"A passionate, powerful exploration of a teen girl’s rage against an unfair world in which her abusively controlling stepdad calls all the shots."
Longlisted for the UKLA Book Awards 2021 | Shortlisted for the Costa Children's Book Award 2019
Empathetic, insightful and buzzing with drama, the brilliant Jenny Downham has done it again in this vital, true-to-life treasure about a young woman’s struggle to stand up to her bully-boy stepfather.
“She threw things and slammed things and swore. She was clumsy and rude and had no friends. Her teachers thought her dim-witted. Her family despaired.” On the verge of turning sixteen, Lexi is a firework of frustration. Her furious outbursts are getting worse now John, her soon-to-be-stepdad, has taken over their family home, and his son – Lexi’s best friend (and long-time crush…) – has moved away to uni.
On top of that, her younger half-sister is John’s favoured child, while she’s blamed for everything that goes wrong, including - most viciously of all - what happened to her beloved granddad. It’s no coincidence that the intensification of Lexi’s rage coincides with John’s increasingly coercive behaviour.
Thanks to his constant criticism and angry desire to have everything exactly how he likes it, Lexi can see that her mum has become a shadow of herself. Trapped in this unbearable situation – one in which no one listens or believes her - what else can Lexi do but kick out?
Interwoven with fairy tale motifs that combine to create a satisfying whole at the novel’s heartrending climax, this is a brilliantly exacting exposé of coercive control and emotional abuse, and a powerful portrayal of a young woman’s refusal to give in. Lexy is a dazzlingly-created character that readers will root for and empathise with. Her battle to break the abuse elicits much compassion and sympathetic fury, while her irrepressible wit provokes plenty of laughs.
Lexi's angry. And it's getting worse. If only she could stop losing her temper, her step-father would accept her, her mum would love her again, and her step-brother would return her feelings.
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Lexi's angry. And it's getting worse.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Furious Thing and determined it is suitable for children aged 13-18 years old
Furious Thing features in the following genres: Stories about Family and Friends, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Featured Books for Young Adults, Recommendations, Gritty Reads, Featured Books for 13+ readers
Paperback, Hardback, Ebook. £7.99. Digital. Available Immediately. Country restrictions apply..
Furious Thing was written by Jenny Downham and published by David Fickling Books
£7.99. Digital. Available Immediately. Country restrictions apply..
