This page-turning, harrowing debut is the story of a girl trying to fit in, whose obsessive new friends and desperation to belong leads her to places she’d never imagined…dark, dangerous, and possibly even violent. “Fans of Greer Macallister, Paula Hawkins, and Janelle Brown will devour Violet’s journey.” –Booklist ~~~ In 1998, a sixteen-year-old girl is found dead. She’s posed on a swing … is found dead.
She’s posed on a swing on her boarding school’s property, dressed all in white, with no known cause of death. Whispers and rumors swirl, with no answers. But there are a few who know what happened; there is one girl who will never forget.
One year earlier: a new student, Violet, steps on the campus of Elm Hollow Academy, an all-girl’s boarding school on the outskirts of a sleepy coastal town. This is her fresh start, her chance to begin again in the wake of tragedy, leave her demons behind. Bright but a little strange, uncertain and desperate to fit in, she soon finds herself invited to an advanced study group, led by her alluring and mysterious art teacher, Annabel.
There, with three other girls–Alex, Grace, and Robin–the five of them delve into the school’s long-buried grim history: of Greek and Celtic legends; of the school founder’s “academic” interest in the occult; of gruesome 17th century witch trials. Annabel does her best to convince the girls that her classes aren’t related to ancient rites and rituals, and that they are just history and mythology. But the more she tries to warn the girls off the topic, the more they are drawn to it, and the possibility that they can harness magic for themselves.
Violet quickly finds herself wrapped up in this heady new world of lawless power–except she is needled by the disappearance of a former member of the group, one with whom Violet shares an uncanny resemblance. As her friends’ actions take a turn for the darker and spiral out of control, she begins to wonder who she can trust, all the while becoming more deeply entangled. How far will these young girls go to protect one another…or to destroy one another?
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I simply do not like “mean” girls and this book was a perfect example of them. So that made it difficult to get involved in the story and actually care about the characters. This is really a YA novel and so not my preferred type of book. Lots of toxic relationships and revenge. A very dark read and not appealing to me at all.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins for an advanced copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
The Furies
By: Katie Lowe
*REVIEW*.5
The Furies was not what I expected. I lacked connection with the characters. Violet was new to school, but she just seemed really stupid and easily led. These girls followed Robin, like she was a god or something, and I despise characters who act this way. This was the reason for the disconnect. I would also like to know where the adults were in this story? My suspension of disbelief only goes so far until I call it ridiculous. The story was well written but did not interest me enough to care what happened. Overall, I am not the right audience for this book. I think older ya readers would like it much better than I did.
/ 5
I haven’t seen the greatest reviews for The Furies by Katie Lowe but I still wanted to give it a shot, and I don’t regret reading it!
If you are looking for a slow burn, and I mean really slow, you will get it with The Furies. I wish the pacing would have been better because I felt like it took a long time to read even though in reality it didn’t even take me 5 hours. I really liked the aspect of the history of the school and I wish it would have had even more of that. There are creepy parts that deal with witchcraft that I wish would have popped up more since that’s when things got really interesting.
I didn’t find myself liking any characters in the novel, so be prepared for that. Violet seems smart enough, but I just couldn’t get behind most of her decisions. Of course this is a coming-of-age tale though, so I guess you have to expect decisions not to be great. The ending was pretty chilling though, and you don’t know who the dead girl is until the end. I didn’t figure out who it was going to be, but I guess I should have. I just let the book take me away and tried not to sleuth.
I read an interview with Lowe on sublimehorror.com after finishing this book where she said that she wanted to do young women’s anger some justice and I think she definitely did. There is a lot of rage in The Furies and it was interesting to see how the girls handled it. Reading her interview actually made me appreciate this book more, which was helpful. It was such a unique book, and unlike anything I have ever read which I think is in part thanks to Lowe’s writing style. It isn’t just about murder, but also deals with rape and body issues among other things. She really tried to bring the teenage years to life which I can always appreciate.
Song/s the book brought to mind: Secret by The Pierces
Final Thought: There were elements of The Furies that I really liked which is why I still ended up at a 3/5 for this one. While it didn’t blow me away and the pacing was too slow for my liking, I would definitely still read this author’s next book. I would also recommend this book to the right person. As long as you don’t mind really slow pacing and you like books that delve into teenage rage and witchcraft, this would be a good one to pick up!
Thank you to the publisher for my advanced review copy via NetGalley. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
I am torn with this book.
I didn’t love it but I also didn’t hate it.
I am stuck somewhere in the middle of love and hate, and there are not many books that leave me in this state.
Going into this book I had conjured up feelings of it being very much like The Craft – and whilst there are some elements (4 girls ancient texts) it fell flat. The Furies were only mentioned a few times and “seen” once, which left me sorely disappointed. I wanted more witchcraft, more spells, more Furies. But instead you get the toxic friendship that Robin, Alex and Grace have with Violet. Mainly between Robin and Violet, Alex and Grace don’t seem to want to pass the time of day with Violent with Robin isn’t around.
