A powerful debut novel that's "hilarious, heartbreaking, and
ass-kicking" (Jamie Ford), 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.
A Most Anticipated Book of 2023 by Elle - USA Today - Today.com -
Ms. Magazine - Good Housekeeping - Bustle - The Week - Goodreads -
Bookriot - Pop Culturely - SheReads - Litreactor - Electric Lit - The
Mary Sue - People Español - Zibby Mag - Debutiful - Her Campus
Best Books of March by Time - Shondaland - Ms. Magazine -
Popsugar - Bookriot - Debutiful - Powell's Book Blog
A March Indie Next Pick! Belletrist and Readers Digest book club pick!
The Ramirez women of Staten Island orbit around absence. When
thirteen-year-old middle child Ruthy disappeared after track practice
without a trace, it left the family scarred and scrambling. One night,
twelve years later, oldest sister Jessica spots a woman on her TV screen
in Catfight, a raunchy reality show. She rushes to tell her younger
sister, Nina: This woman's hair is dyed red, and she calls herself Ruby,
but the beauty mark under her left eye is instantly recognizable. Could
it be Ruthy, after all this time?
The years since Ruthy's disappearance haven't been easy on the Ramirez
family. It's 2008, and their mother, Dolores, still struggles with the
loss, 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 is forced to work 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 to 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 pot-stirring holy roller 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.
What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez is a vivid family portrait, in all its
shattered reality, exploring the familial bonds between women and cycles
of generational violence, colonialism, race, and silence, replete with
snark, resentment, tenderness, and, of course, love.
