Fury

by Shirley Marr

Let me tell you my story.
Not just the facts I know you want to hear.
If I’m going to tell you my story,
I’m telling it my way.

Strap yourself in...

Eliza Boans has everything.
A big house.
A great education.
A bright future.

So why is she sitting in a police station confessing to murder?

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Contemporary, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Fantasy, Fiction

280 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2010

About the author

Shirley Marr is a multi-award winning children's and YA author and a first generation Chinese-Australian living in sunny Perth. Her titles are Fury, Preloved, Little Jiang and All Four Quarters of the Moon and the CBCA Book of the Year for Younger Readers A Glasshouse of Stars

She describes herself as having a Western Mind and an Eastern Heart and writes in the middle where both collide. She takes milk and sugar with her tea much to the dismay of her oolong drinking friends and eats chicken feet much to the disgust of her Aussie friends. Her passion is to distil her cultural heritage through the lens of resilient young women.

Reviews

[Wendy Darling · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars This book defies every just about every red flag that pops up in YA literature. Are you cautious when trying out a brand new author? Do you sometimes wince when girls behave in classic "mean girl" fashion towards each other? Do you get sick of brand names being dropped into casual conversation? Well, you'll find all of that and more in Shirley Marr's debut novel. And the funny thing is, because it's in the hands of a gifted author, it all works. Beautifully.

Within minutes of meeting Eliza Boans, you quickly realize that she's a spoiled, murderous brat. She's a privileged teenager living in the exclusive community of East Rivermoor, and she's just confessed to a heinous crime in an interrogation room--but exhibits not a single shred of remorse. She's far more concerned about returning to her pampered life in which she rules the roost of girls at her school, and where her absent mother indulges her with every luxury item she could possibly think of. Eliza is someone who could easily get away with murder...except that the story isn't quite that simple.

Told in darkly humorous flashbacks as Eliza alternately charms her interrogator and frustrates him with evasions and half-truths, Fury is a fast-moving mystery that keeps you on the edge of your seat as you try to figure out why a young girl, even one with such an outwardly confident attitude, would defiantly take on such a serious charge. Fury is also a brilliant character study of a girl who has everything going for her on the surface, but whose arch, careless demeanor and sarcastic observations hide an enormously complicated history and hidden emotion.

I loved the fierce friendships--as well as the fierce rivalry--between Eliza and her friends. I loved the crack in Eliza's armor when it comes to her friend Nick. I loved the many, many nods to Jane Austen. And above all, I loved the incomparable Eliza, who makes no apologies for her life or her attitude. Even when you discover the secrets seething beneath the glamorous surface of her life, she wastes no time on pity for herself. Nor for anyone else who doesn't deserve it.

This is a smart, superbly well-written book that strikes the perfect tone in balancing serious subjects with dark humor and a near-perfect teen narrative. It's a much better interpretation of the myth of the Greek Furies than Elizabeth Miles' Fury, which also featured teenagers being punished for bad behavior, but that book doesn't even come close to this one in terms of plotting, character development, humor, and emotion. It proves the point that a well-plotted story with depth can surpass all misgivings and shine brightly among all the other paranormal YA books with a beauty all its own.

I do wish there was a little more time with the characters after everything had been revealed, though you could chalk up some of that to the fact that I just didn't want this book to end. It's rare that a debut novel can knock your socks off like this--but anyone who spends time with Eliza will never forget her.

Fury is currently only available in Australia, but overseas publishers really need to snap up this author for other audiences. If you can't wait, please visit an Austrialian bookseller such as Fishpond online.

Aussie YA Challenge Update

My thanks go out to Missie and Nic for sending this along as part of the Aussie YA Tour! This is the seventh Aussie book I've read this year, including Mercy, Burn Bright, Saltwater Vampires, Saltwater Moons, Saving Francesca, The Piper's Son, and it's a pleasure to find such great books in no small part through their efforts and friendship.

This review also appears in The Midnight Garden.

[Shirley Marr]

Hi, it's Shirley here, author of this book. I've been thinking for a while what I should do to "fill up" this space meant for a review. I'm going to do two things:

1) Say Thank You

...to every single person who has rated and/or reviewed Fury for better or for the worse! I try and thank everyone I can personally, but sometimes I'm so busy reading and reviewing other books that I forget to keep an eye out! But I do read every review. Above everything else, I value balance and honesty - so thanks for giving me the Bad with the Good!

Please feel free to say whatever you like in the comments. I don't read or post comments on the threads that start under my own novel cos I'm not the police and I don't want to tell/correct/hassle people on how they should feel or think about my book. If you'll like to interact with me, do please befriend and find me chatting away on other books (if you are a fan of realistic Aussie YA, then we definetly need to be friends.)

2) Not try and review my own book.

I'm not going to be a dag (look at me, all Aussie lingo and that) and give myself 5 stars. Unless of course my rating average drops to like 1 star and I have to take drastic measures! So I've decided that I'm going to leave the rating blank and present to you...

12 (and a half) Interesting Facts About Fury (which you may or may not know)

1. I came up with the idea while sitting in the YA section of Borders with my friend EeVon (who is now my beta, her name is in the acknowledgments at the back of the book) while reading Twilight*. Don't ask me how that happened!

2. We were so loud and disruptive that the manager of Borders actually kicked us out of the store.

3. I went home and started writing Fury. I read Twilight in between writing.

4. I finished the first draft of Fury within 3 months and I decided in my gung-ho fashion to just send it out there to this awesome publisher whose books I adored.

5. Awesome Publisher replied back and wants to sign me. Horrah! This awesome Publisher is Black Dog Books**, by the way.

6. The first line of Fury originally read "My name is Eliza Boans and I am a murderess."

7. Fury was originally envisaged as a trilogy, but that idea has since been dropped.

8. Eliza is named for the Chat Bot Eliza because she is a chatter box, and in Dickensian traditional honour to roughly sound like "here lies her bones".

9. Originally the book was set in Perth (where I live), but a decision was made to put the story in its own universe. If you look carefully though you can see King Street, The Claremont Hotel, The Old East Perth Powerstation...

10. I did go back to Borders after my book was published and I ended up signing a copy for the Manager! (Yes, the one who kicked me out)

11. Neil was only a very minor character to start with, but my adorable editor sort of developed a crush on him and I slowly wrote him in more, scene by scene.

12. All characters are fictional and bear no resemblance to the living or dead... oh, except for Neil. And he did send me a postcard from Texas once.

Oh and a special bonus (cos who doesn't like bonuses, especially if they're special?):

13. All the minor students that either only get mentioned by name or have limited roles are named after all the 'celebrities' that have ever stayed at the Priory Hospital. I neglected to mention this to my publisher. I don't think anyone noticed and it all slipped through... :)

*ps - just so you know, my book is nothing like Twilight in case that scares you. On the other hand... I own a Team Edward T-shirt which should rightfully scare you.

**Black Dog Books has since been acquired by Walker Books, so these days I am Cass Clare's Where's Wally's (or Waldo if you're Stateside) b!tch

...

Previously on Channel Shirley...

In celebration of this awesome review of Fury featured on The Book Smugglers, I’ve got two signed copies up for grabs as a Goodreads Giveaway!

BONUS FUN FACT: The Teaching Notes for Fury were written by Cath Crowley.

BONUS UNFUN FACT: Sometime during the publisher transition from Black Dog Books to Walker Books, the notes got lost. So if you somehow managed to get a copy, pre-2011, then you possibly have the rarest work by Cath Crowley ever.

Anyway, you know you want to enter the comp. You know this book is "so cult" (lol) that you can hardly even buy it, so you’ll just have to submit yourself to the whims of the Goodreads Gods :-)

Sorry, but I have no control over who gets selected, so cupcakes, glitter wands and other lovely bribes will not work – but I will relieve you of them anyway. Please post offerings below.

