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Asking For It

Louise O'Neill

Why we're reading this: Exploring the issues of consent and sexual assault in a small Irish town. A tour de force of a novel and …more
[close] Exploring the issues of consent and sexual assault in a small Irish town. A tour de force of a novel and one that is incredibly close to my heart, as a group it should be read in light of the Stanford sexual assault letter / Brock Turner case as the perpetrators in this novel are also athletes.

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Mar 08, 2017 Dana Berglund added it

Shelves: youngadult, printz-winners-and-honors

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I don't know how many stars to give this book. If it were based on how much I LIKED it, which is usually what I do, it would be a big fat ONE. If it were based on its importance, maybe 4. Based on its literary excellence? Still torn. The setting and tone were well done, but stylistic choices that I thought worked really well in the beginning eventually started to grate on me. So....no stars from me because none of them sit well.
I hated this story. I hated how it made me feel every time I put th I don't know how many stars to give this book. If it were based on how much I LIKED it, which is usually what I do, it would be a big fat ONE. If it were based on its importance, maybe 4. Based on its literary excellence? Still torn. The setting and tone were well done, but stylistic choices that I thought worked really well in the beginning eventually started to grate on me. So....no stars from me because none of them sit well.
I hated this story. I hated how it made me feel every time I put the book down. I hated how I couldn't read it before bed, that I wanted to put it in the freezer (obscure Friends reference). I passionately hate everything that happens in this book and every word out of the characters' mouths. So...doesn't that mean the author did her job? She evoked such strong emotions in me, even though I didn't initially want to read it and declared that it sounded like the same plot as Exit, Pursued by a Bear which was a perfectly great book that also included a positive and realistic portrayal of cheerleader culture so why should I even read Asking For It, anyway harumph. I couldn't stop thinking about what was happening in the book and how much I hated it, which means it is pretty powerful writing.
Besides hating everything about the plot, I hated pretty much all of the characters (even Conor, who I think was a weak foil and not actually a meaningfully developed character, which is not a sign of good writing). I am so angry that Emma had exactly zero real friends. Maggie stands by her and declares Emma to be her best friend, but Emma is never true and honest with any of her friends. There isn't a single time that she just says what is really in her head. It is always manipulative, or lies, even when she's talking to herself. Even after a year of therapy, she is still lying to the therapist and has gained exactly zero skills to have a real conversation with anyone in her life. I am so bothered and terrified by that. I can wrap my head around people feeling lonely and cut off and manipulative, but this lack of truth (or empathy) from Emma (ever) makes me feel hopeless.
I hated that this book is modern but NOBODY (on the page anyway) ever says "IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR SOMEONE TO CONSENT ONCE THEY HAVE ENOUGH DRUGS/ALCOHOL IN THEIR SYSTEM TO FELL AN ELEPHANT!" or simply "YOU MUST BE CONSCIOUS TO GIVE CONSENT!" Why is that NEVER said by any character, or voice over from the TV/radio? I'd imagine that the people at the Rape Crisis Center would be saying that, but they are never "on screen" (so to speak), and Emma couldn't really hear them anyway, but....
And that ending. Arg. This is a fictional book for young adult readers. Reality is important, and not presenting an artificially rosy picture that they won't believe. But it still is a young adult novel for teens, and I think that there's not a lot of room for hope with this ending. I'm all for a well done ambiguous ending (hello, Eleanor and Park), but this just feels like everyone loses. Maybe a few bad guys win, but mostly everyone loses. And that was heartbreaking all over again.
To reiterate: this book is important because it talks about consent, and perception of teenage girls, and rape culture, and victim-blaming, and terrible parts of the misogynistic world in which we live. But it is also a horrible story and not for the faint of heart or those with particularly strong empath tendencies. ...more

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