Synopsis

When Emily meets the enigmatic and dazzling actress Tamsin, her life changes.

Drawn into Tamsin’s world of Soho living, boozy dinners, and cocktails at impossibly expensive bars, Emily’s life shifts from black and white to technicolour and the two women become inseparable. Tamsin is the friend Emily has always longed for; beautiful, fun, intelligent and mysterious and soon Emily is neglecting her previous life – her work assisting vulnerable women, her old friend Lucy – to bask in her glow.

But when a bombshell news article about a decades-old sexual assault case breaks, Emily realises that Tamsin has been hiding a secret about her own past. Something that threatens to unravel everything…

Review

We’ve all had that one friend who seems to have everything, someone we admire, envy and hate in equal measure. But how do you draw the line between friendship, love and obsession?

In Young Women, Jessica Moor looks at the concept of friendship, in particular one forged almost by chance. Instantly relatable the two young women are polar opposites, driven by a common cause. Yet somehow a friendship blossoms…

The girls’ relationship borders on obsession – at least on Emily’s side. She lives vicariously through Tamsin, enjoying a version of London that is very different to her own experience.

This is a great character-driven story that looks at the #MeToo movement, as well as our own internal struggle between right and wrong. However, I did feel that more time could have been devoted to Emily’s feelings for Tamsin. There are hints throughout the book, that it is more than just a friendship, but it is never fully explored, which is a shame.

Neither character is particularly likeable, but there are elements of each girl that are relatable. My own experience of London is more like Tamsin’s, spending countless nights in Soho, talking shop with other theatre people. Tamsin is sexy, fun and charismatic, so Emily’s attraction to her is understandable!

Conversely, Emily seems distant and almost jealous; despite her job, she seems to struggle with doing the right thing and lacks the initiative to ask questions so that she can better support her clients, friends and boyfriends.

The ending is dark, disappointing and direct, leaving us with many questions: we wonder why Emily did what she did, as it seemed to serve no real purpose except to make herself feel better. Was it jealousy, sabotage or naivety?

A story that will stay with you, Young Women is a fantastic analysis of female friendship that leaves you torn between missing the freedom of your 20s and grateful that you no longer have to deal with that scale of drama!

Proof copy provided by Manilla Press. Opinions my own.

Follow @Paradise_Library on Instagram for creative edits and reviews.