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Asking For It

the bestselling novel from feminist powerhouse Louise O'Neill

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About this listen

 'A soul-shattering novel that will leave your emotions raw. This story will haunt me forever. Everyone should read it' Guardian

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's just a slut. Now, she is nothing.

And those pictures - those pictures that everyone has seen - mean she can never forget.

For fans of Caitlin Moran, Marian Keyes and Jodi Picoult.

BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE IRISH BOOK AWARDS 2015. The award-winning, bestselling novel about the life-shattering impact of sexual assault, rape and how victims are treated.

(P)2017 WF Howes Ltd©2015 Louise O'Neill Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Inspiring Tear-jerking

Critic reviews

'Riveting and essential'
Brilliant, harrowing
A brutal and shocking novel that strikes to the heart of the current debates around consent
'Establishes Louise O'Neill as a literary tour de force'
A difficult, confronting and vital read
Heartbreakingly accurate . . . handled with both sensitivity and unflinching honesty. A compelling and brave story that deserves to be read by all
A stunning portrait of a girl, a family and a town in trouble
A brutal, unflinching look at the culture of slut-shaming and trial by social media. It broke my heart.
A brave and important book about rape culture, sexism and victim-blaming in modern society.
Bold, brave . . . and brutal
O'Neill has a keen ear for the catty argot of teenage girls and her writing is razor sharp . . . unsparing and unsentimental
A razor-sharp look at gender issues - Glasgow Herald
Riveting . . . a timely, gripping and vital novel.
A nuanced and insightful commentary on the intricacies of teenage female friendship and the internal and external pressures that young women face as they reach adulthood
Blistering, unapologetic and vitally important (Anna James)
This unflinching, timely novel asks important questions about rape culture, sexism and social media abuse, tackling taboo themes with subtlety and sensitivity (Anita Sethi)
All stars
Most relevant
A beautifully complex story that gets to the heart of many issues facing society today.

An emotional, heart wrenching story

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I wasn't sure I would continue with this after the 6th chapter or so. However, a little further on and it became very interesting. The protagonist is not a likeable character. Nevertheless, it was easy to empathise with her. The story is an excellent analysis of the emotional and interactional fall-out of the awful event. It is dark in many ways. Despite this, in the later chapters, I literally could not put it down. The story itself loses one star for me because the ending felt inadequate. I don't mind a book ending without all of the threads tied-up, but this cried out for another couple of chapters. Aoife McMahon is always an excellent narrator, but she excelled herself here. Truly exceptional narration.

Compelling!

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Wow! Such a grim story but, unfortunately, so very close to the bone. Powerful messages.

Was she.......

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This should be compulsory reading for secondary school pupils. it's timely, in light of the debates about rape culture and consent.

Important and heartbreaking

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Got off to a slow start and found it a bit confusing working out who was the main character but overall it was an ok book.

It was ok!

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