Asking for It

Asking for It

Louise O'Neill,

Asking for It

Quercus, 2015

ISBN 978178429868

14-16 Shortlist 2016

 

On this shortlist:

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out of 5
 

 

 

Who Wrote It?

Louise O'Neill was born in West Cork, Ireland, in 1985. She studied English at Trinity College Dublin and has worked for the senior Style Director of American Elle magazine. While in New York, she also worked as an assistant stylist on a number of high-profile campaigns. She is currently working as a freelance journalist for a variety of Irish national newspapers and magazines, covering feminist issues, fashion and pop culture. 

What's It About?

It's the beginning of the summer in a small town in Ireland. Emma O'Donovan is eighteen years old, beautiful, happy and confident. One night, there's a party. Everyone is there. All eyes are on Emma. The next morning, she wakes on the front porch of her house. She can't remember what happened and she doesn't know how she got there. She doesn't know why she's in pain. But everyone else does. Photographs that were taken at the party, show in explicit detail what happened to Emma that night. But sometimes people don't want to believe what is right in front of them, especially when the truth concerns the town's heroes. Louise’s book is beautifully written and doesn't hide away from the harsh truth that accompanies these events.

Fact File

To find out more about Louise visit her website www.louiseoneillauthor.com or follow her on Twitter: @oneilllo (note the spelling!)

Please note that this book is only appropriate for the 14-16 age range and older.

Your Reviews

Anika from King James's School:

A stunning book that made my heart jump; it really does address the serious issues that have occurred in the past few decades.

This book definitely bought my emotions alive – which is a good thing because I felt I connected to the characters and the story. The way Emma’s parents immediately took Bryan’s (Emma’s older brother) side made my blood boil for it was easier than supporting their daughter who had a more difficult situation on her hands. When the boys took advantage of Emma that night and had the audacity to post it on social media made me horrified. To do something that major is just sickening: to me it portrayed Emma’s emotions brilliantly and made me feel something.

I particularly liked how the story ended… to some readers it may seem dull and bland but to me it seemed real. Not all stories or life situations (like this) have happy endings; life isn’t a fairy-tale. So therefore I think the story was executed perfectly.

Overall, the book was gripping and made me want to finish it straight away. I would recommend this book to 14 years of age or to anyone who can tackle the intensity of this story. I applaud Louise O’Neill for writing a book with important matters while balancing out emotions etcetera – it reveals how cruel the world can be.

Anika gave Asking for It 5 out of 5 and now plans to read One by Sarah Crossan.

CHRISTVIE from CORPUS CHRISTI:

I LOVE THIS BOOK

CHRISTVIE gave Asking for It 5 out of 5 and now plans to read The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Willliamson.

Scott from King James's School:

Of all the books on the shortlist, this was the one that came with the greatest sense of foreboding. Our group leader had it down as "graphic" and shocking. Not many people in the group ended up reading it. For all that, though, if it wasn't my favourite, I would certainly place it second.

I have read some pretty nasty stuff in my time, specialising in violent crime because of this it appealed to me and didn't shock me as much as it has done others. It also appealed due to the psychology side of it, which I love in books. I enjoyed the fact that it voiced her thoughts throughout and after the incident.

This was definitely a modern issue book. It described accurately the way in which I think that someone in this situation would feel. That is no mean feat; to pull off a book that deals with mental process so well. Believe me, I've read plenty that have failed to accomplish this.

I think that this is brilliant for raising awareness. It was just so true. This situation with the court was completely typical of our justice system. It outlined perfectly the nationwide stereotypical attitude of society. We should learn a valuable lesson from this. I thank Louise O'neill for the experience.

Scott gave Asking for It 4 out of 5 and now plans to read The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Willliamson.

erika from king james:

A stunning account of a young woman whose life goes wrong in one night. asking for it is one of the most emotional books I've ever read. I was impressed with how well the author wrote the book and I will definitely read it again.

erika gave Asking for It 5 out of 5 and now plans to read One by Sarah Crossan.

Sean from Cardinal Heenan:

The book is about a girl who has been the victim of rape at a school party. It follows the life of a popular pretty teenage girl and her group of friends and how she tries to ignore and deal with what has happened.

I liked how the writer deals with the topic and really helps you get in the head of Emma. I didn't like the way the boys were portrayed throughout the book and I didn't think there was a good enough range of people in the book.

