I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review – Thanks to the team at Harper Collins for sending me a copy!
Title: The Furies
Author: Katie Lowe
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, General Fiction (Adult), Y/A
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: 2nd May 2019
Plot Overview:
You’d kill to be one of them.
1998. A sixteen-year-old girl is found dead on school property, dressed in white and posed on a swing. No known cause of death.
Four girls know what happened.
And until now they’ve kept their silence.
Violet is returning home, back to the sleepy coastal town which holds so many memories.
In 1998, after a tragic accident claimed the lives of her father and sister, she joins Elm Hollow Academy, a private girls’ school with an unpleasant history of 17th century witch trials.
There she is drawn to Robin, Grace, Alex and their charismatic teacher, Annabel; she is invited to join them in their advanced study group.
There they learn about art, literature and the grisly history of the school. Though Annabel claims her classes aren’t related to ancient rites and rituals, she warns them off the topic, describing it as little more than mythology. However, the more the girls learn, the more they start to believe that magic is real, and that together they can harness it.
But when the body of a former member of the society is found on campus nine months after the she disappeared, fingers are pointed at those closest to her. Leading Violet to wonder whether she can trust her friends, teachers, or even herself…
My Thoughts:
As soon as I read the synopsis for this novel, I knew I just had to read it! Witchcraft, private school, a shady disappearance and mythological references? Count me in!
The Furies was so much more than I expected. At times it was so insightful and touched on some really heavy topics like grief, substance abuse, sexual and physical assault to name a few. I also quite enjoyed the many literary references which are included throughout the book, it just made it more stimulating for me and taught me some more stories!
The story is told through the perspective of Violet, a teen girl who is utterly lost and isolated. After the accident which claimed the lives of her father and younger sister, it’s clear that Violet is struggling to deal with her grief. Whereas her mother seems to be in a downward spiral, Violet seems to be in denial completely. I think this is a realistic portrayal of grief and how it can manifest in such different ways depending on the individual.
When Violet gains entrance to the prestigious Elm Hollow Academy, which has a mysterious and violent past, that’s where our story gets more twisted. When Violet meets the enigmatic and edgy Robin, she can’t help but be caught up in her and her world of parties, drugs and strange rituals…they can’t be real…or can they?
Lowe also does a great job in portraying the realities of toxic friendships and how they can have such a drastic effect on a persons life – in some cases irrevocably. Violet gets so caught up in the idea of Robin and is consumed by pleasing her and trying to live up to expectations. I feel like many readers will be able to relate or at least see some similarities between their own experiences and what Lowe so skilfully portrays with this relationship.
Perhaps the most interesting element in the book is the fact that the story is told in hindsight by Violet. This added a sense of melancholy and a wistfulness to her recollections which was nothing short of haunting. I always find narratives like this fascinating and some of my favourite pieces of literature have this technique.
Overall, while The Furies wasn’t quite the story I was expecting, in that it delved so much deeper and was so much darker than I thought it would be – it’s definitely worth a read. I could totally see this being a really successful film or mini series. Would recommend to anyone who enjoys reading Y/A with a female centric narrative as well as fans of Heathers or The Craft.
★★★★ – 4 Star Rating
Does The Furies sound like a book you’d be interested in? Do you enjoy female centric narratives, if so, what’s your favourite one?
Until next time,
Rumaanah x
Rums the Reader 
This definitely sounds like a feeling liken to The Craft. Thank you for the honest review!
Brilliant review. It’s not really the kind of book that I’m into but glad you enjoyed reading it xx
Thank you! I think it’s definitely an acquired taste to a certain extent xx
Oooh this book sounds so good! I’ve never read a book like this, but I’ve got it on my to buy list now!
Love, Amie ❤
The Curvaceous Vegan
Great review! Sounds like a fantastic read. I’m definitely a fan of The Craft and The Heathers, so I’m sure I’ll enjoy The Furies.
Sounds like you’d love this book then!
It sure sounds like it😊
This sounds so so good and is right up my street. I literally just downloaded a sample of it onto my kindle so I could give it ago. Thanks for sharing, you have made my evening a little more interesting now!
Aww I hope you enjoy the sample!! It makes me so happy that from my review it made you want to read it too 💛
It is interesting how this storyline took place in the 90’s. I love reading about books that include a bit of magic. Glad you enjoyed the book overall. Oh man, I know that feeling of thinking we have to live up to someone’s expectations. Are we really fulfilling ourselves or someone’s dreams?
Nancy ♥ exquisitely.me
A very good question – I think it’s probably a bit of both but ideally everyone should be able to fulfil their own dreams, as long as noone else is impacted negatively 💛 I also loved that it took place in the 90’s – I kept forgetting that but then remembering as there was no internet etc in the book haha
The Craft is one of my favourite films from when I was a teenager! This books sound so intruiging and I’ll be honest, I’m not a massive reader – but you’ve sold it really well, I think I may have to seek this one out!
http://www.missblogsabit.com
This sounds like an amazing book! I love anything that includes witchcraft and mystery! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Ooh, the plot sounds very intriguing. I’d curious to know how it ends! Guess I’ll just have to read it myself. This is such a well written review. Thanks so much for sharing.
Wow, this sounds like a pretty dark book and probably a bit too scary for me! I love to read different genres though so I’ll have to pick it up if I see it around.
Nicola
http://nicshealthylife.co.uk
It’s definitely not for the faint of heart but interesting all the same – if you do decide to read, I hope you enjoy 💛
This sounds like such an interesting and fascinating story! I like that it covers so many topics such as witchcraft, substance abuse, grief and toxic friendships. This is the kinda book I could easily get absorbed in and not want to put it down. Thanks for sharing your great review, it sounds like such a dark, gripping and mysterious book! ❤ xx
Bexa | http://www.hellobexa.com
It’s definitely so interesting that you’ll want to keep reading. Thanks for such a lovely comment 💛💛
How come you decided to review this book so early? I mean, it comes out in more then 5 months…
But I am glad to see that you liked it so much, because I was thinking about reading it too.
I couldn’t wait to read it plus I wasn’t sure when it would be archived on NetGalley so I wanted to be sure haha. Plus I’m trying to have more variety of genres on my blog 😄 & Would recommend it! It’s a good story
This sounds like something I need on my TBR. Great review!
I love the sound of this! And I usually prefer books with a female centric character so this sounds amazing. I’m a little disappointed I’ll have to wait so long if I decide to read it now!! x
Sophie
http://www.glowsteady.co.uk
This sounds exactly like my type of book. I adored The Craft, Picnic at Hanging Rock and others like them so this is a natural follow on. I also very much like that myths and legends play their part – I gravitated to them after I’d got too old for fairy tales and I loved both the Greek and Roman versions. Definitely, one for my TBR pile when it comes out, thank you for sharing! 🙂
Lisa | http://www.lisasnotebook.com
I love female centric novels! I haven’t heard of this one before, but I might have to check it out now