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ninetalevixen 's review for:
The Furies
by Katie Lowe
I received an advance review copy from St. Martin's Press through Netgalley; all opinions are my own and honest.
There's something dangerous about the boredom of teenage girls is a theme / trope that I have not read about in a good while, but this book exemplifies it: intoxicating (pun fully intended; drugs and drinking are a common component) yet horrifying. While I'm not condemning this book in particular since it's beautifully written — with vivid descriptions of place and mood — it does worry me that this is what we as a society tend to romanticize, and the ending does nothing to assuage that concern.
The beginning and ending are engaging and memorable, a can't-look-away kind of deal. However, I became almost disinterested at parts in the middle — there's still plenty of plot and emotional hooks, but for some reason I just couldn't get invested.
Since the narrative centers on relationships (between girls and their friends, frenemies, romantic partners, parents, teachers, society), we get a lot of exploration in this field. The vast majority of the dynamics portrayed are alarmingly unhealthy; they're also nuanced and totally believable.
content warnings:
rep:
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CONVERSION: 11.6 / 15 = 4 stars
Prose: 9 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 8 / 10
Emotional Impact: 8 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 10 / 10
Diversity & Social Themes: 4 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: 3 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 3 / 5
Rereadability: 2 / 5
Memorability: 4 / 5
We were close to the divine. We touched gods, felt them flow through our veins. Felt lust, envy, greed, quicken our hearts — but for a while, we were truly, spectacularly alive.
There's something dangerous about the boredom of teenage girls is a theme / trope that I have not read about in a good while, but this book exemplifies it: intoxicating (pun fully intended; drugs and drinking are a common component) yet horrifying. While I'm not condemning this book in particular since it's beautifully written — with vivid descriptions of place and mood — it does worry me that this is what we as a society tend to romanticize, and the ending does nothing to assuage that concern.
The beginning and ending are engaging and memorable, a can't-look-away kind of deal. However, I became almost disinterested at parts in the middle — there's still plenty of plot and emotional hooks, but for some reason I just couldn't get invested.
Since the narrative centers on relationships (between girls and their friends, frenemies, romantic partners, parents, teachers, society), we get a lot of exploration in this field. The vast majority of the dynamics portrayed are alarmingly unhealthy; they're also nuanced and totally believable.
content warnings:
Spoiler
toxic friendships, major character death(s), loss of loved ones (parents + younger sister), underage smoking + drinking + drug use, sexual harassment, on-page (non-graphic) rape, homophobic + ableist + fatphobic language, slut-shaming, implied eating disorder (skipping meals) + internalized body-shaming, mentions of abuse by parent, self-harm as part of magic ritual, infidelity, on-page violence + murderrep:
Spoiler
implied F/F relationship & WLW secondary characters------
CONVERSION: 11.6 / 15 = 4 stars
Prose: 9 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 8 / 10
Emotional Impact: 8 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 10 / 10
Diversity & Social Themes: 4 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: 3 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 3 / 5
Rereadability: 2 / 5
Memorability: 4 / 5