Four Moon Reviews: Furious Thing by Jenny Downham Review

Furious Thing

by Jenny Downham

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I received a free copy of this book via The Fantastic Flying Book Club in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Synopsis:

Bad things happen when you're around, Lex...

That's what her stepfather tells her. That's what she believes about herself.

But how can she convince herself and everyone around her that her anger doesn't make her a monster? If only she could stop losing her temper and behave herself, her stepfather would accept her, her mom would love her like she used to, and her stepbrother would declare his crushing desire to spend the rest of his life with her. She wants these things so badly, she's determined to swallow her anger and make her family proud.

But pushing fury down doesn't make it disappear. Instead, it simmers below the surface, waiting to erupt. There'll be fireworks when it does...

An intensely real story of manipulation and identity, Furious Thing is about the slippery slope of manipulation and how one girl can fight to claim back the spaces that belong to her.

Review:

In Furious Thing we follow Lex, an angry teenage girl. Lex isn't just angry, she's furious. She throws things, has rage outbursts and can be difficult to even be around. Originally we are led to believe Lex is horrible, Lex is bad, Lex is the problem but things aren't always what they seem. When we get to inside Lex's life we discover a lot more is going on than what is shown to the world. Her soon-to-be step-father is a horribly abusive man, her moms main concern is making sure she gets to marry her guy and there's also a creepy attraction thing to her step-brother that he sometimes encourages. With these family dynamics it's hard to wonder if anyone could grow up normal around them.

This book gave me so many raw feelings. It was a book I loved and hated simultaneously. I hated how angry it was able to make me. I loved how raw it was. What happened in this book can and does happen in real life all the time. This books forces it's reader to just watch and read as a young lady is slipping through the cracks, hidden by her horrible soon-to-be step-father's handsome shadow. We watch Lex deal with mental abuse and no one stepping in to help her, even when she asks for help.

I really disliked almost every character in this book. The only truly likable character in this book was the little sister. Lex wasn't really likable but it was still easy to feel sorry for her in regards to what she was being faced with everyday. Her mother and soon-to-be step-father were just crappy people. I love when an author can make me feel strong emotions towards a character even if they are anger or hatred, to me it just shows good writing skills that they can create a dimensional being with a personality. Downham did an amazing job at fleshing these characters out to be more than just words on paper. Her ability to bring fictional characters to a point where they can viewed as people is fabulous.

My only real dislike about this book was the ending. I found things to be wrapped up in a neat little bow and I hate that. While certain consequences were dished out to certain character(s), I feel like it wasn't severe enough. There was just too much of a happy ending here and it took away from the story for me.

Overall, this is a great read. It's definitely not an easy one to get through and if you choose to read it I think you should keep that in mind. I felt it was definitely a worthwhile read and I'm glad to of read it.

Jenny Downham

Jenny Downham is a critically acclaimed, international bestseller. Her debut novel, Before I Die, was shortlisted for numerous awards in the UK, including the Guardian Award and the Lancashire Children's Book of the Year, was nominated for the Carnegie Medal and the Booktrust Teenage Prize, and won the Branford Boase Award. Before I Die was turned into a movie called Now is Good starring Dakota Fanning in 2012. Her most recent novel, Unbecoming, garnered four starred reviews and was an Entertainment Weekly Must List pick. Jenny lives in London with her two sons.

Website: http://jennydownham.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/628636.Jenny_Downham

Purchase Links:

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Furious-Thing-Jenny-Downham/dp/1788450981

US: https://www.amazon.com/Furious-Thing/dp/B07ZJP9KRB

CAN: https://www.amazon.ca/Furious-Thing-Jenny-Downham/dp/1338605240

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