This is my first read by Jessica Moor and it was a thoroughly good read. Very different to my usual type of genre, but nevertheless it was good and held my attention.

We meet Emily who meets Tamsin and her life changes. They undertake many adventures together and become inseparable - their lifestyle is pretty amazing. Obviously there is more to story than their adventures and the story slowly unravels and their relationship is again, different. Their shared secrets are extremely damaging and the story takes a sharp turn, and we see two very close friends with very different and almost conflicting personalities when it comes to sharing certain subjects.

I really enjoyed reading this story, quite hard to read at some points due to the content, and loved the characters. Jessica Moor will now be on one of my favourite author lists and I will certainly be reading more from her.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publishers and Jessica Moor for allowing me a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I very much enjoyed this novel, which is character-driven and compelling, inviting the reader to look at challenging situations and try to assess how they themselves would react. It tells the story of Emily, a young lawyer for a women's advocacy group, and her budding friendship with the enigmatic Tamsin, an actress. Their evenings out in London play out against the backdrop of a developing #MeToo scandal involving an acclaimed film director. The idealistic Emily becomes focused on the wider moral and ethical implications of the scandal, losing sight of the personal impact it's having on those involved - and also failing to see echoes of a similar situation playing out much closer to home. It's a challenging and thought-provoking book that stayed with me.

I love the way Jessica has approached the way that all women should take hold and take care of their own sexuality.
Such an insite to what we as women should be in powered for..
I wish that that there more books out there that brings us women together.

Young Women follows Emily, who, after being arrested at a protest, meets Tamsin, which alters her life immediately. Under Tamsin's tutelage, Emily becomes more spontaneous and embraces the little pleasures in life more. However, when Emily discovers Tamsin's deepest secret, the two women clash.

Throughout this book you have the not so subtle voice of how women are constantly mistreated. It primarily focuses on Tamsin and her backstory, but there are other women's stories of sexual assault happening to them interwoven throughout, which ultimately leads to the way Emily reacts to Tamsin's secret. This really gives the impression of how every woman has a story to tell in this area to some degree, which was brilliantly done.

However, for me, Emily's character just felt flat. She came across as such a people pleaser and not really having a voice of her own. I wanted her more assertive to her own trauma she was obviously still carrying but couldn't give a voice, especially since she fights for women to defend themselves and come forward when they are sexually assaulted. She came across so powerfully when Tamsin wouldn't step forward, and it left me a little frustrated with her.

That being said, it was an easy read with a powerful message but an ending that left me feeling like life just goes on regardless.

Emily and Tamsin meet at an environmental protest and quickly become firm friends with Emily very taken with Tamsin’s seemingly glamorous world. When a news story breaks about sexual abuse allegations against a famous Director their friendship is challenged and bigger questions are raised about how women choose to handle their trauma in different ways.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and Bonnier Books for the eARC of “Young Women”, which is due to be published on Thursday 26 May.

I would say it needs a trigger warning for rape, sexual abuse and abuse of power so please consider whether you are able to cope with that.

I’ve got kind of mixed feelings on this one. I was intrigued by the synopsis, which was why I requested it from NetGalley in the first place but unfortunately I found the execution to be quite poor, particularly once we got into the second half and dealt with the allegations against the Director. It felt very much like a fictionalised rehashing of the Harvey Weinstein case and even included a comment that seemed to allude to Jeffrey Epstein. Now I have no problem with fictionalised takes on actual events but with subject matter like this I think it needs a more delicate touch than it was given by Moor.

My biggest problem though was with the character of Emily. The book is told in first person narrative from her point of view and whilst I often enjoy an unreliable narrator I found her incredibly unlikeable and annoying throughout most of the book, which is a problem when we’re spending the whole thing basically in her head. For me, she was everything that is wrong with feminism in the modern world. Most of her actions throughout the book were performative in nature and actually damaging in some cases.

She tries to act like she’s this great champion of women but through the course of the book she’s a pretty rubbish friend when it comes to her supposed best friend, Lucy; she is so distracted by things going on in her personal life that she neglects her job to the detriment of a woman who she’s supposed to be helping who is a victim of sexual abuse; and when Tamsin doesn’t behave in the way she feels she should she re-victimises her by taking away her agency and imposing her views on her.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not claiming to be perfect, nobody is, but Emily has such a massive chip on her shoulder for the entire book I don’t think she even learned from her mistakes by the end. She centred herself in stories that had nothing to do with her and was too busy trying to use buzzwords and appear like she was a better person than everyone around her.

