Review (+ Giveaway!): Fury by Elizabeth Miles

Published: Simon Pulse (August 30, 2011)
Pages: 352
Format: Hardcover
Series: Book 1 of 3
Source: ARC provided by publisher
GoodReads Summary: Sometimes sorry isn't enough....
It’s winter break in Ascension, Maine. The snow is falling and everything looks pristine and peaceful. But not all is as it seems...

Between cozy traditions and parties with her friends, Emily loves the holidays. And this year’s even better--the guy she’s been into for months is finally noticing her. But Em knows if she starts things with him, there’s no turning back. Because his girlfriend is Em’s best friend.

On the other side of town, Chase is having problems of his own. The stress of his home life is starting to take its toll, and his social life is unraveling. But that’s nothing compared to what’s really haunting him. Chase has done something cruel...something the perfect guy he pretends to be would never do. And it’s only a matter of time before he’s exposed.

In Ascension, mistakes can be deadly. And three girls—three beautiful, mysterious girls—are here to choose who will pay.

Em and Chase have been chosen.

My Thoughts: I love stories about revenge. Sure, that makes me sound like a psychopath, but seriously. Books, shows, whatever. (Especially on Animal Cops when the abusers get persecuted. FIST PUMPING APLENTY!) But on those shows, they never really portray the offender as a sympathetic character. Maybe I'd feel differently if I knew the whole story, instead of simply the wrong they committed. (Except on Animal Cops.)

With Fury, I got my sympathetic characters in Chase and Em. The book is written in third person, but I still had quite an emotional attachment to both main characters. Each chapter switched from Em to Chase, whose stories often intertwined. Elizabeth Miles makes you feel for them, telling each respective story through the emotional voice of a vulnerable teenager. They did horrible, horrible things. Things that, if they were adults, would be completely unforgivable. (Especially you, Em.) But they're still growing and learning. Try and show me one person who, when they were growing up, didn't make a mistake over which they've obsessed and wanted to disappear off the face of the planet. They're unsure, insecure, and they have FEELINGS. Miles does an amazing job of showing those feelings and made me feel like Em and Chase were just two normal kids I went to school with.

But these kids have done some very bad things. Punishable? Hmm. And who's to say what the punishment will be? Well, friends. That decision lies in the hands of three beautiful ladies. It's kind of like a scaled down, high school version of the SAW movies, with far less murder and guts and bared ribcages.

It's pretty obvious who those three ladies are, given the title of the book. I have to say I'm quite a fan of all the Greek mythology that's infesting YA lately. Best infestation ever. I'm shocked at how much I enjoyed reading Fury. It wasn't totally action-packed, but there was enough suspense (OH, and the creep factor!) to keep me satisfied and turning those pages like my life depended on it.

This warrants a mention: I BOW TO THIS BOOK FOR AMAZING CHARACTERIZATION. Not only are the main characters well-developed and multi-dimensional, but we have a secondary cast of characters who are JUST as fleshed out (if not more so. Looking at you, JD and Gabby!)

First Book Syndrome is handled quite nicely and with a kicker of an ending, and I'd be lying to your face if I told you that I won't be getting that next book with a quickness as soon as it's out.

Simon Pulse has graciously offered a signed, finished copy of Fury to one of my fabulously lucky readers!

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