My review: ????

The Furies by Katie Lowe is set in 1998, in the UK, in a coastal town of no name.  Violet is 16, and has just changed schools after a car accident which killed her father and baby sister, and from which she walked away.  Her mother is seeking forgetfulness from the horrific accident by drinking all the time.

The new school is a private one, called Elm Hollow Academy.  Violet has the usual problems changing school, of not knowing anyone, and feeling like she doesn’t fit in.  Then she becomes part of a group of 3 other girls, who have special lessons from the art teacher, Annabel, but these aren’t art lessons.

This is a story of teenagers trying to take control of their lives, drinking, taking drugs, and taking out their anger and confusion on rituals that might actually have power.  And at the same time, we know where it’s going to lead to, as it’s at the very beginning of the book: a young woman found dead on a swing.

This is Katie Lowe’s debut novel, and it’s powerful!  You are swept along with them on their adventure, and as the book is from Violet’s perspective, and we have an older Violet telling the story.  I haven’t watched the Craft, but it felt like a mixture of the Heathers (actions have consequences), and Gossip Girl (for the bitchy, private school).  The fact that my two reference points for this are TV and film shows I haven’t read many books like this.

The Furies was published on 2nd May 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!