Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Une fille facile

It’s brilliant. The way O’Neill depicted the complicated family dynamics. The glaring contrast between the two halves of the book. Emma’s mind and the complexity of a character who starts out extremely unlikeable but engaging. I really respect O’Neill for not writing the typical “pure” or “squeaky clean” rape victim. It serves to show that no matter the circumstances ; how they behave, what they wore, their sexual history, their substance abuse… sexual assault is never acceptable. O’Neill’s writing doesn’t come across as preachy in the slightest and it’s still entertaining dramatic storytelling.

It’s conclusion, while unsatisfying, needed to be written that way to do justice to real life survivors and the legal system designed against them.

It’s a bleak and heartbreaking read - not for the faint hearted - but gravely important and always will be.

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ceci_cc's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This was very difficult to read but it was well done and I think it was accurate, unfortunately.

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lara_reads_stuff's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

Just heart breaking but an excellent read, needed to take breaks a few times while reading but also felt like I couldn't put it down.

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eilimeee's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective 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? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I found this story so emotional and it absolutely broke me.
The beginning was a bit confusing for some reason and I had a hard adjusting and remembering all the new characters involved but it ended up being fine.
The author really plays with the reader’s feelings: she introduces a horrible main character, she’s mean, self-centered, a horrible friend, jealous… and then the most traumatic thing happens to her.
The contrast between her character before and after is truly heartbreaking even though she is hardly likable in the beginning.
I felt such ache for her as people around her just happen to be the most insensitive and inconsiderate people to ever exist including her parents. They made me feel such anger.
It is the only book that brought me to tears multiple times and the ending was even worse as it seems like everyone has just given up and she’s just looking for help and support and nobody seems to want to give her that.
I don’t think I will ever recover from this book.

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niamh5's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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venice_bitch's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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kasey_reads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

Obviously, this is a very difficult review to write, because I didn't enjoy this book, nor do I necessarily recommend it, but I think it's incredibly important and stunningly written.

Louise O'Neill tackles an extremely difficult subject, and uses first person narration to fully immerse the reader in Emma's thoughts and feelings. I think it's also really important that O'Neill wrote characters who are not inherently likeable. Emma is vain, petty, and selfish. Her mother is self-centered, rigid, and mean. Her father is cold, weak, and frankly, a bit of an idiot. These characters are frustrating, but they're also raw and real. Even her own family and friends don't rally around Emma after her assault. She feels and is very much alone. This choice makes the story even more harrowing.

Louise O'Neill's writing is visceral, and pulls the reader in to the deepest thoughts of Emma.

Overall, this is a frustrating story. Something terrible happens and O'Neill outlines the terrible aftermath.

I think that this is a really important story for young people to read. I think it's important to read a first-person narrative of an imperfect young woman who victimized in the most atrocious way. It's important for young people to learn that no one, ever, is asking for it.

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romancetrash's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

5.0

This book is probably the only one that makes me so sick to my stomach. It has a chokehold over me and the imagery is absolutely brutal. I give it a 5 because of this chokehold . The worst part is that it is also believable. O’Neill did a good job, but i never want to read something like this again

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