Asking For It, by Louise O' Neill

Hey guys, this is Abi here,

And I'm here today with the Asking For It book review.

I'm not going to say I thoroughly enjoyed it, because it's not that sort of book, but it's an important one. I hope you read my thoughts on it, or at least consider picking it up.

Title: Asking For It

Author: Louise O' Neill

Genre: Contemporary (hard hitting kind, not the fluffy kind)

Release date: 3rd September, 2015

Status: Standalone

Pages: 340

Blurb: "In a small town, where everyone knows everyone,

Emma O' Donovan is different. She is the special

one-beautiful, popular, powerful. And she

works hard to keep it that way.

Until that night...

Now, she's an embarrassment. Now,

she is a slut. Now, she is nothing.

And those pictures- those pictures that everyone

has seen- means she can never forget."

My Thoughts

First things first, I'm going to say that this is not a book for young children, or people that have experienced this. Trigger warnings of rape and mental health issues.

Hmmmm... the thing with this book is that, it's outrageous enough to be shocking, but realistic enough to make you think that this could definitely happen. And it probably does, as horrific as it is to think about.

About Emma, there are Emmas everywhere. She represents a bunch of girls that we all know. She is the mean girl, the confident one, the ones that rules with seemingly no effort whatsoever. And since you're reading from her perspective, you read her unfiltered thoughts and feelings. And saying that she isn't the nicest is kind of an understatement. But that does not mean that she deserved what happened to her. No matter who it is, they don't deserve it.

And then afterwards, everything changes. She is victimised, abused from a number of different social circles, both online and in her own neighbourhood, and it becomes a totally different story, about making a choice between what is right and which one is easy. (And it's not the choice of should I tell or not, though that is discussed too.)

I also think this book allows you to look at yourself and it makes you take a closer look at how you look and act online.

And also, it shows how hard it is to say that you'll do the right thing, but how hard it is to actually do when the time comes. Basically you realise a lot of things whilst reading this book.

But what's really heart-breaking about this book is that the boys responsible, are treated like they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, even though there are legitimate pictures of them in the act (which was horrific to read about.) Meanwhile, Emma becomes the outcast, labelled a slut, like she's nothing. She is basically isolated from society, and it's so heart-breaking to read about.

So overall, this was one of those books that I think everyone should pick up. I think that a lot of the subjects discussed within this novel needs to talked about more, and I think this will be an eye opener to the people that maybe don't think about what they say online before posting.

Thank-you, Louise O' Neill for creating such a book that potentially opens up a discussion for the issues that are everywhere, no matter how much we try to convince ourselves that they aren't.

Okay, so that was my review of Asking For It, by Louise O' Neill. I hope you read this seriously, and take the points I made seriously.

We need to make these subjects less taboo, so people are able to open up without the fear of being judged.

So, I hope you have a wonderful day and I will see you all on Wednesday!

Byeeeee!

-Abi xxxxx