Parts of Moor’s writing were great and this book had such promise but in the end, it wasn’t for me at all. Maybe I’m a little older than the target audience, the characters are in their twenties and I’m in my late thirties, but I just found it a little full of itself and packed with cliches and buzzwords that are ultimately meaningless.

A glamorous actress and a victim support workers' lives come together in a friendship that tetters on the edge of a cliff of accusations that the actress has made involving a director years earlier. Through a haze of alcohol and frank conversations between the two the revelations come to light, but at the expense of the women's support workers employment.
This is the juxt of the main story, anymore and it would run into a spoiler I think. A great storyline and easily read and involvement with the characters and the journey is inevitable, I just wanted to see what the outcome was. Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the arc copy, my review is entirely my own.

What does it mean to be a young woman in the #metoo era? This is one of the themes of this new novel by Jessica Moor. Set in London, it follows the friendship of Emily and Tasmin, who meet following their arrest at a climate change protest. ⁣
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Emily, a lawyer working for a womens advocacy centre, is quickly seduced by Tasmin, almost to the point of obsession. Tasmin is mysterious, gauche and sophisticated, in contrast to Emily, who has boyfriend and job insecurities. Tasmin lives in a chi-chi flat in Soho and hints about an unsuccessful acting career left behind in her native Canada. When a scandal breaks about the nefarious activities of Hollywood Director, Art Rawlings, it has repercussions on their relationship that neither could have imagined. ⁣
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The book raises a lot of issues in and around the topic of NDAs and the complicity or otherwise of women who receive money for their silence. It’s difficult to say too much more about the book without spoilers. It raises important issues like wealth, patriarchy and the abuse of power. (Beware of certain tws for rape & child abuse). ⁣
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This is a pacey novel, which covers relevant and thought provoking issues such as the complexities of female friendships. Despite the weighty topics, it’s still a very accessible and important read. A bit thin on plot development in parts, but overall a solid 3.5⭐️⁣
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Many thanks to @netgalley and @manillapress for this ebook in return for my honest review. This book is published by Boonier Books UK on 26 May. ⁣
#weareyoungwomen

Acclaimed writer Jessica Moor’s second outing is an exceptionally gripping take on the #MeToo era. It’s set in a slightly clichéd version of middle-class London – filled with familiar landmarks from Soho’s cafés to Gordon’s Wine Bar, the Savoy Hotel and the Hampstead Ladies Pond. A young lawyer Emily, now working for a women’s advocacy charity, has a chance encounter with a charismatic, would-be actress Tamsin at a climate change protest. At first their budding friendship plays out like the beginnings of a love story or maybe a potentially dangerous obsession, Emily’s attraction to Tamsin, and Tamsin’s upmarket lifestyle, fuelled by equal parts suppressed desire and envy. But when Tamsin’s past’s linked to a breaking scandal the story takes an unexpected turn. A scandal that revolves around the exposure of a middle-aged, mainstream but arty director. A man who specialises in films that centre women from Billie Holiday to Anaïs Nin, but is now implicated in the sexual coercion and assault of a number of the younger actresses who’ve worked with him.

Viewed from some angles this is a blatantly-manipulative piece reminiscent of novels like Gone Girl. Moor’s central character, the gawky Emily, with her increasingly-disturbing fixation on the glamorous Tamsin, is a recognisable iteration of the unlikeable, vampiric woman who frequently surfaces in the pages of a certain subgenre of literary thriller. But at the same time, it’s an often fascinating, surprisingly fertile and accessible exploration of abusive male power, laced with references to acts of casual and not-so-casual sexual violence perpetrated by entitled, predatory men. Stories that might seem a little too much if they weren’t so horribly, achingly familiar - stories I’ve heard from other women, some I could have told myself. But Moor’s narrative’s less about the men but the women whose lives they’ve blighted, and the complex interactions between them: Emily’s best friend, the women Emily works with, and Emily herself. Women entangled in questions and issues of complicity, trauma, the nature of justice, and the damage they might also inflict on each other.

