A review by serendipitysbooks
Ruth & Pen by Emilie Pine

emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.25

 Ruth & Pen is set in Dublin over the course of one day, and is thankfully much shorter and more readable than Ulysses, which was also set in a single day in Dublin. It follows Ruth, who is dealing with the ramifications of infertility and miscarriage and a possibly failing marriage, and Pen, a teenager who struggles with autism and anxiety but is determined to attend an Extinction Rebellion protest before taking her friend on a surprise date. This was a really tender, poignant story that gave great insight into the inner lives of these two women as they struggled to deal with love and loss and figure out where and how to fit in the world. I wanted to hug them both. 
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