The Furies

At this rate I am going to have to start describing myself as a YA reader! I thought this book was fabulous, very well written and gripping.

The story is told by Violet, who is looking back on the events that happened to her and her friends. After a tragic accident which leaves her and her mother alone, she is sent to a girls' school which was the site of witch trials. Violet attracts the attention of Annabel, one of the teachers, who has set up an exclusive club for girls she considers exceptional. Along with her three friends they attend to discuss women through history and through their lessons they become interested in witchcraft themselves. Robin in particular is drawn to performing rituals and they start to believe they have real power.

I thought the witchcraft elements were really well handled and I loved the way the author incorporated elements of mythology into the story. The perils of being a teenager in the 1990s are brilliantly and very accurately described, as is the friendship between the girls. I loved the way that the mystery of the missing girl unfolded and I thought that the plot was quite unexpected. Violet is a great narrator, looking back at her teenage years with some regret. Some of the book gets a bit far fetched at times, but overall, I really enjoyed it.