I think reflecting on the story for me the main line was the peer pressure and toxic friendships rather than the whole witchcraft one. Violet comes to Elm Hollow Academy looking for a new start following a year off school after a tragic car accident that saw her father and sister die. Violet is in a place where having the attention of Robin is something that she is craving, but she soon gets caught up with drugs, drinking and sex (actually rape which lead to the girls calling on the power of the Furies).
This is a very ominous and foreboding book that left me questioning what really happened. Was it the Furies or was it just the fact that these girls were just plain evil?
This book took me a crazy long time to get through. Not because it’s particularly long, but because it was much easier to put down than to pick back up. The Furies is like Mean Girls gone dark, really dark. The problem is that none of the characters is likable enough to for me to care much about how their story plays out. There is mention of witchcraft and dabbling in the occult, but whether magic plays a part is ambiguous at best. The premise of a group of friends at an elite school has been done repeatedly, and I realize it’s not an easy task to make it fresh and new. In fact, I don’t really need for it to be fresh and new. I just need it to be interesting. This one had promise but was disappointing in the end. That said, I think this book does have a market, but I most likely was the wrong person for this story.
Katie Lowe is a magical wonder! The Furies, a modern tale of witchcraft, betrayal, and murder, combines the linguistic pyrotechnics of Poe, the Gothic sensibilities of Daphne du Maurier, and the psychological suspense of Shirley Jackson in a disturbing, edge-of-your-seat thriller that will terrify as well as enchant!
Donna Tartt’s The Secret History meets Emma Cline’s The Girls in this taut, intense, and unputdownable debut. Lowe’s depiction of adolescent female friendships is at once unthinkably dark and uncomfortably real. The Furies will leave you breathless.
The Furies can be described as Prep meets The Craft, while managing to be a dark, weird creature all of its own. Witches, murder, and teenage girls ― this is the book of my dreams. I am obsessed.
The Furies is a deliciously disturbing tale of obsession, rapture and the excesses of youth. Both fast-paced and beautifully written ― rarely has a story this driven and diverting been so ecstatically told. The Furies is destined to become a book passed from paw to grateful paw. Unapologetically dark, and all the better for it, this smart, sinister novel exults in its dazzling prose and dangerous themes.
A haunting page-turner you won’t put down. This debut is amazing and for all YA lovers, you will love this book.
In her debut novel, Kate Lowe, has created a story over-ripe with toxic female relationships. The book opens with a dead student, posed on a swing, but without an obvious cause of death. From there, an adult Violet narrates and tries to piece together her memories of the year she spent at a girls’ boarding school on the outskirts of a small, downtrodden seaside town. Violet, herself, is a survivor of a car accident that kills her father and her younger sister, leaving her with undiagnosed and untreated PTSD and survivor’s guilt. The suspense gradually builds in an atmosphere filled with sensual and sexual undertones ensconced in a sense of foreboding. The sense of menace builds gradually. Four girls and their teacher—misfits all—study the myths and history of women’s rage—from Medusa forward—until these ideas intersect with and distort reality. “It seems that women are doomed to two fates. It is our lot to either be seen as unpredictable and irrational mortals, maligned and repressed by the actions of men; or sacred beings, goddesses of higher realm, among the Fates and Furies.”
I thoroughly enjoyed Lowe’s take on feminine anger and revenge as this class discusses specific works of art and classic myths. I was reminded of the works of the French feminist Hélène Cixous and her The Laugh of the Medusa and Reveries of the Wild Woman: Primal Scenes. One of the students steals a book of magic, and the girls begin to dabble in the dark arts. Lowe exposes the sinister history of the school, its history, and its environs. She pulls the historic abuse of women and the rumors of female witchcraft to the forefront. Thought it remains hidden, passed down from generation to degeneration from the 15th century, it persists and grows in the midst of the patriarchal regime of the school and the town that houses it.
As soon as I read comparisons of The Furies by Katie Lowe to the movie, The Craft, I knew I would be reading it. I watched The Craft when it first came out, and many times since, and thoroughly enjoy it. The nods that Lowe did in The Furies filled that wonderful piece of nostalgia that I was looking for. But if you’ve never seen The Craft, (what is wrong with you!) you’ll still be able to enjoy the book.
Lowe did a wonderful job in slowly revealing the plot, but not so slow that you become bored. On some of the slower parts Lowe was sharing various information on art, culture, and witchy things, which I really enjoyed. It started getting (good) crazy towards the end when the various storylines were getting tied up. Lowe gives a great conclusion to The Furies, but still leaves enough of an uncertainty that I found myself thinking about the book and questioning some of the conclusions. I’m looking forward to discussing The Furies with my podcast partner, Jessica, at Books Don’t Review Themselves. I’m sure talking about it with her will bring about more insights that I didn’t even think about.
