Title: FURIOUS
Author: Jill Wolfson
Published: April 16th, 2013
Genre: YA paranormal
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co BYR
POV: 1st person
Pages: 336
Format: Advanced Reader's Copy
Source: Publicist
Rating: 3.8 out of 5
"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."
I'm a sucker for mythology, so when I saw that this book was about Furies, I became excited. Deadly furies in high school? Yes please, sign me up for that book.
Meg, our narrator in FURIOUS, is a foster kid who has a tendency of finding herself in embarrassing situations that would make just about anyone cringe. After an unfortunately awkward class moment starring Meg, Meg soon finds herself grouped together with Ambrosia (a mysterious, gorgeous, popular girl), Alix (a strong, fiery-tempered surfer chick), Stephanie (a nature-loving sweetheart with some spunk) and her best friend Raymond (who is made of awesome, let's just leave it at that) for a school project, Meg's life quickly spirals out of control as she learns the truth about herself and the deadly power she holds inside of herself....
Who knew three girls could cause so much damage? In the introduction, Wolfson thrusts Meg into an awkward situation that demands a reader's sympathy. Once Meg and the other girls start embracing their abilities, the story becomes even more fascinating as the lines between what's good and bad begin to blur uncomfortably. From high school bullies to deadbeat dad's, no one is off limits and no punishment is too harsh in their eyes. While the girls quickly become intimidating and hard to enjoy fully, and I enjoyed how far Wolfson took them in their fury-filled journey. Dangerous and exciting, FURIOUS is one novel you'll have a hard time setting aside.
Highlights: I enjoyed Wolfson's take on Furies, along with how and the way they used their abilities. I also enjoyed that there were consequences from using these abilities, too. Despite seeming to be very stereotypical at first glance, these characters have a few extra layers to them. There's a costume party that is wonderfully described and vivid (I love costume parties, so I'm definitely biased on this point).
Lowlights: Predictable. Characters quickly became unlikable, but that didn't greatly hinder my enjoyment of the novel. As much as I devoured this book, there was something about the writing, and I never became fully invested in this story and the characters.
Rating: This book is a difficult to rate. While I couldn't stop reading, there were some aspects I didn't like. So, I'm going with 3.8 out of 5: I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite a few issues.
