Within the context of Irish and international twenty-first-century young adult (YA) literature, this dissertation examines how Irish author Louise O’Neill’s contemporary young adult fiction articulates and explores ideas and debates concerning power and empowerment, feminism, gender, and consent. It addresses how the concept of “rape culture” (“a complex set of beliefs that encourages male sexual aggression and supports violence against women” Buchwald et al., 1995, xi) and the intersections between feminism and power have become increasingly prominent in Irish cultural discourse in the years following the publication of O’Neill’s Only Ever Yours and Asking For It – in 2014 and 2015 respectively. This dissertation asks whether texts like O’Neill’s, that contain overtly feminist political ideology rethink freedom and empowerment for women and girls, really propose new ways of thinking about power and gender, or do they get lost in, or weighed down by, authorial agenda and controversy? It is argued that O’Neill’s narrative approach to power results in a narrow focus on sexism, with damning limitations for male and female characterisation. This dissertation critiques the works’ representation of traditional notions of masculinity and emphasises their failure to consider men’s position within the gendered construct; women’s role in constructing masculinities; and male oppression. Considering the socio-political context in Ireland and broader Western culture in which O’Neill’s works are written, and taking into account a selection of Irish and international YA literature that addresses similar issues in different contexts, this dissertation highlights the contradictions in O’Neill’s works. It illuminates the potential of O’Neill’s texts to function as a form of literary/social fundamentalism, which often undermines, rather than promotes, equality. By engaging with these aspects of O’Neill’s works, and, more broadly, those authored by other contemporary Irish YA writers committed to voicing a very different Ireland to that of previous generations, this dissertation offers a timely and necessary response to contemporary feminist Irish YA fiction and substantiates why such works are deserving of increased critical scrutiny.