Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Only Ever Yours

Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill

9 reviews

megelizabeth's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

"They have told us that in order to succeed we need to be good girls, we need to follow the rules, we need to look pretty and speak nicely and be pleasant. I’ve tried. I’ve waved every last hair on my body. I have taken my pills. I have gone to bed hungry every night since I was four years old."

The first thing I'll say about this book, and my overarching feeling about it, is that it's A LOT. I honestly don't think I'll ever quite recover from how traumatic a read it is. It definitely falls into the category of 'too much' for me personally, but that doesn't mean it's a bad book at all. It's extremely clever, it's well-written, the characters are well-drawn, it has lots of important things to say - it's a harrowing, stomach-churning read, but rightly so considering its terrifyingly believable take on where misogyny could lead.

I'm still struggling to fully cement my feelings as I definitely believe that a book can be at the same time too much for me and a struggle to get through not because it's bad but just because the subject matter is so horrific, and whilst I don't think those are feelings that can only coexist for adults, I do know that I would have been even more affected by this if I'd read it as a teenager. It's hard because I don't at all think that the topics explored should be shied away from or restricted to adults, but equally this was, again, such A LOT and does have the potential to be extremely triggering in multiple ways. I'm ultimately undecided as to whether I think it would've worked better as an adult book than a YA, so do take this review with a pinch of salt, and as I've said (and as indicated by my rating) I do think it's overall a good book - just one that ripped away part of my soul :)))))

(PLEASE please please, more so than usual, check content warnings if planning to read this!!!!!!)

Content Warnings

scoutgreimel's review

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dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I’ve read this book four times now, from the time i was in high school to age twenty four. Every time I read it, I get something new from it. I wouldn’t say that it’s The Handmaid’s Tale for teens, because it’s something else entirely. It’s definitely more influenced by contemporary societal aspects, and goes deeper into the objectification, dehumanization, and othering of women in a whole other way that honestly scares the shit out of me. And the ending is just completely inevitable; you only realize it once you’re there, and that makes it hurt all the more!

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sunshine_kait's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad slow-paced

3.0

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kitten_nuisance's review

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Okayyyyy, so I have been looking to read something dystopian in this ilk, and I have a hard time describing what I mean when I try to put it into words, so this was a good choice! I mean something like the bicycles episode of Black Mirror, or the Somni 451 section of Cloud Atlas, if anyone has suggestions. This book has resonance!

There was a lot to like, a lot to like even though I hated it (social commentary), a lot that didn’t make logical sense but I can easily forgive that in a dystopian book that isn’t about exact realism. Where I think I fell down with this was 1) the YAness of it all, and 2) the pace of the story.
There are some very specific YA tropes employed in this book, and that’s not what I prefer to read. Sometimes it can be okay. I felt like the ideas in this book were so interesting that it was a shame to waste it on YA drama, though!! I love an unlikeable character or antihero, but this was more one of those times when I grow to hate the protagonist because their decisions are too MIND BOGGLINGLY STUPID, and I become bored because caring about them and what happens to them was what was driving the story. I felt like this wasn’t even one of those things where it’s like, “well, that was dumb, but she’s so young, and she hasn’t experienced much, and her priorities are out of order. . .” She knew better than this and had other options. Ugh. Some very icky stuff happens to her toward the end as she tries to fix her mistake, but honestly, she had kind of lost my sympathy, and that’s maybe a bit much, but that’s taking into consideration that this was a work of fiction and she is not a real person.

As far as the pace of the story, a lot of the middle becomes repetitive (which is what their lives are like, but sadly did not seem to be a stylistic choice), and we are given hints about a Really Big Mystery about the protagonist’s best friend throughout, from the first scene, pretty much. It’s hit upon again and again and again and again. . . almost in every scene! There is Something Very Different about this friend. It became way more interesting to me than Freida’s own life! They draaaawwwwwww this out, estranging the main character from her friend (why?? why couldn’t she just be friends with her original friend like usual and get more info?? She really didn’t think or worry about her as much as she should!!), and you’re kept guessing through the YA love triangle and dumb choices, and I just wanted to scream into the book I DON’T CARE ABOUT FREIDA ANYMORE, OR DEFINITELY ANY OF THESE MEAN GIRLS; GIVE ME ISABEL!!!!
You find out what is Very Different about Isabel at **94%**. Isabel knew all along what was different about her (not a spoiler; you see throughout that she’s aware of her privilege). What could have saved the book for me would have been if she had confided this in Freida midway, or even 2/3 or 3/4 of the way, instead of Freida being the worst friend in the world to her and almost never talking to her, leaving it to be so rushed at the end. The whole end of the book for all of the characters really felt like the Micro Machines guy was rattling off the plot closures as fast as possible.

My final complaint is that I felt that this book was doing a thing where it just baaaaarely dipped its toe into having on-page LGBTQ+ rep, but it felt like it was done in a way you often see Disney do it, or media in the 90s, where there was a hint but plausible deniability because it’s never really laid out the way a hetero relationship or attraction would be laid out. I think the author was maybe not purposely angling for plausible deniability, and it was really just the limitations of the world and the way information was available to the characters. I thought it would be a lot more interesting if this was explored more in “realtime.”

So, I loved a lot of the ideas of the world and the building of this reality for this society, and I’m kind of a sucker for that. But the setting can only hold me all the way down for maybe a short story, not a full length novel.

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tessdaisy's review

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challenging dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

This had a strong premise, but fell flat to me. The ending was even drearier than the rest of the novel. I couldn’t connect with any of the characters and the storyline with frieda and Darwin felt very rushed. The queer subplot seemed edged in for no reason, and it made zero sense.

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elj_ne's review against another edition

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4.0

2022 review:
Damn this book is dark. It’s a very very bleak dystopia, and I think part of what enthralled me in 2015 was the relentless lack of options and hope. It’s very good on internalised misogyny, toxic masculinity and as a portrayal of a protagonist gradually losing her mind, and I think the plot and pacing make it a quick read. Since 2015 I’ve read a lot of Louise O’Neills other novels and they’ve definitely matured in terms of character and world building, writing and themes, which is really great to see. This definitely has a lack of subtlety that can be easily forgiven as a debut novel. I agree with my 2015 self that I wish we’d seen more of isabel, and I don’t think I’ll read it a third time but I’m glad I reread it.

2015 review (5 stars):
Holy shit. This book destroyed me - don't read it if you want anything happy, because this is not it. The society is depressing and so wrong (seriously who even came up with it as an idea?? It's ridiculous and awful), but a lot of things are painfully familiar, including eating disorders, the cruel way teenage girls can treat each other, and even the way in which the hatred of "feminine traits" affects men who dare to exhibit them. There was also a scene that will feel very, very familiar to anyone who has ever had an anxiety attack. Triggers everywhere, be warned, and a dose of cruel homophobia as well. I wish we'd had more from isabel to get a better hold on her character, but great book that I will probably never read again unless I want to cry a lot.

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