"Generous, insightful, and funny, Karp is an excellent life coach for contemporary high-school students."—Booklist, -Booklist, (starred review)

"This book is filled with juicy young person wisdom."—Amy Poehler

"My sixteen-year-old self beamed in retroactive solidarity reading Ruby Karp's hilarious and insightful Earth Hates Me."—Natasha Lyonne, actress

"Ruby is one of the most intelligent, observant, and daring teens I've ever met. Knowing young women like her exist gives me hope for the future."—Sasheer Zamata, actress and comedian

"I hate Ruby Karp because at 16 she is more emotionally in touch, grounded, and funnier than I am as a full grown adult."—Paul Scheer, actor and comedian

"Karp's conversational narrative is positive, direct, and embedded with a confidence that will appeal to like-minded youth. A thoughtful blend of encouragement and entertaining personal stories."—-Kirkus Reviews

"Ruby's book was adorable, cute and very relatable."
—-Lola Tash and Nicole Argiris, My Therapist Says

10/01/2017
Gr 9 Up—For 16-year-old Karp, life consisted of going to school, practicing for the ACT, performing improv comedy, and writing this book for her peers to help them navigate high school. Karp uses her story as a template for those who want to make it out of their teens with their dignity and self-esteem intact. Raised by a single mom, Karp is Jewish, lives in Manhattan on the upper west side, and attends a huge public arts school in the city. She states quite frankly that she can only speak to what she knows and what she has experienced, but she provides advice on many subjects including: social media and bullying; love and unrequited love; pressure from family, school, and peers; feminism; friendships; and family life. She encourages readers to find their own voice and use it to be a changemaker; she has strong opinions and does not fear expressing them. The writing is clear and straightforward with a voice that will appeal to young people. There are many current pop culture references as well as mentions of older TV shows and movies that Karp loves. VERDICT Teen readers seeking an irreverent memoir/self-help book written from the perspective of a fellow high schooler will find this work captivating.—Elizabeth Kahn, Patrick F. Taylor Science & Technology Academy, Avondale, LA

2017-08-07
Advice for teens is gleaned from the life of 16-year-old UCB Comedy performer Karp in this memoir. Beginning with a Q-and-A session between Karp and Broad City actress Ilana Glazer, this offering goes on to discuss everything from white, Jewish Karp's embrace of humor and feminism to her explanation of FOMO, or "fear of missing out," which she feels is experienced by young people in regard to their use of social media and the difficulty many have in disconnecting themselves from it. She also parses bullying, pointing out that it's rarely as clear-cut as is portrayed in popular culture, and frankly discusses sex education, advocating for the inclusion of much more instruction around rape. She displays a self-aware understanding both that some of her worries are problems of privilege but also that they are unfairly dismissed by some adults as teen angst. Teens will appreciate and easily identify with this multilayered experience of cultural power even if at times the writing feels a bit clichéd, as when she exhorts her readers to "Live your life the way you want to be living it" or to "Be the change." Yet overwhelmingly, Karp's conversational narrative is positive, direct, and embedded with a confidence that will appeal to like-minded youth. A thoughtful blend of encouragement and entertaining personal stories. (Memoir. 12-18)