Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill

Title: Only Ever Yours
Author: Louise O'Neill
Published: 3rd July 2014
Publisher: Quercus

Review

Bloody hell, this book completely stressed me out and consumed me all at once. I could not stop thinking about it. It was horrifying and yet oh so intriguing and deals with the very real issues about body image that girls go through today but ten-fold.
Only Ever Yours tells the alarming dystopian story of a future where men rule and women are bred and brought up to be perfect and beautiful and to satisfy the needs of men. They aren't even taught to read or write. They spend sixteen years of their lives striving for perfection, all to decide whether they will be companions, concubines or chastities.
Only Ever Yours centers around Frieda and her final year before the ceremony, where she will spend the rest of her life as either a companion, concubine or chastity. At first I really did like Frieda and really wanted things to work out for her (as best as they could in this crazy world). But the closer she got to the ceremony, the more things started to go wrong and it was mostly her fault. I felt so annoyed and frustrated with her for trying to fit in all the time with the other girls. To me it was obvious that they wouldn't be there for her at the end and yet she couldn't seem to see that. I got so furious with her and her stupidity sometimes that I was actually yelling at the book lol!
O'neill doesn't hide anything from us with her writing, it is truly dark and what is more scary is that you can imagine it coming true!  This book haunted me for days afterwards, I could not get it out of my head. A fantastic, unique, brilliant debut from Louise O'neill. Definitely one to watch!