Goodluck!

[karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

**now with all-new tragedy in the spoiler thingie!!**

hell hath no fury like a rich teenager accustomed to evading responsibility for her actions.

if you want to read about my personal journey through pain and terror and shame and eventual, tainted, triumph, you may click on this spoiler thingie:

wow - now i know who gets off on hearing about how bleak and sorrowful my life is. noted. so, i had been wanting to get my hands on a copy of this book for ages, ever since all the YA queens on here had been gushing over it. it really sounded like my cuppa; bad girls, secluded community, murrrderrrr. i tried a few sites that kept listing it as being in stock, and then suddenly becoming unavailable just as i gave up my credit card info. bill thompson ordered me an outlandishly expensive copy, which eventually also turned out to be "unavailable." this book was playing so hard to get, it made me want it even more, and then i was invited to participate in the book tour. awwww, the YA ladies are accepting me into their fold! i will be on my best behavior so we can nurture this relationship and they will not regret extending the hand of internet friendship to me! so i dashed off my email and street address, and waited by the mailbox. and waited and waited. and eventually, wendy darling contacted me and sweetly asked me if i had received it. and that's when we realized, together, that i was a complete idiot. in my haste or excitement or exhaustion, i had managed to mis-type both my address, and my email address. wonderful. so the package was sent to an address that had one number incorrect, according to the USPS tracking system. on the site, there was delivery confirmation to an address that was close to, but not exactly, my address. no problem - i will go to the address, and fetch my package. i wrote a lovely note and sealed it in an envelope, requesting that the person who mistakenly received my package either leave it with my super or arrange a time for me to go over and retrieve it. and then i went running out into the late-night rain to find this address. this address that does not exist. in a perfect world, it would be right across the street from me, but that is a gas station on its own island right before queens boulevard, across from which is the big six shopping plaza and this giant land of condos. i went there, anyway. i went on either side of my building. i went several streets over, because queens can be weird sometimes with its numbering. but nope - there is no such address. there were tears. and phone calls. and "oh my god they are going to hate me why did i make such a stupid mistake??" i am very sensitive when my actions inconvenience others. this is why i cannot understand people who litter, for example. i really hate letting people down. so i called greg and yelled at him, because i am a bad friend. and then he came all the way here and asked at the gas station if anyone had delivered a package there, because he is a good friend. and the gas station attendant was apparently a jerk. so, double thanks to greg who was out in the rain while i was bawling like a moose. so the very next day, i got to the post office a half-hour before it even opened, with the tracking number and everything - ready to hear that "why, yes we have your package right here!" instead, my postal guy just pointed me to the machine at the back when i finally got to the front of the early-bird line, and told me to look up the number. which i did. and got the same result as online - delivery confirmation to an address that doesn't exist. so i got back in line, because i am -again - very very polite. and i got the same guy, and i explained that yes thank you i knew it had been confirmed, but i was just curious about where it had been confirmed, since there was no such address, and i was kind of hoping it had been brought back to the post office. so he toddled away and eventually came back and told me this tale: my regular postal worker was not working on the monday when the package came, and their substitute did not know what to do with it, so they did indeed bring it back to the post office. on tuesday, my regular postal worker returned to work, recognized my name, and knew where it should go. so he brought it to my building and left it in the foyer. excellent. so my super must have it! but my super did not have it. and it was not on the little table where people leave mail that isn't theirs. and it was not on the radiator where people leave stuff they don't want. and it had not fallen behind or under the radiators or tables, because i checked. and it was not in front of my door. and a really politely-worded note posted in my foyer for days and days yielded no book:



it was the worst. somewhere in my building, someone has that book. and i live in a really nice and friendly building where most people are either old-timers or young families. packages sit on that table all the time, without anyone snatching them. i have never had a package go missing, even when they have just been left in front of my door. why did it have to be the irreplaceable book that went missing? so then it was time to snap into action. wendy darling had been a sweetheart throughout this process, but that did not stop me feeling gutted and like the worst human being to ever ruin things for an entire internet community. i boo-hooed all over the internet, and people started to help me out. jen fisher found me a link to a copy on abe that was fairly expensive, but manageable. and connor contacted the publisher for me. my plan was to order a ton of copies from the publisher, and send them out to the next few people in line after me, to unruffle feathers and make sure no one would murder me. eventually, the publisher got back to me, and it seems the cost of shipping for even just one copy of the book would be more than 60 dollars. which kind of blew my plans. i would have willingly paid that for the book, but i am kind of resentful of the cost of shipping things these days. that is probably stupid of me, but it is a fact. and i am terribly poor right now. so i bought the copy on ABE, and it said it would be shipped in 6-16 business days, even though it was just in the middle of the usa. whatever, it's fine. 18 days later, i still have no book. connor contacted the sellers, since we did it under his name and address just to prevent another book-theft. and they were all, "hmmm. it will be there in 2-3 days" but it wasn't. and then they contacted someone and fixed something and eventually i had it. BUT AT WHAT COST??? wendy is still working out some magic on her end about getting more copies, but i am shattered still from this. my advice to you all is - if you get your hands on a copy of this book, do not let it out of your sight. there is something haunted about it, and all sorts of mayhem may visit you.


****i feel so much better now, because another copy went missing, and it had nothing to do with me! another poor person on the book tour was sent a package that somehow opened itself in the mail, and the book went one way, and the empty package went the other, and was delivered. how depressing is that - to get an empty envelope in the mail, knowing fury was inside of it? the horror!! but in good news, i sent my copy to them, and i have had confirmation that it arrived safely. let's hope the luck holds...

what is the deal with this book?****



if you just want to read my book review, here it is. eliza boans is a staggeringly wealthy girl from a gated community with a tight-knit group of friends and a narrow worldview. and she has just committed murder. this book will give you the who, what, where, how, and most importantly, the why. lizzie's got her reasons.

fyi - this is not a character you are going to love. even when she is being loyal and noble, she throws just enough of a catty edge into her speech to remind you that she is no one you would want to hang out with. but you wouldn't have it any other way, and at least she is funny. sometimes you just want a good story about a rich snotty girl who does something deplorable and does not get redeemed at the end. it is way more realistic that a manipulative sociopath will remain a manipulative sociopath until the very end. considering she is basically raising herself, except when her mother breezes back into town with expensive gifts and stories of sexual conquests, it is pretty impressive that she has only killed one person. that we know of. the mystery is not that she killed, but why.

and as far as that mystery goes, it is not any big revelation. this reader has been around the block enough to spot a dropped hint. but as a character study, it is top-notch. eliza and her friends are fascinating. there is more at work here than just a group of modern-day furies enacting justice on their own terms. it is not simply shallow bored rich girls with an axe to grind. these are inconsistent characters with no self-awareness who operate purely on impulse. especially eliza. her inner thoughts are teRrifying and she is not only an unreliable narrator, she is also wildly self-deluded. and it is very striking to watch all of this play out.

considering what i went through to get a copy of this, the book had a lot of unreasonable expectation and anticipation to fulfill. and it mostly succeeded. this is a great new addition to the world of aussie YA. jane austen fans - rejoice - there are a lot of bonnet-tips here. and a character named jane ayres, which should make me want to barf, but somehow, in the context of all the other allusions, works just fine for me. i would have liked a bit more neil, and a bit more closure, but this is a solid book that will maybe someday be easier for y'all to get.

and now i await my orders.

baby's first twitter review @karenbrissette! which i still don't understand, because don't tweets have to be under a certain character-number? i am new to this! m'aidez!!

come to my blog!