I was completely caught up in this, at least up until the concluding sections when the pace suddenly faltered and the structure became increasingly uneven. I was less than happy with the rather tokenistic treatment of a wiser, older, Black lesbian character; and disappointed that Moor shied away from tackling the intricate, sexual implications of Emily’s fascination with Tamsin. I was also slightly frustrated by the way in which - after a cursory examination of the social and cultural systems that foster damaging manifestations of male power, economic and otherwise - Moor appeared to be backing away from fully confronting wider, underlying political concerns. Instead edging towards, what could be interpreted, as a heavily compromised, not-all-men-are-like-that position. A position that stirred unfavourable comparisons to Eliza Clark’s ferocious, boundary-pushing Boy Parts. Even so, this is a well-crafted, compulsively-readable piece, packed with explicit talking points. A novel I could easily see becoming a summer bestseller, if not a compelling, mini-series.

When Emily meets Tamsin at a protest her life immediately changes for the better. I loved the description of female friendship and how exciting it feels to be swept along by a new friend
But what appears to be a story about friendship develops into tackling issues around patriarchy, power imbalance and me too.

I thought this book zipped along nicely and was a real page turner for me. Emily, a young lawyer who works at a charity for abused women meets Tamsin, an aspiring actress at an eco demo when they are both arrested. Tamsin seems imposssibly glamorous, living in a chic apartment in Soho with a connoisseur's taste in wine and food and with pots of money.Emily quickly becomes fast friends with Tamsin, enjoying the high life with her. However, Tamsin has secrets and when a #MeToo allegation is made against a famous director Emily makes decisions that will cause both Tamsin and her own life to unravel. This was an interesting read about attraction, friendship, consent, loyalty and sexual assault and coercion.

Young Women was a really interesting take on the complexities of female friendship, sexual assault and existing as a women in the modern era.
It looks at various forms of assault and how it has affected the women from thereon out. I really enjoyed the depth of Emily’s character, in some respects she was quite dislikable but still easy to understand and sympathise with.

I really enjoyed this book. When Emily , a lawyer meets Tamsin at a protest, they strike up a friendship. Emily is soon transported to Tamsin's world of expensive nights out, way beyond her usual life. When a famous film director is called out as a serial rapist, Emily discovers how actress Tamsin can afford her lavish lifestyle. Tamsin has evidence against the director but she and Emily disagree on what she should do with it. Emily also has some experience of the blurred lines of consent with her ex partner. This is a thought provoking story dealing with current issues. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

(Trigger warning; mentions of SA in this review and heavily in the book.)
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Is justice always the answer? Do survivors have a responsibility to prevent future victims by coming forward? Shouldn’t men who’ve done awful things face the consequences of their actions?

Firstly, I need to congratulate Jessica Moor on the creation of such a poignant, important, and hard-hitting book. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, I think this book has forever changed my life.

Young Women is set in London, and the protagonist, Emily, finds herself making unlikely friends with a charismatic, beautiful woman named Tamsin during a protest. The two of them could not lead more different lives - Tamsin has an apartment in trendy Soho with a balcony overlooking the city and a taste for luxurious food and drink, whereas Emily shares a not-worth-mentioning flat across the city and has a penchant for eating the same meal deal from Tesco twice in one day.
The novel follows their unfolding friendship, all whilst Emily struggles to keep up with her job working for a charity that advocates for women in trouble, an old friend facing a silent trauma, and… the horrors of tinder.
As if this wasn’t enough, Emily’s life is thrown into chaos when she learns a secret about Tamsin that rocks her to the core.

I genuinely do not have enough words to describe how much this book made me question myself. The first thing I noticed myself doing was taking a dislike to Emily, but I believe that this was something Jessica Moor intended. I started out with neutral feelings towards the protagonist, but after some serious events happened, I took a severe dislike to her. That’s not to say that she was badly written, quite the opposite! It’s much easier to make a character that’s likeable, in my opinion, and Moor has done an incredible job of writing a protagonist that is not the hero of the story - because there are no heroes - and is quite simply a normal human being, flawed, but trying her best.

Without giving away too much detail, the main and sub-plots are all involved in some way with the sexual abuse of women, by men. Through Emily’s eyes, the reader is invited to listen to the stories of various women, and what this book also does so well is make you reconsider your own opinions of these cases, and it helps you to see things from other perspectives. What may not seem like a big deal to one woman might be something that another woman can’t stop thinking about, something that destroys her life. Young Women made me question my own claim to being open minded and non-judgemental. Who was I to decide that Emily was in the wrong for the decisions she made?