This book isn't suitable for people under the age of 14 and people who can't deal with a strong and difficult topic

I would recommend this book because I think, for the topic it was talking about, it was very well written and thought about

Sean gave Asking for It 4 out of 5 and now plans to read The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Willliamson.

Alessia from Cardinal Heenan :

A popular girl, after a night out, finds explicit pictures of her that she doesn't remember taking.

The plot interesting and some characters are interesting. However, most scenes were written with too much detail and it make them tedious and drag on.

Year 10/11 who like contemporary books that are quite intense would enjoy this book - I would recommend this to people who can handle reading a book about sexual assault.

Alessia gave Asking for It 2 out of 5 and now plans to read The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Willliamson.

Megan from Abbey Grange:

This book is about a beautiful, yet selfish and vain, 18 year old Irish girl who has the world at her feet and is at the peak of her life when it all begins to crumble. She attends a party, wakes up on her veranda and has no idea what happened the night before. But why won't her friends talk to her? And what are those pictures?

The book tackles the very serious, very real issue of rape in a male dominated world, and how it can affect lives. It has you feeling sorry for a character who you start the book hating, and makes you think about the society that we live in, which is judgemental and cruel. Rape can often be seen as a bit of a joke to some people, but this book shows that it can happen to anyone-even someone who seems like a normal, if arrogant, teenager who you could have met in the street.

Megan gave Asking for It 5 out of 5 and now plans to read The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Willliamson.

Maia from Abbey Grange :

In this book, you follow the life of a beautiful, vain 18 year old who is obsessed with looks, boys and popularity. She goes to a party one night, wakes up and has no idea what happened. Her friends ditch her and she is the entire school's point of gossip as a Facebook page is dedicated to revealing the night's events. She was raped.

This is the only book so far that has made me think. It's made me stop and wonder "what would I do?" With so many books these days, the right and wrong is so clear whereas in this it had me questioning what I thought. It's easy to say if you were in Emma's situation you'd report it and seek justice, but I honestly don't know whether I'd just suffer in silence like she did. It's a horrible fact that girls are prepared and taught about what to do in rape situations, almost like it's expected to happen to them. It's a topic that needs to be talked about more, so that the Emmas of the world feel like they can speak up and claim justice. It makes me so angry, that the crime that probably causes the victim the most psychological damage is the one they get blamed for. It's really made me view slut-shaming in a different way too, it's made me feel like I have to speak up when a friend says something of the sort about a girl in our year. I don't really feel anything strongly while reading but this book made me so angry towards the people who use words like that lightly, or at all. The fact is is that a person's body is theirs and theirs alone.

The characters are interesting; I either love them or detest them. At the beginning of the book, I almost couldn't bare to read it as I found Emma to be such a shallow, annoying character. But as time goes on she becomes less of a striking character, and becomes a pretty non-offensive one who you can just experience the book through. I love her brother, Bryan, he feels like the only sane character as some points, but I pity him more than anything. Emma's best friend Conor too, as he is one of the only characters there for Emma throughout the book.

Maia gave Asking for It 5 out of 5 and now plans to read One by Sarah Crossan.

Yasmin from Abbey Grange:

This book is very interesting and discusses a serious issue.I thought this book was good but could have explained in more depth about some of the characters in the story as some parts are hard to follow.

Yasmin gave Asking for It 3 out of 5 and now plans to read Fire Colour One by Jenny Valentine.

Miss Burns from Cardinal Heenan:

A great book about a serious issue - this book addresses so many issues around consent and victim blaming. An important topic for our older students to consider - this book provides the arena for discussion - fantastic.

Miss Burns gave Asking for It 4 out of 5 and now plans to read The Lost and the Found by Cat Clarke.

Rebecca from Abbey grange academy:

This book is set in Ireland and is about a girl called Emma who is 18 years old. I liked this book because it addressed some serious issues. However I didn't really like the main character, or many other characters in the book. Also I thought that not much description was given about the other characters so I found it harder to understand the book.

Rebecca gave Asking for It 2 out of 5 and now plans to read The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Willliamson.

Georgia from Abbey Grange Academy:

Eighteen year old, Emma O'Donovan, has it all. Looks, brains, a great group of friends and a great social life. All that changes when she is found on her front doorstep, bruised and blistered, with no recollection of how she got there.