[Steph Sinclair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

I did it. Fury crossed my threshold. I finally read Fury. I FINALLY READ FURY!

Do you know what that means? No. I don't think you do. Story time!

This book is so incredibly hard to come by and I swear IT'S CURSED. Whenever it attempts to cross on over America's border it mysteriously gets lost or stolen. Don't ask me why it's always this book. I don't know.

All I know is this: I tried to order it from Fishpond.com and they cancelled my order due to publishing issues.



So I did what any book lover would do: I threw a miniature pity party, complete with black party hats and all. Then I heard of a book tour on GoodReads and I was super excited! I rushed over to the book group to sign up only to discover that they had closed the entries only hours before. I had a sad. Well, actually, it was more than a sad. I was starting to get angry.



After my little rage-fest, I found out about another tour that was held by Wendy Darling. My excitement was climbing! Until it was lost in the mail. I felt my pressure rising. I mean, this book was legitimately avoiding me. Why? Why did you hate me so much Fury?!



I got so angry I felt my biceps growing in size, there was suddenly wind in my hair and my fro was turning a nice shade of golden-yellow. If I didn't read Fury soon, I knew the transformation was inevitable and all in my path would suffer the wrath of my black soul.


Half Unicorn. Half Saiyan. True Facts.

I did the only responsible thing I could think of to save my neighborhood: I fired up my computer and Googled images of Ryan Gosling. Instantly, I felt my fury subsiding. And then, just like that, my hot husband walks through the door with a package in hand. I couldn't believe it. I quickly tore off the paper and hugged Fury close. I thought, "It was you Ryan! I knew you wouldn't fail me!" and I lapsed into a daydream:

Yes, Ryan! Let's read Fury. All. Night. Long. (BTW, you're welcome.)

My husband cleared his throat at that awkward moment and walked away muttering something that resembled, "Get a room." Then I looked down at the envelope and realized it was from Kat. Damn. Daydream over.

So yeah, the review. Fury is what a few of my friends (real life, not the ones that live in my computer) would call an ILC (Interesting Little Creature). Why? Because I both loved and hated this book. The main character, Eliza is everything I usually dislike in a heroine. She's rich beyond belief, spoiled, bitchy, ect. And for most of the novel I didn't like her. We didn't get along and I really wanted to shake her. Hard. In fact, I pretty much felt the same way about all the characters. Poor little rich girls with their poor little problems. *eyeroll* I couldn't understand understand why these girls were friends in the first place or the dynamic of their relationship. I just couldn't relate to them for most of the book and Eliza's attitude wasn't helping. However, somewhere along the way as Eliza poured out her soul in the police station, I felt a fierce protectiveness for her and her best friends. I love when books do that. Make me feel like I hate everyone and then change my mind by the end.

So besides my love/hate relationship with the characters, there was the plot. Marr built the anticipation just right in Fury. The story flips back and forth from past and present as Eliza reluctantly tells her story to Dr. Fadden. I really enjoyed that method of story telling and was incredibly eager to find out what happened during the crime and who was killed. But at times it did leave me frustrated because Eliza would be in a middle of a flashback and the scene would flip back to the present. It's almost like when you're watching your favorite TV show and just when something good is about to happen, it cuts to a commercial. But I coud tell Marr had a plan. She allowed me to see Eliza's other side - the broken side - and I began to appreciate those momentary gaps. Clever.

The ending was interesting because I really wasn't expecting it to go down like it did. At one point in the novel I was worried because I could easily guess one of the plot twists. I thought the ending may go in similar fashion, but it didn't. It was then I realized two things: 1) how much I liked Eliza or how much she grew on me and 2) how much I loved when Eliza went into a fury!


Sweet, sweet revenge.

My feminist side was rejoicing. It was a good ending, but it also made me sad at the same time. *sigh*

All in all, while I wasn't blown away, I'm glad I finally had the opportunity to read Fury. I finally can join in with the cool kids now and chat about this coveted GoodReads title. Now can we all please cross our fingers and toes that this makes its way back to Australia in one piece, preferably to Kat? I really don't want to go back to her dungeon of doom and gloom. 'Kay, thanks.

[Kat Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the good thing about Goodreads. When you start reading, the mediocre fare doesn't seem so bad, maybe even enjoyable. But after reading your hundredth YA paranormal romance with Mary Sue, Miss Goody-two-shoes, virginal blob, it starts to leave a sour taste in your mouth and a dissatisfying sickness in your gut.

But on Goodreads, you get to learn about books like this. Books you might never have discovered if a friend hadn't reviewed it or someone hadn't recommended it to you.

After all those same books with the same themes and same stories and same characters, I started looking for different books. Amazing books with excellent writing and brilliant execution. Books that shine or burn or blaze their way through your mind. That's what this book was for me.

Marr's writing is raw and spartan, but her imagery is complex and her characters are deeply flawed, interesting and vivid.

Eliza Boans, sixteen year old rich brat and school socialite is in for murder. Why? From the very first page Eliza flashes you her bratty, shallow, vicious personality - daring you to contradict her. But the tale that unfolds shows a different person. She is often unlikeable but never unreadable and this is the distinction that so many authors miss out on.

The tale is gripping, pulled through by the beautiful tapestry of characters and relationships and mystery that surrounds Eliza's fall from grace.

My favourite thing about this book is Marr's ability to translate Eliza's emotions and personality to the reader. She's able to help the reader feel Eliza's rage, her frustration, her loneliness and helplessness.

Also, you get TOTAL hipster points from reading this book - great for trolling.




*Also, we have an interview with Marr and a giveaway for this book and her new release, Preloved up on our blog.

[Emily May · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can understand why some people might like Fury. It's one of those books that surprises you towards the end and it becomes increasingly darker throughout the novel. I did enjoy it. However, I didn't love it anywhere near as well as I thought I would simply because I can point you towards several authors that do what Shirley Marr does but are far better at it.

Raw Blue, for example, is a book that deals with personal trauma as well as family difficulties and it has a similar style of starting after the bad stuff has occurred and letting the reader find out in random flashbacks of memory what actually happened. I like this format and I admit that Shirley Marr uses it in quite an effective way. But she didn't capture that pain, that raw emotion. This was probably because the main "trauma" was experienced by the friend of the narrator and not the protagonist herself. Whatever the reason, it made the whole reading experience a lot less dramatic and effective for me.

Another thing, I mentioned that this book surprises you at the end. I do mean the story, but I also mean by suddenly getting a lot better. I found that I struggled with caring about the plot and characters during some parts earlier on in the novel and would have given it only two stars if there hadn't been the sudden improvement.

I'm also still not sure what I think about the way the characters were portrayed. We are immediately introduced to elitist, bitchy and spoilt rich girls that use "like" way too many times in a sentence and truly believe they were born superior to everyone else. It was annoying but I expected the author to kind of "humanize" them in the way that Melina Marchetta does with characters that you should dislike but don't. I kept waiting to have that moment where I realise that even these spoilt, bitchy girls are just like everyone else in some ways, that they have worries and insecurities and are simply the way they are because of how they've been brought up to be. Though there were some attempts to do this, I didn't think it was particularly effective, especially in comparison to other authors I've read recently, the aforementioned Melina Marchetta, and A.S. King to name a couple.

The novel ended up being 20% teen trauma/crime/heartache and 80% high school politics. The latter is a type of novel that so very rarely works for me anyway and I fear even a very well-written story of that sort would have trouble beating the likes of Courtney Summers, an author who manages to capture teen anger, guilt and sadness in a high school setting better than any I've ever known. Fury spent too much time focusing on cliques, rumours and boys so that what the novel was really about got very small coverage and does not stand out in my mind as an example of this kind of story being handled well.

