Promising Young Women

Author: Caroline O’Donoghue
Twenty-something year-old Jane Peters has fallen into a bit of a slump. She has a successful boyfriend and a stable job that brings her no sense of fulfilment at a marketing company. She also has a secret persona, Jolly Politely, an online agony aunt.
Things start to spiral out of control when Max breaks up with her and she finds herself having to deal with life all by herself. In addition, she starts to do well at work and gets a promotion after a secret love affair flares up between her and her much older and married boss Clem.
Without realising it, she is turning into one of the people looking for answers rather than one giving advice. She is the one questioning her decisions. Did she get promoted because she was proving herself at work or just because she is sleeping with the boss? Will the fate of her relationship with Clem have an impact on her career?
Caroline O’Donoghue’s debut novel is a timely tale of a young woman trying to make her way in a male dominated industry. Will trying to make it to the top corrupt her morals and principles? Is what she is doing right? Promising Young Women is a faithful reflection of the working environments in which women can find themselves.
Promising Young Women is a powerful portrayal of what it means to be a woman in a man’s world and, in a post #MeToo and #TimesUp world, brings into the light the unfairness of gender inequality in the workplace and how the abuse of power can affect a person’s mental and physical wellbeing.
Promising Young Women is a “chick flick” that all women working in industries dominated by men should read. The language is incredibly familiar and the narrative approaches the subject of gender inequality in an entertaining and thought-provoking way. It is an incredibly witty, sharp and brutally honest read.
> Naomi Round