At school the next day there are whispers and pointing fingers and everyone seems to know what happened at the party. When she discovers a facebook page, with photographs of her from that night, she begins to realise that her life has just collapsed. But was she asking for it?

I can honestly say that this book is probably one of my favourites in a long time. I was so angered by the contents that my heart was pounding,my heart breaking a little more with each page. I read it within 4 hours because there was no way I could put this book down!

Louise O'Neill has taken the concept of 'consent' and brought it to her fictional story, based on many real-life cases. Instead of setting the book in a big city, or with older characters, she has used the cusp of adulthood for her protagonist, Emma, and shown how a young woman, with a confident exterior, can be an insecure child underneath it all.

The eighteen year old has been complimented on her extraordinary beauty since she was a baby and has learned to use this to her advantage. Her stature and confidence means that she is the 'it' girl. Everyone wants to be her friend, her lover, just be near her. She gets away with a lot because of this; she can be a real bitch to her friends, uses people for her own gain and helps herself to what she believes she deserves. However, the minute she closes the door to her own home, she reverts to childlike behaviour, with her mother pressing her pressure points. She is constantly reminded by her mother of her need to maintain her poise and her beauty, while her father places her on a 'Princess' pedestal. She wants it all. Her whole life she has had it all. The party is another example of her need to be queen bee. She desires attention from men and women. She thinks the girls should want to be like her, while the men should crave her. Add alcohol and drugs into the mix and things very quickly descend into the stuff of nightmares.

If I could describe 'Asking for it' in one word, that would be gripping.

Georgia gave Asking for It 5 out of 5 and now plans to read Fire Colour One by Jenny Valentine.

Rebecca from The Morley Academy:

This book deals with the tough subject of rape in a very truthful way as it focuses on the emotional and psychological effects. The main character though is very difficult to like, but maybe that was the purpose of the book - to show the character of Emma's progression. I feel like the book may be unsuitable for younger readers with the subject content and swearing, so I think only 16 year olds and older will get the benefit of the book.

Rebecca gave Asking for It 3 out of 5 and now plans to read Fire Colour One by Jenny Valentine.

Amir from Cardinal Heenan:

This is a book about a girl who is a victim of rape and it is about how her life changes and how it is altered after her experience.

I liked that this book gave a great insight into the mind and personality of a person who has been through this experience. When we hear about it on the news we hear 'professional' opinions on the subject so it is great to read a book gives an accurate view of a person who has been through the experience.

It think that people who are not old enough or not prepared it may be a bit shocking.

Amir gave Asking for It 3 out of 5 and now plans to read One by Sarah Crossan.

Lucia from Cardinal Heenan:

Emma O'Donovan is 18 and really popular. However, one night there is a party and everyone is watching Emma. The next morning she wakes up on her front porch with minor sunstroke. She doesn't know how she got there, or what happened the night before, but everyone else does. Photographs taken at the party show in great detail what happened.

I liked the fact that Emma doesn't want to believe what happened to her, even if she has the evidence right in front of her.

The ending is a shock but it makes the book more realistic.

This book is really only for mature year 10/11 - not suitable for younger readers!

Lucia gave Asking for It 4 out of 5 and now plans to read The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Willliamson.

laura from crawshaw:

i thought it was quite boring it went in one ear out of the other

laura gave Asking for It 1 out of 5 and now plans to read The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Willliamson.

Charlotte from Crawshaw Academy:

Quite a good book and I think it is a subject which should be addressed

Charlotte gave Asking for It 4 out of 5 and now plans to read The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Willliamson.

Phoebe from Abbey Grange:

Interesting and topical issue of rape culture, very bleak overall but opens a much needed discussion. However, the same ideas could of been conveyed without an extremely unpleasant voice.

Phoebe gave Asking for It 4 out of 5 and now plans to read Seed by Lisa Heathfield.

Emily from Abbey Grange:

Really good book! This book is one of the books that you read one chapter and then you have to read the next chapter. This book is really interesting and I think people should read it!!

Emily gave Asking for It 4 out of 5 and now plans to read Fire Colour One by Jenny Valentine.

CHRISTVIE from CORPUS CHRIST:

IF YOU WERE ME

CHRISTVIE gave Asking for It 5 out of 5 and now plans to read The Lost and the Found by Cat Clarke.