I found this book to not only be extremely impactful but also essential, and incredibly important. The way this book tackles the bleak reality of what Women face (pertaining to the #metoo movement) was harrowing yet beautifully written, and it will certainly stick with me.

I wasn't sure this novel was going to be for me, a story of two young women in the city of London set against the backdrop of the #metoo movement. Sexual discrimination, harassment, violence, prejudice are things I have never, thankfully, encountered as a white male.

However, more than anyone else I think this book was definitely for me and I am so glad that I read it. The two main characters were incredibly well-developed and I really believed their stories. Whilst I could not understand, or agree, with some of the decisions they made, this just made the characters all the more believable.

This is an incredibly powerful novel about the patriarchal society and a women's role within it told in a mainstream and accessible way. This book will challenge you and make you feel uncomfortable but it is essential reading for all.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bonnier Books UK, Manilla Press, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So much of this book is uncomfortable reading... that so many have their own story of sexual assault. In many different ways.
What was very interesting was how the main character viewed these assaults.
Interesting, and thought provoking.
A main character I just couldn't decide if I liked or not,
This will do well.

This is the first Jessica Moor novel I've read and I had a mixed reaction to it. Emily, a lawyer at a Women's Advocacy Centre meets Tamsin, an actress at a climate change protest and is immediately drawn into her seemingly privileged Soho lifestyle. Meanwhile Emily finds herself drifting away from Lucy her childhood friend. When a decades old sexual abuse case is back in the headlines Emily is forced to confront her own attitude and behaviour towards her two friends. I applaud Young Women for focusing on the multiple ways in which women are abused by men in power and for exploring the complexity of women's differing responses to this. Moor is a wonderful writer and I was really drawn into the novel and characters. The weakness for me was in the character of Emily who I found rather weak and her role at the Women's Centre didn't quite ring true for me.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.
3.5 stars

A somewhat messy, shapeless narrative that nevertheless deals with pressing issues of women's suffering under patriarchy, along a spectrum of assault from 'casual' touching on the Underground to rape. The sheer number of stories of sexualised attack can be a bit overwhelming but is probably the most important takeaway here: we all have our stories to tell in this field, and still regress is slow and elusive.

Indeed, as this book shows, there is an institutionalised weighing against women whether that's through a reluctance of the police and legal sector to investigate, the tricky nature of he said/she said and lack of so-called hard evidence, or the pernicious use of legal silencing tactics like NDAs and out of court payoffs (and it's worth noting that the £2m payoff in the book has, allegedly, increased to around £12m in the current case of Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre). One of the hot issues raised in the story is to what extent women might be complicit in perpetuating rape culture by accepting this silence in return for money: a difficult topic that touches on choice, responsibility, agency, self-care and what individuals might need to do to survive and move forward.

The book falls neatly into two halves: the first feels like it's going to be one of those toxic female friendship tales where one partner has all the glamour, money and excitement - but about halfway through this shifts into a different story altogether and Tamsin all but disappears from the narrative.

The consequences of Emily's behaviour feel underdeveloped and the shift of focus a little unsatisfying. This is valuable as a 'popular' piece of fiction which raises important questions about power, privilege and patriarchy in an easily readable and accessible way. It feels a little thin at times as it doesn't delve into the issues it raises - but the righteous anger that seems to fuel the book made me want to cheer it on anyway.

Young Women, Jessica Moor

Everyone’s got history. Emily meets dazzling Tamsin and is drawn into her exciting, world of soho living. Parties, dinners, cocktails. The further in she falls the sooner she realises Tamsin has a secret to hide.

A heady, intoxicating dive into power, vulnerability and consent.
This story is timely, landing with a gut punch. Reminiscent of Caroline O’Donoghue and Katie Lowe. My first read of Jessica Moor but certainly not my last.

I really enjoyed this book, it was well written with well developed characters and a gripping storyline that had my heart in my throat several times whilst reading it. It was suspenseful and full of twists and unpredictability that kept me guessing all the way through. A really good read.

The main character, Emma, becomes obsessed with a new glamorous friend, Tamsin. Soon she is neglecting her job in a Women’s Advocacy Centre, where she helps vulnerable women, and her friendship with Lucy. Tamsin is beautiful, mysterious and full of secrets, and Emma is dying to discover them, but at what cost?
The story concentrates on an article about a decades-old sexual assault case, and discusses themes of consent and trust, justice and complicity. The main character is naïve, but the author does her best to acknowledge her flaws and immaturity. Themes of exploitation and abuse of power are not new, but I am glad we are getting to see a validation of different perspectives and priorities amongst female characters.

I made the mistake of following a Louise O'Neill book with this one and it paled it comparison. O'Neill is the queen of writing gritty stories about women with complex, flawed female protagonists; this addition to the exploration of Hollywood sexual assault and power abuses never quite took me where I wanted it to. The narrator herself left me feeling a little cold-- I never really felt like I knew her --and I couldn't stop myself from thinking that The Comeback by Ella Berman already took on this subject and did it much better.

Wow.
This book blew me away. The characters, the twisting perfectly placed plot, the food! I disliked the main character, but it still worked so well.