This was a good debut novel. I really enjoyed the characters.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this review copy

I enjoyed reading this and the characters were extremely realistic and relatable to read about. The family dynamics felt honest and real. This was a super unique plot and writing style that I typically wouldn’t gravitate towards but I still enjoyed it, nonetheless. More so character driven than plot driven, this book focuses heavily on the way hope and grief shape our lives and ultimately leave us changed, whether for better or worse.

In 1996, Ruthy Ramirez disappeared without a trace. The Staten Island 13-year-old had gone to school and then to track practice, but never made it home.

Nina—the youngest of the three Ramirez girls—always thought her sister Ruthy was invincible: the “Queen of the Quick Comeback, hoop earrings and Vaseline, Patron Saint of the Fist and the Late-Night Call Home from the Principal. Who in the world could touch her, my sister?”

The family searched for her and sought the help of cops. But their efforts to find Ruthy were unsuccessful, and the years stretched on. The Ramirez girls’ father, Eddie, would later die. The remaining Ramirez women — Nina, eldest sister Jessica, and their mother, Dolores — continue on, somehow. Still, the heavy question of Ruthy’s whereabouts and her wellbeing continues to hang over them. And this same question becomes too great to manage 12 years later, when Jessica sees who she thinks is Ruthy on Catfight, a vulgar reality show that pits women against one another. Like Ruthy, "Ruthy/Ruby" — as Nina calls the woman behind the screen — is Puerto Rican, has red hair, and the same brown beauty mark beneath her left eye.

Could this woman—alive, breathing and whose way of speaking is eerily familiar—be their long-missing sister?

Claire Jiménez’s powerful debut novel, What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez, explores the ways in which a family’s reality can be shattered, in more ways than one. Jiménez brings a rich portrait of fierce Puerto Rican women, the bonds that tie them, and what becomes of their lives after tragedy.

There’s a bigger story about grief and how a family can be fractured, after tragedy strikes, as well as how undying love can spur a quest for answers: in this novel, the quest is a plan hatched by Jessica and Nina to drive to where the reality show is filmed, find Ruthy, and bring her home.

You can read my full review at Latinx in Publishing's blog: https://latinxinpublishing.com/blog/2023/6/12/book-review-what-happened-to-ruthy-ramirez-by-claire-jimnez

Are you interested in: a heartbreaking tale about a family who has quietly held onto questions about a missing family member?
Ready to be thrown into the desperation of everyday life of a working class New York City family?

What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez is definitely a novel for those who are ready to take on emotional investment in family who are regularly involved in each other's lives and are frequently reminded of the missing member who presence is sourly missed through the unanswered mystery behind her disappearance. Though the book doesn't give you a full resolution of what happened to Ruthy until its very last pages, it is clear that the story is less a page turner to find out more about where she is, and more a study of how her family has and has not been able to move on without an awareness of her story.

What a hook this beautiful book has! Almost a decade after Ruthy Ramirez goes missing from her Puerto Rican neighborhood in Staten Island, her sisters spot her on an early 2000s late night reality show called Catfight. Well, they think it's her. She has the same beauty mark, she has the same laugh, and though she says she's from Brooklyn, all they have to go on is that this is their sister because they don't have any other answers.

Told in multiple POVs, via both sisters, their mother Delores, and Ruthy (on the day she disappears), the book is a quick, funny, and heartbreaking story of a family that tries to stick together despite all the odds being against them. I especially loved Jessica, the oldest sister. Dealing with a newborn, an un-fun job as a nurse's assistant, and the fact that she spots Ruthy first on the show, she is hard-headed but full of heart. I really enjoyed this book and I think you will too.

DNF at 20%. This is 100% a character book. There is no plot, there are just people. It reads like a script for a sitcom I would skip past while channel surfing. If you are in the mood for meeting some new people with stressful lives, pick this up. For me, it's a hard pass.

**Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the eARC**

What a debut! I’ll admit going in with the expectation of hilarious, I wasn’t set up for the humor that is actually used. Maybe a cultural difference? Either way- that’s a me problem but I’d recommend adjusting your expectation away from standard cheery comedy you’d find in say a rom-com.

The entire premise grabbed my attention and throughout I was just as dedicated in finding out what happened to Ruthy. This is a story on family, grief, and identity. With each POV, readers are able to have a deeper understanding and a relationship with each of the characters. The ending was wayyyy against everything I could’ve expected. I expected a twist, I prepped for one, but my hunch on what happened was no where near what takes place.

Thank you gran central pub and netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. This was my bookclub's book of the month for April. As the crime junkie, the title alone got me hooked. I was on the edge of my seat and tried guessing before reading on, and sometimes I would be right, but I was really thrown off at times.

I have seen a lot of reviews complaining of the cuss words, and I don't know why. I am a cusser IRL, so that just didn't bother me. The story crosses different generations and timelines, showing how one event changes a family forever.

I enjoyed every bit of this family drama! Told in alternating chapters I enjoyed everyone's perspective, but especially the mother's. As a New Yorican myself everything was so perfect. I laughed out loud several times and if I had one critique it would be that I wanted it to be a little longer.

Latinos, you should definitely read this one!

*ARC was provided by Grand Central Publishing through Netgalley.

This just didn't work for me - I had a lot of trouble telling the three narrators apart when they had very similar voices and got them pretty confused early on. I also wasn't invested in Ruthy's disappearance, and I wish the road trip to find her didn't take place so late in the book. It's practically at the end and the story really could have benefited from being longer.