If you like dark, young adult reads that conclude well even if the rest of the novel is underwhelming... well, Fury could be your next favourite book.

[Limonessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

Meet Eliza Boans.

Let me tell you, she's a piece of work. She lives in East Rivermoor, in this cocooned, upper class neighborhood. She comes from a "good" family, single child, her mom's lawyer, her dad is in America with his new family. She comes from money and it shows: she's a snobbish, elitist, mean bitch. Or is she? Why is she sitting at the police station, confessing to murder?

Fury is a book I won't easily forget, rest assured. It's one of those books that kept me guessing until the very end and, in a way, even after it. I'm not talking only about plot here, even though you'll probably ask yourself what is going on for a good part of the book. I'm also talking about characters, what they appear versus they are. Appearance vs. substance.

I imagine this book as a matrjoshka, one of those Russian dolls. When you start reading, you see only what's outside, the bigger doll, but as you go on, through a series of flashbacks, Eliza takes you further, helps you crack the outer shell, and see what's hidden inside.
I really loved the narrative strategy. The reader knows NOTHING at first. We don't know who, why or how. Eliza is just sitting there, at the police station, unwillingly talking to an anthropologist assigned to her case, whose task is to unveil the truth. But which truth? She stubbornly refuses to tell what happened, or to remember.
Little by little, through revealing flashbacks infused with her snarky personality, Eliza starts recounting a series of significant events that are ridden with clues and that will lead you to the last little doll, the ugly truth.

This narrative strategy is, of course, nothing new. I've read at least two other books this year where the same technique was employed. By far, this is the one where I enjoyed it the most. Smooth, convincing, the logical passages from present to past were all perfectly executed through Eliza's internal monologue, her unique voice.
You must have noticed how I'm talking only about one character here. There are of course others: Lexi and Marianne, her sidekicks. Neil, her childhood friend. Eliza's mom, a self-centered, oblivious lawyer. Brian, the anthropologist. But who matters is only Eliza, because what we know and who we know we perceive only filtered through her eyes, what she decides to disclose, which truth she wants to tell us. She is a Russian doll herself: the perception of a spoiled little brat we get at first is gradually tainted with little cracks here and there in her armor, and as we start to glimpse someone else inside, we start doubting. One of the most interesting female characters I've come across in a long time.
Of course, all this could not have been achieved without Marr's flawless writing style: perfect dialogues, peppered with the right amount of sense of humor, pop culture and snark. A pleasure to read. Period.

Now onto the reason for my imperfect rating: the end. I wasn't fully convinced.
First of all, at the end, but throughout all the book to be honest, I was wondering about the legal system in Australia. How can a murder suspect just go out to grab a burger with the person who's interrogating her? Is that normal? Or for the case to end the way it ended?
Second, I wish the final revelation hadn't been so... sudden. I don't want to spoil so I'll just say that I wish there had been more clues as to what would happen to make it really believable for me. I'm still full of questions and conjectures about it.

I'd like to thank Shirley Marr for giving us the chance to read this book here in Europe by sending a - at the time, very unattainable - copy to tour. I was very excited to read it and am very glad that it lived up to my expectations.
For Europeans, you can order this book here or contact me for more details about the current tour.

Read this review and more at The Nocturnal Library.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

See more reviews at YA Midnight Reads

I swapped my heart for a bargaining chip a long time ago. And here I am turning it over and over again in my hand, not sure what to trade it in for.

Shirley Marr is officially another favourite author of mine. And, she also happens to be an Aussie author, who would've guessed?

Fury goes down as one of those books that I find severely underhyped. I actually had not heard of Shirley Marr's novels until she approached me about reviewing them, which I am incredibly ashamed of. I mean, WHERE HAVE THESE BOOKS BEEN ALL MY LIFE? I probably enjoyed Preloved a little more than Fury but I still was thoroughly entertained by Fury as well. This book gives us an endless supply of fabulous writing, wit, fantastic characters and drama and not a single page goes to waste.

Fury is told, alternating from the present tense to the past tense. The book opens up with Eliza Boans, who has just confessed to a murder. She's had the perfect life, and this story unravels the story as to why Eliza and her friends did what they did. And this is the main plot line that goes on through this novel, but there are also other minor ones too to keep the story constantly interesting such as unveiling Eliza's back bones and her inner fury.

Eliza Boans the exact heroine everyone hates. Bitchy, filthy rich and just plain rude; she's got an attitude and she isn't sorry about it--not one bit.

Despite that being said, if anything, it makes this book even better than it already is. It's a rare when you have an unlikable narrator, but you like the book anyway. It just goes to prove how talented Ms. Marr is, and makes us fall in love with a book with total ass characters. That being said, Eliza did start to get under my skin by the end of the book, I loved her rage and fury as it was so fascinating to see unravel on the pages.

Eliza and her friends have such an interesting relationship. They look like the tightest close-knit friend's you'll ever meet, but they have their own rivalries and flaws too. [image error]

Admittedly, this book is a lot about the high school drama, but for me, Marr depicted it in the bestest (it's a word, don't tell me otherwise) way possible. Sure, there's mean girls and a whole load of drama, but it was handled in such a non-annoying and realistic way, and I'm sure many people who have also read this book would agree.

In all, Fury is a novel I highly recommend. It is the epitome of Aussie YA literature, and is perfect for fans of Melina Marchetta. 

~Thank you Shirley Marr for gifting me this copy!~

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

"Is it because we’re girls. I want to say. You think a bunch of girls are not capable of something like this?"

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Iiiiinteresting.

High Points.
I was intrigued about this book before I even read the first page. I have this unofficial collection of my favourite book dedications. When I say unofficial it’s because normally I read a book dedication and say “WOW… that’s so funny/heart breaking/intriguing. I must write it down and remember it forever” but then I, well, don’t.
BUT I have written down Ms Marr’s because I love it and it’s intriguing and I want to know more but I kind of don’t because then the mystery will be gone.
….Anyway.
Back to the book and its high points. Eliza. Marianne. Lexi. Australia. Burgers. Parties. Money makes the world go around. “School of Hard Knocks, Jocks and Designer Frocks”. Sisters doing it for themselves. Boys with embroidered hankies. Dresses. Prison. Masks. Glasses of water. Friendships. Girls. Loyalty. Infamy. Fury.


Low Points.
So what do an ex-boy band member, an ex-boxer with a current love for starring in panto, a few literary heroines, an English rock legend, a glam-rock vocalist who has disappeared off the face of the earth and the most violent prisoner in Britain (or an actor) have in common?
I’ll give you a minute.
*twiddles thumbs*

Give up?
Answer: They all lend their names to a character in this book!
At first, I really loved it because it felt like Ms Marr was giving me knowing nods and cheeky winks but then, me being me and having a pop-culture pickled brain, I kept looking out for them. And it became quite distracting.
My main problem with this book was that I didn’t really connect with the characters. I wish we could have spent more time with the ladies at school rather than just Eliza and Dr Brian McFadden.
But all I could think of is what would happen if Jane Eyre and Ronnie Wood ever found themselves at the same party. I mean… what would they even talk about?
Would Jane drink beer or would she choose to drink a more fruity lady-drink? Would Ronnie eat all the nice crisps and leave the prawn cocktail flavoured ones for everyone else? Would Jane be scandalised as Ronnie poured the contents of his hip flask in the punch? Would Ronnie shake his head and mutter under his breath as he watched Jane dance drunkenly to Bonnie Tyler “I Need a Hero” and declare that the song is “All about her?”
Or vice versa.
And, more importantly, what would The Roch think of this friendship?! Would he approve? Would he be jealous? Would he be a fan of The Rolling Stones? Or would he be more of a Jeff Beck Group fan?!
And if that isn’t a book that needs to be written…
*cough*
But that’s not really a true low point for this book because it’s more for me and the ridiculous way my mind works.
I did also have a few problems with what happened after what happened happened. I don’t know… I just kind of struggled with the plausibility of some things of what came next.

