Book Review: Asking For It By Louise O'Neill

The first book I finished in October was Asking for it By Louise O'Neill. I picked up this book for many reasons, one of them being that she is talked about A LOT; The second reason is that the staff at Waterstones say she's a genius and  lastly her books are filled with feminism talking points - that I later discuss with my friends.

To be honest, I didn't have to read the blurb to get the gist of the story. The title says it all, but the story is what makes the title so powerful once you read it.

I gave this novel a rating of 4.5 out of 5.

Time for the review...

 What I loved?

I loved seeing a different perspective. 
In a lot of YA novels, we are often reading from the perspective of the girl who isn't conventionally attractive or as 'socially desirable' as other girls which makes that character the obvious underdog; but in this book we get to venture to the other side. I don't know if it was just me that found that interesting...

I also loved how real everything was. Her friendships felt real, this is how people really are and sometimes stories sugar coat things. People want to be desired by the people they are attracted to and if these people find them unattractive OR WORSE find your super attractive bestie attractive then no matter what, there is some deep resentment there. It's sad that we seek validation from others to feel good about ourselves, but we can't help it. I think that Louise made the characters feel real by making them actually act like teenage girls and think like them to. She made them imperfect, which of course made the story line feel realistic. 

 What I disliked?

This is a direct contradiction, but I kind of hate how real it felt sometimes. This isn't really a bad point because we need that shock in order for changes to be made, but at times it was so upsetting to read!

***

Louise I agree with the Waterstones staff, you are a genius.

Asking for it is a really shocking novel. It reveals the state of mind that many of us in society have been conditioned to have. I think that books like this could change the world. We just need to be shocked more often.

(Disclaimer: The image used in this post is mine however the gif is not)

Yours Faithfully, 

~ She Who Writes