News•Mar 8, 2026
Book Review: Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter
Ripe, a 2023 novel by Sarah Rose Etter, is an intense satire set in 2020 Silicon Valley that follows Cassie, a young professional at a unicorn startup in San Francisco. The story details her battle with depression, cocaine use, precarious finances, and a toxic work culture while the COVID‑19 pandemic looms. It also foregrounds stark citywide inequality, using symbols like black holes and pomegranates to explore temptation and despair. The reviewer praises the prose but admits the book is anxiety‑inducing, reflecting real‑world tech industry pressures.