Heroine.
Oh Eliza. I could tell you were going to be trouble from the second page.

“I’m all about angst, attitude, designer labels and cupcakes."

Did I say trouble? I meant awesome.
And just a little bit scary. Well, actually, a lot scary.
I don’t think we’d be friends at all because, well, I’m a wuss. And a loser. And you’re too cool for me. And kind of mean. And you’d probably think I was weird as I watched you from afar and wondered how you could get your hair so shiny.
But when I next have trouble with a twatty guy… you’re gonna be recruited for my sister-in-arms.

Love Interest.
Hmmmm interesting.
I feel like I needed more information on Neil. It felt his story was left unfinished.
But….hmmmm.
Interesting.

*ponders*

Best Friends.
Gosh.
You ever seen Death Proof?
SPOILER FOR DEATH PROOF.
You know that last scene when they’re all beating the heck out of Stuntman Mike and Rosario Dawson does a high kick and IT LANDS ON HIS FACE and it’s brilliant and you get so giddy that you spill your drink?!
Well Ms Dawson has nothing on these ladies.

Theme Tune.

Damned if She Do by The Kills.

She damned if she will
She damned if she won't
Some of them left in one piece
And some she damn near broke.

Eliza is such a rock star.

Sadness Scale.
7/10. What I liked most about this book was the way that Ms Marr handled the grittier elements. I really don’t want to spoil what happens but I loved how the situations that arose were dealt with. There was a kind of removed quality in Ms Marr’s writing that I really adored and was really affective, especially with the subject matter which I feel in the wrong hands could have gone badly.
Sure there were some things that would probably never happen in the aftermath… but this book wasn’t about reason. And I may be speaking for myself here but if what happened in this book happened to one of my friends reason would be the first thing to go.


Recommended For.
People who want to get up to mischief in masks. People who like packed lunches. People who like receiving post cards. People who hate it when their purse doesn’t close because it’s so full of money. People who never wanted to go to no end of year ball anyway. People who lose all pretence of coolness when they are faced with a custom made dress. People who have ever been Furious.

I received a copy of this book from the lovely Ms Marr herself as part of an Old Continent blog tour set up by the equally wonderful Lisa from The Nocturnal Library. Unfortunately Fury is only available in Australia but you can buy a copy from Fishpondworld.

[Nic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favourite Quote: "Isn't it funny? The things we say, that come back to bite us. Maybe there's no such thing as innocent words after all."

Fury is smart, dark, edgy, brilliantly written and unexpected in many ways.

Shirley Marr had delivered a page turning novel that has a strong and compelling narrative. All you know at the beginning is Eliza is a killer. You don't know who, why or how. So you are sitting on the edge waiting to find out what happened as this well thought out plot smoothly and slowly comes together. The writing has a nice flow as Fury effortless goes from present to the past.

As I mentioned above Fury is unexpected but in a good way. What was surprising is how much by the end it had got under my skin to the point it made me cry. There were two scenes that made my heart ache. For days those moments just lingered. I guess going into this book I was expecting all suspense and drama but there were fun, sweet and tender moments of friendship and some raw and gritty moments that reminds you how cruel life can be sometimes.

Eliza, the main character, is not the nicest person. She is mean and a bit of snob, but surprisingly I liked her because she never pretends to be someone she is not. And she is also not that typical teen voice. I think Eliza sums herself up perfectly in the book 'hot-tempered, unreasonable and I do stupid impulsive things...'. But she is a loyal friend to those close to her. She certainly hasn't had it easy with her absent father and her mother that is never around. By the end I had connected with on a more in-depth level than I expected.

Overall, Shirley Marr had delivered a thrilling and intensely readable debut novel.

Thank you to Shirley Marr for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest review

[Nomes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mate, this book, it's clever and sophisticated and smart and I am so thrilled Shirley Marr has come flying onto the YA scene.

The first thing you should know: This is one of those books where you are hooked from the first page. So, you know, be prepared for a page-flipping marathon because you won't want to put this book down.

I won't say much because I loved going in to this book blind, but... it opens after the murder and slips back in time to the build-up to the murder. You don't know who Eliza (our teen protagonist) killed or how or why - and it all unfolds so wonderfully. The stakes are raised, there's twists and red herrings and it's all delicately balanced: the fun with the serious, the fear with the bravery, the present with the past.

This book has the best of both worlds: a killer storyline and snazzy gorgeously witty prose. The story about the murder is teased out beautifully - with Gossip Girl-esque drama alongside some much more serious stuff that goes down. I love how well Shirley Marr blends her own unique style into one whirlwind of a book:

It's a fun book, but a thinking book as well.
There's slashes of violence and squeals of teen girl excitement.
There's depth and fear and frivolity.
There's friendships that are complicated in that way that teenage girls complicate things - fiercely protective of each other, secretly jealous of each other, hugging one minute and eyeing each other of the next.
It felt true and absolutely teenager-y.


The voice is completely delicious to read. Snarky and funny and truly startling - simply delicious and a little unexpected.

Let me tell you about Eliza.... I ADORE her. Which is saying something as she is not always the easiest protagonist to love.Shirley Marr has a similar gift to Courtney Summers (Cracked Up To be, Some Girls Are) and Lauren Oliver (Before I Fall) in taking an unlikeable main character and captivating you with their unlikeableness (I'll use that invented word) and then making you somehow come to care for them by the end of the sordid affair.

She's a perfect blend of angst, wit, drama and you can spot little snatches of ache under the tough exterior. The teen voice in this is nailed. It's blast to read. I had a little wry smile on my face, there's plenty of amusing snickering moments and a few laugh-out-loud appreciations for Eliza's observations on people and life.

Random things to love:
(unrelated to the review - but I just can't help myself)

there's rats. And a pet rat named Ratattack. I love pet rats and how COOL is that name? I have a thing for stumbling across cool pet names in books.

There's a mention of Richie from The Manic Street Preachers. I was so MAD-Crazy about The Manics (back in the day...) and I thought I was the only fan Down Under :) Anyways, you all probably don't care - but it was just an awesome feeling stumbling across them in a book. So - yay! haha.

Ultra rich people living in an ultra rich estate. It's fascinating and almost other-worldy, the lives these people lead. (well, coming from me, a westie-girl :)

There's an ending that you will still be thinking about days after you're done.

Recommended: It's a wild, immensely enjoyable read. Sparkling, oozing with wit - a fresh thinking teens noir. Who knew reading about a murderer could be so much fun? I loved it - it's a brilliant addition to the Aussie YA scene and YA in general - a rocking thriller that's a blast to read. I really cannot wait to see what Shirley Marr comes up with next :)

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Thank you to the Midnight Garden for hosting this tour and giving me the opportunity to read this! I’ve been trying to that get my hands on for quite some time and I’m so glad that I was able to be a part of this blog tour.

’East Rivermoore built a wall to keep the world out. But what if the real danger came from within? Before the seven o’clock news started to call us monsters, I wondered whether deep inside I wanted myself to be one anyways.’

Storyline
Eliza Boans is a rich snob and spoiled brat… and she’ll be the first to agree with you. She leads a pampered life as the ‘leader’ of her group of friends and is given anything she could ever want by her rich but always absent mother. She’s just confessed to murder but isn’t regretful about it in the least… but did she actually do it?

’I reckon if you looked inside me you’d find a cabinet filled with cracked china dolls.’