I'm over here about to cry.

I finished this book in two sittings. It's hard to pinpoint a genre: part family drama, part mystery, with a touch of absurdist comedy. I was surprised to read it's the author's first novel.

I think it was an unusual and exciting choice to use multiple narrators in a mystery (-ish) novel. The voices were distinct yet obviously related. I loved the female perspective (shocker) and the points Jimenez makes about living in the world as a woman of color.

There were some very dark moments toward the end (check warnings if you have triggers), but I thought they were dealt with respectfully. Nothing graphic described.

Spoilers ahead, you've been warned: the "brawl" segment felt slightly too ridiculous. I think there could have been more of an emotional punch (no pun intended) if the comedy had been reined in a tad. It's the only criticism I have and it's a tiny one. I really loved reading this book. It made me feel a lot of things about being a girl and woman and the everyday danger we're out in and will the world even care if that danger wins out?

Thanks to Jimenez, the publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez was a warm and funny story about family. There are plenty of serious subject matters here, but the author perfectly blends the heavier topics with the funny moments. I listened to the first half of this via audiobook (narrated by the author!) and it really helped to get me invested in the story.

Teenager Ruthy Ramirez disappears after school one day and is never heard from again. Nobody is sure if she has run away or if she's been abducted. Several years later, her sister Nina returns home to help take care of her mother. Sister Jessica has a new baby and a job as a nurse. One late night the sisters discover the reality show Catfight and notice one of the girls involved looks a lot like Ruthy - from the hair down to a distinguishing beauty mark. Together they hatch a plan to find Ruthy and bring her back home.

I really liked this book and the dynamic between Jessica, Nina and Dolores all seemed very authentic. If you have a close relationship with your mother and sister this book will definitely hit close to home. The squabbles and teasing had me laughing and it seemed too familiar at times.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for a review copy.

What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez was beyond an amazing read. I was deeply engrossed in the plot and the characters--the author did a great job with the character development--and there were so many moments that were emotionally impactful and touching. I would definitely recommend this read to others.

I absolutely adored this story.

I was expecting something a little bit different, but I think what we got was better than the direction I expected.
The writing is funny and raw, and feels like someone who actually knows what a new yorker sounds like. Excellent voice.

Oh my heart. Ruthy Ramirez story just broke it into pieces. Grab the hankies because you will definitely need them while reading this. I want to start saying that even though I am born and raised in Puerto Rico I do have family in NY and the Ramirez family definitely resembles puertorricans living in NY or “niuyoricans”. The story was gut wrenching but I rooted for a happy ending all the way until the end (even thought heart knew how it was ending) specially for Jessica, Nina and Dolores. Very well done,

Thank you for the opportunity to read this novel. It's not the right novel for me at this time and I hope to pick it up again sometime in the future.

Twelve years ago, 13-year-old Ruthy Ramirez disappeared after track practice one day, never to be seen again. Left in the black hole where there is “no such thing now as a map” are the women in Ruthy's family, who never get over her loss.

Such a compelling read, many CWs for sexual assault, pedophilia, physical abuse. Thanks to Grand Central Publishing for an ARC!

This is not only the story of the Ramirez’s search for their missing sister but of the violence and harassment that each woman in the family has faced and beyond that, of the wider societal issue of violence against women, especially women of colour. It’s a sad and upsetting read, but also one of the incredible love of this family, their fights and making up, and their hilarious humour.

There was some questionable fatphobic portrayal so a heads up for that. The comments that focused on one character’s weight and diets in relation to their grief felt unnecessary to the story.

I really enjoyed this story while also feeling the visceral grief of this family and other women who’ve been in this position. A great read to start off my year.

What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jimenez

This has been one of my most surprising reads of the year, it was nothing like what I expected it to be. The debut novel is unique, captivating, and an ode for all the girls of color who go missing.

The story follows a Puerto Rican family in Staten Island still grappling after the disappearance of Ruthy Ramirez twelve years ago. One day Ruthy, the middle sister, doesn’t return home after track practice and a family is left to grief without answers, move forward with no direction, and live. Claire Jimenez gives us a microscope into the lives of those impacted when one of our girls is taken and we exist in a system to designed to fail them.

One night, sisters Jessica and Nina see a woman on a messy reality tv show that they believe could be Ruthy. When their mother, Dolores finds out about their suspicions, she insists on going with them on a road trip to find this possible Ruthy. From the outside, it must look like the Ramirez women should be okay and have been able to move in. Oldest sister Jessica has her own family, but is holding on to secrets that haunt her. Nina, the youngest graduates college, but grew up in the shadow of a missing sister. Their mother, Dolores, has found a community in church, but no real place to hold her grief.

In the juxtaposing stories of the women in the book, from the Ramirez family to friends to reality tv stars, we see how women are judged for their survival but not the system that puts them in danger every day. This is a call for the resources and support to respond to childhood survivors of abuse, to take the missing lives of black and brown girls seriously, and to remember that survival is complex and can many times look messy.

What Happened To Ruthy Ramírez is a character driven story on the themes of sisterhood, generational trauma, survival, guilt, resentment, and family love.

Thank you Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for this arc. In this story, a teenage disappears and years later, the family thinks they see the see the missing teenager on a reality show. Is this really her? Can they save her? Does she need savings? This book tells the story of her disappearance and how it effects her family. It is sad and raw and very interesting.