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High school can be pretty scary—balancing school work and relationships and the quest to figure out your true identity. But in The Furies, author Katie Lowe throws in dark mysteries, deep secrets, and a school with a history of witchcraft to make it even scarier than the typical high school experience.
The story follows 16-year-old Violet as she works to settle into a new school. The only survivor of an accident that killed her father and younger sister, Violet has been home with her grieving mother, who’s hardly taken notice of anything around her since the accident. But then Violet is enrolled at Elm Hollow Academy, an unconventional all-girls school that’s steeped in mystery. There, she meets three outsiders who take her in, and she begins taking extra secret classes with a free-spirited teacher. But her exciting new life takes a dark turn when the girls begin to take their lessons—and the school’s supernatural history—a bit too seriously.
The Furies definitely isn’t the typical coming-of-age story. Sure, Violet deals with all of the usual teenage issues: struggling to find the right friends, to be cool, to meet boys, to connect with her mother, who’s entirely given up after losing her husband and daughter. But while some of these topics are interesting on their own, there’s so much more to this story.
From the moment Violet steps onto the Elm Hollow campus, the story’s tone isn’t just tragic; it’s eerie. Something about the school—its students, its unconventional style, the rumors of its founder’s occult activity—gives everything a chilling undertone. But the author takes it further than just an underlying eeriness. As Violent bonds with her new friends, the stories begin to come out. She discovers that their friend disappeared without a trace just a year ago—a girl who bears a striking resemblance to Violet—but when she asks about it, they won’t talk about her. And outside their special, secret classes, Violet’s new friends begin to take their lessons about rage and violence and revenge to the next step.
More than just another teen drama, The Furies is dark and troubling and suspenseful. At times, it feels distant—as if hinting at details and drama instead of letting readers in. But this raw tale of anger and violence and brutal revenge will definitely grab your attention and hold it.
The Furies is much darker and more disturbing than the typical coming-of-age story—not exactly one for the average Young Adult reader. It’s a captivating read, but you’ll want to have something light and fun on hand to follow it.
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