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Bonnier Books, Manilla Press, and Jessica Moor for giving me the chance to read this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley, Jessica Moor and the publisher for sending me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After being arrested at a protest Emily meets Tamsin and her life changes immediately. She becomes more spontaneous, and enjoys her life more. However when Emily finds out one of Tamsin’s deepest secrets she reacts in an extremely unsupportive way and goes behind her back to reveal it.

I would have given this book 5 stars if it wasn’t for the way the Emily acted, and I feel like there wasn’t enough closure at the end. It just all felt a bit unfinished.

Thought provoking with flawed characters, Young Women is a powerful story told in two parts and set around the time of the “Me Too” movement. Dealing with a whole spectrum of sexual abuse, from what society would call “minor incidents” to rape. We follow Emily, who becomes friends with Tamsin, an actress who is hiding something very dark.

I would recommend this book for people who love character driven stories as there wasn’t a huge, shocking plot point that you couldn’t see coming, but these characters all felt extremely real. Jessica Moor’s writing was beautiful; so descriptive and lyrical at times, but never too much and always very easy to read.

I did personally finish this up wanting a little more as I am a big fan of plot twists, but, I have thought about this book every single day since I completed it, so clearly it has had a lasting impression on me.

I can’t wait to read more from this author!

(Thank you to Bonnier Books UK and Netgalley for the ARC!)

A brilliant millennial read that addresses me-too-esque issues and provides a nuanced discussion of consent, whilst having a clever and engaging narrative. I adored the female friendship struck up by Emily and Tamsin in the first half of the book, and these passages were by far my favourite to read. We slowly uncover that each female character has had her own experience with different types of sexual assault, and the narrative works to question the characters decisions and highlight grey areas in the aftermath of their experiences.

Young Women | Jessica Moor

A story of two young women in the city of London set against the backdrop of the ‘me too’ movement. Young Women is an unflinching and important read.

This, essentially, is the story of accidental friendship, of being a 20-something in London, and of how complicit we can be by remaining silent when having a voice.

The polar-opposite appearing protagonists are as fascinating as each other, if not a little cliched. Emily, a lawyer (working for a women’s rights charity) who feels life has become staid, meets Tamsin, a Canadian actress, at a climate change protest, and they soon become inseparable friends as Emily enjoys Tamsin’s apparent zest for life.

What follows is an exploration of devastating events with men that have affected each woman’s life and how they continue to impact their lives.

Moor takes you through the streets of London and its nightlife with such vigor you can find yourself feeling intoxicated and drawn into the centre of these women’s orbit.

Moor is an incredibly skilled writer; she can tackle issues surrounding sexual violence, assault, and discrimination sensitively, as told through the experiences of Emily and Tamsin, the two ‘young women’ the book title refers to. Yet, despite the dark themes, her prose is effortlessly easy to read. The plot is suspenseful and full of unpredictability that keeps you guessing all the way through.

Young Women is a compelling novel about the patriarchal society and women's role within it, told in a mainstream and accessible way. It is in no way an easy read, but it is uncompromising, challenging, and enlightening, focusing on what it means to be a woman in a man’s world.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bonnier Books UK, and Manilla Press, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Young Women is out on May 26th but is available for pre-order now.

Young women

I found this book raw, real, emotional and empowering.
At first this book appears to be a coming of age story in London, following female friendship and it’s messiness. However it goes on to tackle sexual assault in many forms, from being touched on the tube, to rape, and the complex issues of accepting money for silence. This book looks at the way sexual assaults are regarded, especially by other women.
I think a really important story was told here. The narrative was fast paced and slightly messy at times but I

I enjoyed the plot, I really did but about half way through I started to get bored with the ranting type of article search that was going on.
The start of the novel was going somewhere but it is as if the author got stuck at where to take it as it began to ramble on and not really go anywhere.

Young Women was an insightful and interesting novel about issues that still arise today. Most women can say they have been sexual assaulted at some point in their life and this doesn't mean most have been raped. Sexual assault can be anything that isn't consensual. This story was so important in educating all about consent and that is the key message I took away from this book.
Tamsin was such an inspiring character and how she wasn't scared of Art really made me admire her. Her beliefs surrounding men proved she was a strong confident woman even with the trauma that she faced. Initially, I thought I was going to read a story about two women with an amazing connection and what I got was a story about two very different women with very different opinions in regards to having a voice and when/how to use it.
This book gripped me right from the beginning, I really liked Tamsin and her whole badass personality. It was dark at times when the stories of sexual assault were coming out but it is so important to hear these different stories. I will be recommending this book to all!