Thoughts
This was a fabulous debut novel that I’m so glad I finally got the opportunity to read. I absolutely loved how this book was written. There’s this big mystery about the death of an unknown individual; the unknown individual that Eliza already admitted to killing. Snippets from the past are interspersed with current happenings and it was so exciting and thrilling I simply could not stop reading (I stayed up till 2am just to finish.)

The characters may not have been immediately likable (as they’re spoiled rich girls who say ‘like’ far too often) but if you look past their glossy exterior you realize that there’s more than meets the eye. Neil was my favorite character. According to Shirley Marr herself, Neil was originally meant to be a minor character but ended up becoming more. Fabulous decision, he was a great addition to the storyline.

I loved the hilarious names given to the characters and the multiple references to popular classics and especially to Jane Austen characters. (Jane Ayre, When the story fully came together and all was revealed, I was pleasantly surprised by the ending that I didn’t see coming. Heartbreaking though; I admit I shed a tear or two. The ending was left a bit frayed at the edges with all questions not given straight-forward answers. Whether this was meant to be left up to interpretation or whatnot, I would have liked to know what ending up happening with the girls.

This novel may be extremely hard to get a hold of, but I would highly recommend doing so regardless. It was well worth it and I simply cannot wait to read future novels by Miss Marr!!

[Reynje · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fury is a book that lingers. It leaves a trail of questions in the wake of its final pages, and I have to say that this was one of my favourite things about it, the fact that the characters and their story stayed with me after the last words.

In Eliza Boans, Shirley Marr has created a narrator that alternately holds the reader at arms length, then draws them close. There is an unsteadiness to the relationship we build with Eliza as her narrative unfolds, uncertain whether or not to trust her. She says it upfront, on the first page: she is a murderer. And yet there is much more to it than that. She can be repugnant at times, sympathetic at others. She is reprehensible, fierce, loyal, and somehow always seems to have part herself turned away from the reader. And this is what made her story so gripping for me, this need to try to see her completely, to form the whole picture as Marr gradually provides the pieces.

Eliza, leading what initially appears to be her merry band of uber-bitches, pulls us into her home of East Rivermoor. This community feels gated and shut off in more than just the literal sense. This is not a typical Australian suburb, rather it has an kind of alternate-reality feel, almost Burtonesque with its brightly coloured houses and unsettling apparent tranquillity. Once I’d checked my expectations at the door, I found myself enjoying this strange, vaguely sinister world. It provides a vivid backdrop for the unfolding of the dark, twisted plot.

With the exception of Eliza’s admission on the opening page, we are dropped into her story blind, to experience events as she chooses to reveal them, filtered through her perspective. Yet there is a creeping sense of foreboding from the very start. There are flickers of foreshadowing that can’t quite be pinned down, that add to the darkening atmosphere of the story as the lines between right and wrong, good and bad, blur into various shades of grey.

In a similar way, Marr’s characters become more nuanced and dimensional as the story progresses. What appears to be a high school power struggle between the vain, the venomous and the vapid soon becomes much more complex as the characters interact and their history, actions and motivations are revealed.

While I enjoyed the characterisations and the way the girls were developed beyond mere Mean Girl cardboard cut outs, I did initially find the dialogue a little jarring, which distracted me from totally settling into the story. This diminished somewhat as the plot progressed, and by the second half I was totally immersed and engaged in their story.

Fury does not hand over answers on a platter, or tie up the ending with tidy explanations and a bow. However, it is a book that is all the more impactful for the questions it provokes, and the way it leaves the reader thinking about the characters and debating the conclusions we have reached. Writing this, I’m still wondering about my interpretation of the ending, thinking back through the pages to the hints and clues along the way, particularly in relation to one of the main characters. [spoilers removed]

Intelligent and twisted, Fury was a grower for me, once I had settled into the world and the style of the writing. An engaging and thought-provoking read.

[Isamlq · Rating 4 out of 5]

“When I think hard about it, I find that I… actually don’t like many people. I must be such an angry person.” - Page 178

Eliza is modern Furious girl.

Color me green. I’d never aspired to being a writer (writing this is hard enough) but Fury has me wishing I had written it! Because, among other things, Eliza Boan’s story is compelling, dark, at the oddest of moments funny, but very upsetting. (And her name be awesome too.)

Eliza is privileged; they all are and it’s because of this fact that I held her (them) at a distance. At first. And why, you may ask. She’s uppity and spoiled rotten and unapologetic about what had come to pass. Yet needing to know the why of it, leads up to a slow (at times confusing) reveal. It’s upsetting, as said. I’d already had an inkling of what might have been, but the lead up to the same had me holding my breath.

How good a bad girl is Eliza, exactly? Well... She drew me in despite her numerous flaws. It’s those same flaws that had me wondering why she was the way she was. Again, in those first chapters, I simply did not like the girl... but one page after another, I felt something akin to sorrow for her. Yes, she’d mocked herself early on as ‘that poor little rich girl,’ but she was precisely that.

It’s disturbing to read how they interacted. There was a senseless cruelty when they were together on a page. And I’m talking about the friends here! The dynamics between Eliza and Marianne and Lexi is exactly the one in Lohan’s Mean Girls. It’s this that accounts for some of the surprisingly cruel moments. They’re together, the closest to each other, yet they compete all the time. It was interesting confusing how closely bonded they were yet on guard they were against each other especially given their respective insecurities and jealousies. Marcie in particular confused me. From what I gathered, she’s perfect, so her constant play for position of top dog had me feeling threatened for Eliza! But it’s Lexi’s role in it that had me shocked and and wanting blood.

The allusion to Girl Interrupted hit on the head what I was feeling. Because while this girl is messed up, she could be sweet and smart too. It’s just that she’s so wrapped up in her world, in being what she was (part of a trio of beautiful rich girls) that couldn’t see anything beyond it until something terrible happened to shake her out of her little cocoon of being above it all. And together with her story are several histories the most interesting of which is that shared with Neil. Oh how I’d love to read more of that aspect!

“You infuriate me, Elle,” replied Neil. “But you wouldn’t be so special if you weren’t so awkward to deal with, huh?” - Page 222

-----------
Guess who’s placed an order for FURY at Fishpondworld.com! *excited*
Thank you, Wendy F!
Roshini, you’re next!

[Giselle · Rating 4 out of 5]

After waiting 3 months for my copy of Fury to arrive from the other side of the world, I couldn't wait any longer and just had to dig into it. I was introduced to Aussie authors by my dear Goodreads friends and the premise of this one fascinated me. Reading it again now, though, I realize it doesn't really tell us anything at all - except that it's bound to be excellent! I mean - just read it!

So as you saw, we have Eliza who's telling us her story of how and why she's committed murder, but the bigger mystery throughout the book is who has she actually murdered? We're going into her story, meeting all of her friends and wondering for each one if they're the future victim. I had an incredible time with this because I love dishing out theories and trying to figure it out. I can tell you that I did figure out half of it, but the other half completely took me by surprise! Which does not happen very often anymore.

Eliza lives in a neighborhood that is rather lavish. Everyone is a doctor, lawyer or a CEO. Elaborate houses with snobby children. And Eliza is the snobbiest of them all! She's stubborn and domineering, and while these are usually personalities that don't mesh well with me, somehow this author makes it work. I think it's mostly due to the fact that Eliza is the narrator. We get through the story while being inside her head. So we see that despite her high-and-mighty behaviour, she's not spiteful. She cares for her friends and she's never downright mean to anyone, unless, of course, they deserve it. The way she acts is just a way of life for her. The neighborhood is very exclusive and most of them stay away from the "outside world". It was a bit strange to me at first- their behaviour and peculiar ways- but I got accustomed to it quickly.

