Review: The Furies by Katie Lowe

Author: Kate Lowe
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: October 2019

In 1998, a sixteen-year-old girl is found dead.

She's posed on a swing on her boarding school's property, dressed all in white, with no known cause of death. Whispers and rumors swirl, with no answers. But there are a few who know what happened; there is one girl who will never forget.

One year earlier: a new student, Violet, steps on the campus of Elm Hollow Academy, an all-girl's boarding school on the outskirts of a sleepy coastal town. This is her fresh start, her chance to begin again in the wake of tragedy, leave her demons behind. Bright but a little strange, uncertain and desperate to fit in, she soon finds herself invited to an advanced study group, led by her alluring and mysterious art teacher, Annabel.

There, with three other girls--Alex, Grace, and Robin--the five of them delve into the school's long-buried grim history: of Greek and Celtic legends; of the school founder's "academic" interest in the occult; of gruesome 17th century witch trials. Annabel does her best to convince the girls that her classes aren't related to ancient rites and rituals, and that they are just history and mythology. But the more she tries to warn the girls off the topic, the more they drawn to it, and the possibility that they can harness magic for themselves.

I was really looking forward to reading The Furies.  From the synopsis, I was getting a "The Craft" movie vibe.  That movie is a favorite of mine.  I wish I could say that I loved this book. However, it didn't live up to my expectations.  The story revolves around Violet who is the new girl at a private school. She has a lonely home life because her mother has checked out due to the loss of her husband and younger daughter.  Violet is looking for a place to fit in.

I found this book kind of boring and long.  The pacing was just really slow for me.  I also found that the characters were unlikeable and forgettable at the same time.  The parts about Greek mythology and The Furies was uninteresting.  I wasn't shocked by anything the girls did in this book.  They were spoiled brats seemingly brainwashed by one of their teachers.  I’m not sure I really understood the teacher’s motivation for pulling the girls into her group. The ending was a surprise, but it wasn't enough to save the story for me.