have to just sit for a minute to think about it! 1y
26 likes2 comments
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Hooked_on_books
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Pickpick

Ruthy Ramirez disappears at 13, but 10 years later, her sisters believe she has resurfaced on a trashy reality TV show. While following their efforts to reach to this woman, we also see the lived experiences of the women in the family—sisters and mother. I really enjoyed this.

Cinfhen Im thinking this might be good on audio 1y
squirrelbrain Sounds great - stacked. 1y
Hooked_on_books @Cinfhen I think if done right it would be great on audio, but I looked and the author reads it, which can really go either way. 1y
Cinfhen Ugh/ agreed / I‘ll have to sample first 1y
60 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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CBee
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Pickpick

A really amazing debut. Stories like this need to be told - about the many black and brown women who disappear and are never found, about society‘s morbid fascination with violent reality shows (lest we forget Jerry Springer 🤯), about crimes against women and the shame placed upon them for speaking their truth. I loved this book. Edited to add: this is laugh out loud funny at times!

E.Bolhafner Dang! I honestly want to work through my personal library but the list of TBR keeps growing due to the reviews people I follow give. I made a reading goal for rest of year and this is not helping! Not helping at all. This sounds just up my alley. 1y
CBee @E.Bolhafner ha! I can relate! I had plenty of books before I joined Litsy; now I could probably fill a whole tiny library with the additional ones I‘ve accumulated 😂 It also got me back to the public library and that‘s been helpful on the $$ side 😊 (edited) 1y
68 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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marleed
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Pickpick

The mystery here gave me serious vibes for a much older well known book, but it‘s too much of a spoiler to mention that title. A couple thoughts: It‘s so unfair, the trajectory of family‘s lives when a child is taken from that unit. And second, a small side story, I‘m left thinking about so many Americans that for a variety of reasons, regretfully did not learn to speak the language to which their parent(s) were born.

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RebL
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You think you‘ve been poked in the heart but really you‘ve been impaled while maybe laughing sometimes. Also, strong “this or that” game.

19 likes1 stack add
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ICantImReading
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bursting with personality, this short book packs an emotional punch with a side of sharp social commentary. The Ramirez women were so vividly drawn - full of attitude and love, tough but tender. I loved the author‘s audiobook narration and thought her performance fully breathed life into the characters. 🎧

58 likes4 stack adds
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MicheleinPhilly
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Pickpick

I should know better by now to trust book marketers to stretch the truth but by marketing this as a thriller, I think they have done the author and readers a disservice. This is more of a family portrait than anything truly suspenseful. However, I was touched by the honesty and authenticity Jiménez presented and will be on the lookout for future writing.

TrishB Great cover ♥️ 2y
62 likes1 comment
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CSeydel
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Pickpick

This was good but it felt that the story lost its center some of the time. I did know it wasn‘t a crime story about Ruthy‘s disappearance, but I thought the disappearance would be a little more integral to the stories of the remaining family members. It really felt like a series of linked vignettes about life in a NY Puerto Rican family - and as that, it was very good! But the Ruthy storyline felt oddly tangential despite the horror of the event.

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CSeydel
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God, I hated the quinceañera. But of course, my mother had imposed all of her missed opportunities and broken dreams onto our lives, as if she were forcing the pieces of one old puzzle onto a completely different other one.

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Roary47
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Mehso-so

3✨ First of all I‘m proud of myself for reading a new book that was just published! I was hoping for more mystery in this story, but it focused more of the aftermath when their sister/daughter disappeared. You do find out what happened at the very end, and it‘s not what was really expected. It does follow several points of view so listening to it could be confusing at times because they used the same voice.⬇️

Roary47 The author does title each chapter with the characters name to help when reading. Overall, I didn‘t love it. However, I was interested in the characters and what happened to Ruthy. 2y
11 likes1 comment
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swishandflick
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Yes - I changed ALL but one of my #Aardvark guesses from yesterday. But as much as I wanted to be right about American Mermaid, this looks more likely!

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Mdion1993
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Pickpick

Two Puerto Rican sisters from Staten Island think they have spotted their missing third sister on a trashy reality show years after her disappearance.

Family ✨ Snarky✨ Startling

For fans of The Jersey Shore (and shocking endings)

9 likes1 stack add
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Booksandtea23
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Been waiting to start this book 📕

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KristiAhlers
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Pickpick

I love getting ARC'S from work! This one is so timely while at the same time reflect how we all move through life. Ruthy goes missing and then she's found...kinda...on a reality TV show. The family needs to decide...do they go and find her or just keep on moving forward. If you're a fan of character driven reads (which I am) you'll need to add this to your TBR pile!

53 likes1 stack add
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kissmehardy
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Pickpick

I don't think the marketing copy on this book quite reflects the content. It's much more slice-of-life than I expected, which ultimately wasn't bad, but I kept going "When are they gonna set off and head for Ruthy already??" If you like books that are more character- than plot-driven, this one will give you a lot to absorb. #historicalfiction #sorta #sliceoflife

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ErikasMindfulShelf
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Pickpick

Put this on your tbr. Coming out in March.

This is a great story about a Puerto Rican family who discover their long lost sister while watching a reality television show and decides to bring her home. This was a fast read full of emotions and humor. I highly recommend it.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

38 likes2 stack adds