Don't expect this to be a mindless read. We're thrown from past to present quite a bit; since she's telling her story to the police. There are a couple of times where it's not clear if the sequence is taking place in the present or the future. So a bit of confusion settles in. But it does get cleared up as the story progresses. By the end, everything makes complete sense and once the victim is revealed, it's fun to rehash the whole thing again in your mind. Even though I wish we would have been left with a more foreseeable future, the ambiguous ending was surprisingly satisfying. I think because it was so atypical. The whole book is very unconventional, that's for sure. And I truly enjoyed it!

*If you're looking for a copy of Fury outside of Australia, the only affordable place to get it is on FishpondWorld.com (free shipping), however be prepared to wait a while!

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Look at you. Teenage sweetheart with a sugar shell and strychnine centre.”

Rating, 4.5

I've read (and liked) my fair share of books written by Aussie authors, but I somehow managed to ignore Shirley Marr. Why did this book sit on my shelves for so long?!



WELCOME TO EAST RIVERMOOR!

“This is not just any neighbourhood; check your reality before you enter.
There is everything that you could possibly want here. The best shopping and heaps of trendy cafés, bars and restaurants that always get drool-worthy reviews in the magazines. A huge park in the middle with acres of rolled-on green lawn and a lake so large it has its own suspension bridge. You can keep your fancy yachts here; the water eventually takes you out into the ocean. Well-buffed guys practise rowing on weekends.
It’s not a right to live here; it’s a privilege. A privilege of being rich.
There’s no need to go outside these walls, if you don't want to.”


Forget your awkward, goody-two-shoes YA heroine .... Eliza Boans is a spoiled, bratty, jealous sixteen year old rich bitch. She and her posse are at the top of food chain of the exclusive East Rivermoor's private school of Priory Grammar.

“My name is Eliza Boans and I am a murderer.”

Not a perfect book ... not a lovable heroine ... liked it and I don't really know why. There.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

WTF happened????!!

First of all this book was riveting. At first I wasn't sure I would like it, Eliza Boans is a spoiled brat/mean girl. I didn't go to a fancy high school as described in the book and we surely didn't have very much money but there are mean girls everywhere and my high school was no exception. For the first few pages I really disliked her but she started to grow on me. Even though the entire book is telling the story of how Eliza Boans and her friends came to murder someone I started to care about this spoiled girl. I could see how she had been let down by every single adult in her life from her absolute tool of a mother to her clueless, ineffectual teachers and principal (don't even get me started on the gossipy guidance counselor who should be fired from her job and never allowed to work with children again). I could see how even very privileged young women could find themselves in a terrible situation and so very vulnerable that it hurt me. Although in my head I kept thinking that Eliza, Lexi and Marianne should have gone to the police after the events of Jane Ayres' birthday party I could understand why they didn't. I mean why should these girls trust any adults at all. No wonder thing turned out so badly. And that lovely moment when her mother picks her up from the police station, "I didn't expect her to cradle my face in her hands and kiss me hard on the forehead". I start thinking maybe her fucking bitch of a mother isn't so bad, I mean she's been hurt too in the past and maybe she just has poor coping skills.

I was wrong.

The ending left me feeling GUTTED. I felt like someone kicked my legs out from under me and left me gasping on the floor. Ouch. I wanted to give this book five stars. I gave it four because I'm so pissed off. But then...on reflection...I think it deserves five stars because of that ending. Kudos to Shirley Marr for making me care so much for someone I could never have been friends with and then ripping it all away from you in the end. It was kind of brilliant.

P.S. The cover is gorgeous.

[oliviasbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've finally read the almost unobtainable young adult novel Fury by the wonderful Australian author Shirley Marr (You see what I mean when you encounter her in one of the discussions here on Goodreads. Shirley is one of thoses authors who also dare to stay readers with their own opinions on books and the world, which means - like you might have noticed - being among the very last of an almost extinct species.)

Since crime-focused fiction is usually not my cup of tea, my rating (3.5 stars altogether) means that I do recommend the book to readers who spend their time in the the criminal thriller corner more often than I do.

And that is because Fury is very dark and excellently structured. Marr uses the a story-within-story concept (if you have read the adult thriller The Earthquake Bird by Susanna Jones you know what I mean): The outer layer has the stubbornly evasive heroine sitting in a police questioning room with an officer - or in Eliza Roberta Boans' case a youngish, attractive humane psychologist employed by the police - who tries to pry out of her what really happened prior to her arrest under suspicion of murder by knife, the inner layer tells the heroine's story in her own pace, meaning that she withholds the information which interests patient Dr. Fadden and the reader most (how many were murdered, who was murdered, what are the reasons for the deed and is the heroine really responsible or even sane enough to receive a punishment) for a long, long time, feeds choppy bits and hints along with random episodes of her school life, of her childhood and of her ueber-rich and sheltered neighborhood in the ditch-lined suburb East Rivermoor. This choice of narration keeps up the reader's attention without fail - it had even me turning the pages with only a dinner-break in between - and makes us hunt frantically from clue to clue. I wondered who much calculation and how many burned brain-synapses were necessary to sprinkle just the right facts into the story in the right places and in the right order.

What forces me to rate the reading experience lower is the almost complete lack of connection between most of the characters and myself. I did not mind Eliza to be a spoiled teen who has it all and expect it all. I did not mind Eliza to be probably a murderess who might or even might have not a good reason for having wielded a knife. But I did mind Eliza to fail at winning me over to her side although the potential was there: Absent father, indifferent and perpetually traveling high-society mother, utter loneliness, the feeling to be unimportant and overlooked in spite of many efforts to get attention in school by smart and not so smart means. No, Eliza and I simply did not click. But at least I was able to puzzle together a vague picture of Eliza’s personality during the second half of the story, to anticipate what she would feel or do; and I admired her sassiness in the interrogation room. As the rest of the cast, Eliza’s friends, her parents, teachers, classmates, neighbors and the authorities of East Rivermoor, were concerned, I simply found no familiar handle to grasp. Half of the time I did not understand at all what they were doing and saying or why. Yet I guess the complete intransparency of the character set has been assembled intentionally to create a certain eerie atmosphere. The reader is supposed to be at unease, to enter unknown territory, to feel the need to constantly turn uncomfortably around in nervous circles.

Unfortunately in order to thorougly enjoy and adore a book of any genre I, personally, need solid, life-like and likable characters who also show the notable promise of some development. While reading Fury I felt like I was trying to sift plancton out of a vast ocean using my own clumsy hands. I felt that I kind of hated Ella Dashwood, the new and newly-rich girl, right after she was introduced, but I could not pinpoint why. Something about her just did not add up properly. With Eliza’s other friends I could not even say if they were really friends or only a pupose-focused group with Eliza as the self-declared leader, if they actually liked Eliza or if they descpised her. Although I have experienced a friendship with a manipulative control-freak in primary school myself, I had no chance to understand the dynamics of Eliza’s triangle. Lexi and Marianne are beautiful. Lexi is obsessed with weight and is maybe kind of kind, Marianne is gifted and obsessed with school and is sometimes a bit mean or spontaneous or snarky. One of them is blond, I forgot who. Sometimes two or three of them bonded, sometimes they did not. They were friends or enemies with some boys at school and some girls, too. The principal of the private school had zero interest in really changing his students’ behavior for good, the school councelor turned out to be a mischief and gossip lover without an ounce of work ethics, the teachers declared openly which students they prefered or spent their lessons watching the clock with propped up feet. In addition there was Eliza’s childhood-friend Neil, an intelligent trouble-maker, whose relationship to Eliza and Marianne was also undefinable and who I would not be able to describe properly. And finally the unfamiliarity of East Rivermoor itself: The suburb had a fantasy-like sheen to it. Eliza hints at the difficulty to leave, at the ditch and the wall surrounding it, at disappearing girls and a strict curfew on work days. The only “normal” person in my opinion was Dr. Fadden, although I did not understand why he would risk his job by letting his criminal charge out of the questioning room.