There was a hazy quality to this book that lent it a bit of mysticism and the feeling that you were looking into someone else’s memories but not having all the facts. At first this annoyed me a bit when a part of the story just segued into another without a concise break. A few times I had to go back to make sure I wasn’t missing something, but then realized that this is how Lowe was writing the book in order to play on the memories that were from many years ago. And it also gave the reader a feeling of wonder if they could truly believe the narrator as to what really happened.
The title works perfectly not only with the entities that help with the spells that the young women cast, but with the emotions that girls turning into women often feel. Girls and women are always told to be good and not cause any waves. They are supposed to think of others first and control their emotions. If they cry and yell then they are being hysterical. In The Furies, these young women are taking control of their lives and doing things that society considers not proper. Now I’m not saying you should go around killing people, but don’t give in. Stand up for what you believe in, do not let people gaslight you, and do things for yourself without always thinking of others first. If it harms none, do what you will.
A story with a The Craft and Heathers vibe
Actual star rating: 3 1/2 stars
Note: This review contains NO spoilers
Truth be told, The Furies gave me a combination of The Craft and/or Heathers vibe to it which is not a too bad of a comparison since I loved the movie. The synopsis alone reveals a lot about what the book is about. I would have to say this was written well enough, but not enough to keep my interest. Needless to say, I continued reading since I did find the story intriguing. The Furies also delves into real issues that are currently being faced by many of young adults. Katie Lowe’s writing incorporates these real issues into the story with direct respect, truth, and care. I found this dark coming-of-age story had depth and insight with a touch of mysticism. But, in the end of this book, was it “magic” or real.
I can say that this wasn’t really “my cup of tea” per se, but The Furies had various elements, such as: mystery, witchcraft mythology, and coming-of-age elements, that kept me reading. Then, in the end, Katie Lowe leaves a thought-provoking and insightful ending that will give readers something to ponder over. This is a good start for a debut novel.
Reviewer: Jasmine
A really good book for Young Adults. Has a bit of everything in this one. It is set at a Academy where a group of girls get involoved with the idea of witchcraft from one of the teachers. They have murder,mayhem and friendships characters and story is well written and the withcraft slant with the murder line made for an interesting read.
.75 out of 5 stars
I want to thank Netgalley and St.Martins Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Violet is a lonely, shy girl who live in a small, fading town. She doesn’t want to fade along with the town. After the death of her sister and her Dad she feels like she is fading even more. Given the chance to attend the Elm Hollow Academy a private school for girls that just happens to the site for the 17th century witch trials. There she meets Robyn and her clique of friends who seem right out of “The Craft”. Robin decides she will befriend Violet and invites her to a study group run by Ms. Annabel. Before she knows it Violet is involved in a dangerous and toxic friendship with Robin leading the way and leading the girls down some very toxic path. Violet finds herself falling under the spell (sorry for the pun) of Robin. There is magic and murder and Violet may never recover from all that she experiences in Elm Hollow.
The writing in this novel is poetic and beautiful, If I were just reviewing the book for that alone it would be a five star book all the way. I also want to say that the story it’s self was fantastic and I enjoyed reading it. The reason that I bumped the novel down to three and a half stars is that for me that the characters were not very strong. Violet didn’t have much of a voice and I do know that she is a meek character I felt as if we should be able to feel her a bit more. Robin was a good villain for the most part but she did feel a bit one note. All of that being said this book is so worth a read and it would be a great book to read around Halloween.
This is Violet’s story. That of a child whose childhood and life went astray because of death. Five girls who become friends in a school filled with tales of witchcraft. As an adult she reflects on the very serious crimes they committed and the reasons they did so. The story has a mystical air about it that makes the reader question the sanity of the situations. It builds the mystery slowly as it unfolds the life of these troubled teens.
Found this book depressing on many levels. Teenage girls run amok, play at witchcraft, behave badly, murder is involved and it just keeps on keeping on. I tried to get involved and enjoy the story, but it fell short. Ok, just not for me.
This is one helluva great read.
It’s about Violet, the new girl at an all-girls prep academy at the south coast of England.
Once there she falls in with three other young ladies.
Then all sorts of deliciously wicked stuff occurs.
Witchcraft, mayhem and murder.
What’s not to like!
The Furies takes place on the campus of an exclusive school. Violet is a new student and desperate to fit in. When a very close knit group of girls take her under their wing she has no idea of what is about to happen. When a missing student turns up dead on the school property Violet begins to wonder about her new friends. Well written and the type of book that won’t let you put it down. Highly recommend!
I was left feeling really underwhelmed. The story was boring and bordering on the predictable. This could have been so much better.