Book Review: Furious

Author: Jill Wolfson
Publication Date: April 16, 2013
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. BYR

Three high school girls become the avenging Furies of Greek legend.

We were only three angry girls, to begin with. Alix, the hot-tempered surfer chick; Stephanie, the tree-hugging activist; and me, Meg, the quiet foster kid, the one who never quite fit in. We hardly knew each other, but each of us nurtured a burning anger: at the jerks in our class, at our disappointing parents, at the whole flawed, unjust world.

We were only three angry girls, simmering uselessly in our ocean-side California town, until one day a mysterious, beautiful classmate named Ambrosia taught us what else we could be: Powerful. Deadly. Furious.

This next part, I’m sure of it. I’m not imagining it. Ms. Pallas glares at Ambrosia, who holds up three of her fingers with their long, red-painted nails. It’s like she’s flashing the teacher some kind of gang symbol. The letter W? The number three. It happens fast then it’s over. Ambrosia then peers over her shoulder. At me.

 

“You, Meg,” she says, “are a treasure. You are exactly what we need.”

 

When you’re totally aware that this is your life, and for the first time, you know exactly how you’re supposed to be living it.

 

I, too, suddenly feel tired, like years of tension have drained out of me. Maybe it’s the aftermath of the revenge game. Maybe it’s the low pressure of the unusual weather. Maybe it’s something else.

I have never read or studied much regarding Greek Mythology, but this book and the premise behind it has gotten me more intrigued. Jill Wolfson gives readers an intriguing story about three angry high school girls, who are joined together by the force of spirits known The Furies of Ancient Greek Mythology. Meg is the voice that readers will hear the most often, and her story starts off as any other: a lost, misunderstood teenage girl. Then Meg joins forces with Alix and Stephanie, along with the help of the mysterious Ambrosia. Once they mastered their newly acquired powers they realize where they are needed. They realize they can make a difference in the world. But they also realize just how angry, brutal, and furious they can be.

 

I have to say that the idea behind this story and the idea of having three angry girls, suddenly full of power, going around messing with the people who deserve it is fabulous. I was very involved in the mythical aspect infused in this story as I read, but I did have one small problem with it. To me it seemed that the girls just all of sudden came into these powers. It just happened too fast, and I hope this makes sense for readers to understand. There was a small initiation, but I felt that it should have been more stressed and should have been one of the most significant, climatic parts of the story. It was like BAM! Now we have three girls walking around with the power to destroy anything that crosses their paths.

 

On a better note, I enjoyed Alix, Stephanie, Meg, and Raymond. I loved the bond they formed and how angry they all could be together. Wolfson spent a decent amount of time laying each character out for readers. I developed and appreciated the greater understanding that I was given for each character and why they were so angry. I also the fact that as the book progressed so did the relationship between the girls. They fed off of each other and their anger and hatred for everyone in their high school brought them closer together. Now don’t get me wrong, these girls were not just plain cruel, but rather brought justice to those who deserved it!

 

***A copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers in exchange for an honest review***