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charkar 's review for:
Only Ever Yours
by Louise O'Neill
Wow. Where do I even begin with this book?
How about with how long it's taken be to read the bloody thing?!
A kind of modern day take on The Handmaid's Tale, Only Ever Yours is set in dystopian Europe where girls are no longer born, they're hatched. And they are perfect. Raised as 'eves' and trained to become companions, concubines, or chastities, the girls in this book are subjected to the highest levels of sexism, misogyny, and just downright abuse at the hands of their caregivers. They're constantly berated and told they aren't good enough, that they mustn't cry, that they're too fat too thin too sensitive too emotional too bad. There's the normal teenage pettiness along with a heaped serving of disorder eating, bullying, and sexual trauma.
In short: not the easiest read.
But I loved it. Oh my god, I don't even know how to put it into words. This was just the book I needed. Something horrible to sink my teeth into and get angry about - because trust me when I say, this will leave you wanting to throw the book at the wall. If not for the horrible things the girl in this go through then definitely for the ending.
And it's this point that sparked my desire to write a review (if you can even call this ramble a review). Because holy shit. Ho-ly shit. I did not see the main character's ending happening like that. I did not expect it to end on such a bleak note, and I'm still reeling from it. I want more. I want to know what happened to freida, I want more information about isabel, I want to know what comes next.
For a debut novel, Only Ever Yours hits hard. And I can't recommend it enough.
How about with how long it's taken be to read the bloody thing?!
A kind of modern day take on The Handmaid's Tale, Only Ever Yours is set in dystopian Europe where girls are no longer born, they're hatched. And they are perfect. Raised as 'eves' and trained to become companions, concubines, or chastities, the girls in this book are subjected to the highest levels of sexism, misogyny, and just downright abuse at the hands of their caregivers. They're constantly berated and told they aren't good enough, that they mustn't cry, that they're too fat too thin too sensitive too emotional too bad. There's the normal teenage pettiness along with a heaped serving of disorder eating, bullying, and sexual trauma.
In short: not the easiest read.
But I loved it. Oh my god, I don't even know how to put it into words. This was just the book I needed. Something horrible to sink my teeth into and get angry about - because trust me when I say, this will leave you wanting to throw the book at the wall. If not for the horrible things the girl in this go through then definitely for the ending.
And it's this point that sparked my desire to write a review (if you can even call this ramble a review). Because holy shit. Ho-ly shit. I did not see the main character's ending happening like that. I did not expect it to end on such a bleak note, and I'm still reeling from it. I want more. I want to know what happened to freida, I want more information about isabel, I want to know what comes next.
For a debut novel, Only Ever Yours hits hard. And I can't recommend it enough.