Sooo... If you like dark crime-stories involving strange places that play with your mind and make you thoroughly uncomfortable - and if you do not mind that the quirky characters are nothing like you and the people you know -, do try to get hold of a copy of Fury. For those of you who speak and read German: The soon available translation might be easier to obtain than the Australian original.

[Janina · Rating 4 out of 5]

"My name is Eliza Boans and I am a murderer."

Well, talk about an introduction. That sentence certainly got my attention, and I think it has made it on my list of fave first sentences. I was certainly on full alert right from the beginning.

If someone asked me to describe Fury in short, I'd say it's Courtney Summers meets Pretty Little Liars. It has the edge and the dark tone reminiscent of Summers' novels, but with the glitz, mean girls and high school cliques that reminded me a little of the Pretty Little Liars series.

Shirley Marr is a master of show, don't tell. And I really love her for it. This book is subtle in its complexity, and there are a lot of things hinted at, but not fully explored; references made, but not spoken out aloud. And I love books like these. I love it when authors acknowledge their readers' intelligence – especially in YA fiction. I love it when books challenge my imagination and give me something to ponder about, yes, in a way I even love the kind of open ending (although it was devastating) this book left me with – because it means I can imagine a future for my characters.

Fury is addicting. It is a story within a story. We have a girl being hold at a police station, confessing to murder. And we have her story, slowly unfolding through flashbacks, as she opens up to her interrogator. At the beginning, we only know that there are two bodies. Who? No idea. Why did they have to die? Nothing. As the story progresses, you get a feel what might have happened, but in the end, one thing still took me completely by surprise. Eliza tells us right up front that her story isn't a happy story, but still – I didn't want to believe, I hoped.

Despite her snobbish behaviour and rich girl attitude, Eliza really got to me. She is not necessarily a character I like unconditionally, but she is a character I respect. She wanders on a fine line between spoiled and heartbreakingly lonely, she has a difficult relationship with her mother and her friends, but I like to believe that those relationships will work out somehow. I like to believe that Eliza will move past her anger – because I could really feel this anger burning in her, destructive and violent. This book's title is not only a lure to draw you in, no, it is really fitting.

One thing that irked me, though. In a way, this book almost felt like a fantasy – not as in magical realism, no as in: this can not be true. A high school like a palace, a headmaster that lets his students pick their own punishment when they've broken the rules – or, even better, lets other students pick it for them because he feels like it. A neighbourhood surrounded by a fence, not letting anyone in or out, a curfew. Houses like mansions, parents always away on either counseling or work trips. Money abound, Jane Austen dresses, designer shoes. Are these things real in someone's world? Maybe I am just too naïve to see it ...

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Real review to come...

Timeline of a mental breakdown over a book

Aug 26: Reads Flannery's review comparing Fury to Heathers. Gets excited.

Sept 6: Orders from FishpondWorld. It's double what I normally pay for books, but what the hell. It can be an early birthday present to myself.


Sept 16: Fury status on Fishpond: "Picked & Packed"

Sept 18: "In transit to our local distribution center"

Sept 19: Back to "On Order"

Sept 25: "Order delayed"
Sends email.


Sept 25: "There has been a temporary delay in sourcing this item. We now expect it to arrive at our warehouse between 03/10/11 and 13/10/11."

Sept 26-Oct 12:

Oct 13: No word from Fishpond, but Fury still listed as "In Stock - Ships within 8-18 days" on the website. Sends email.

Oct 14: "Order delayed."

Oct 15: Asks for further details since book is listed as in stock.

Oct 16: "We cannot guarantee that will be able to get this item. If you would prefer to cancel this item please log in to your account..."

Oct 16: Refuses to cancel.

Asks Fishpond to keep checking.

Oct 19: "We do apologise for the delay in your order we estimate your order to arrive between 27/10/11 and 06/11/11."


Oct 20: Fishpond finally changes the status of Fury from "In Stock" to "Unavailable"

Oct 24: Fury marked as "In Stock - Buy in the next 6 hours, we ship today!"

Sends email.

Oct 25: No response.

Oct 26: No response.

Oct 27: Response?


Oct 28:

Oct 29:

Oct 30:

Oct 31: "Hooray! Today we sent you Fury. Expect delivery between 03/11/2011 and 06/11/2011."


Nov 6: No book.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are a lot of things to love about Shirley Marr's "Fury", but top of the list has to be, in my mind -- guts.

Not just because "Fury" is edgy. It is, but when I say 'guts', there's more to it than just the dark, nasty undercurrent than runs under the twisty, lovely plotting and sucker-punch scenes.

But, when I say guts, I'm talking mostly about the characters. One character is top of that list, Eliza Boans, the fierce and fantastic heroine of "Fury." I always find it hard when authors try to portray strength; most of them use more telling than showing. It's really not easy to do, but Marr makes it look so, so easy.

That's the thing that there is to love most about Eliza: her guts. (I know, how many times can I use that word in this sentence? We should play a drinking game.) I almost wrote 'courage' or just 'strength', but there is much more to Eliza than just 'courage.' Eliza is a fearless yet terrified main character that I just love for how much goddamn fight she has in her. This is one of those books that really earned its title (unlike a certain other book with this name...) in that, yes, I felt the fury. It coursed through every page of the story, really propelling the acts forwards. It almost seemed to bleed from the book. It almost feels too easy to dismiss Eliza as One Angry Girl, because, no, fury forced most of this story forwards in the most terrifying train-crash way, and I loved every word of it.

Remember my rant about the other Fury, about how it was everything to despise in YA literature as it was a shallow, underdeveloped, unlikeable and paper-thin story based on an interesting premise?

This "Fury" is nothing like that. What I love most about "Fury" is that it treats its audience with respect and depth. "Fury" is chock-full of enjoyable references, from Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, mythology (especially Greek mythology) and tragedy. It's so fresh and clever, but never overly clever or pretentious. Just as I was rolling my eyes, thinking, "Oh my God, poor little Eliza, suffering through her rich white girl life in uber-luxurious Australia", she would turn around and dose me with her own acidic wit and I would feel stumped again. Shirley Marr knows all the tricks.

*coughs* *clears throat* (Excuse me. This reviewer is engaging rabid feminist mode. She will return to normal in several lines.)

And, yes, something else to love about "Fury": it's about feminism. Not in the big, important, chest-bashing Margaret Atwood way, but in a way that really cut into me as a reader. It's about what it's like to be a friend and a young woman in this crapsaccharine Australian furniture store, when you get rid of all the petty rivalry and bullshit, Eliza tells us this without ever sugar coating or overstating it. I can see you all giving me squinty eyes - sure, murder, selfishness, narcissism, designer labels and mean girls, Beth, it sounds sooooooo feminist. But there is a satirical beauty to how Marr deals with what might seem like a hackneyed plot. Do not underestimate Eliza Boans. Or more to the point: underestimate Eliza Boans at your peril. The eventual murder scene is one of the best scenes I've ever read, simply for the pure, unadulterated and stomach-churning viciousness that underlines it all. All these mean girls have deep and dark and real friendships, and there is a black heart that throbs at the centre of "Fury."

But mostly important, just in case I've made this book sound so dry and ohmygodwon'tyoujustshutupaboutsociologyalready? - it's incredibly fun. Reading "Fury" made me feel like a lot of YA has been hampered by clichés and expectations and won't somebody think of the children?!. It's just off the hook, with originality, wit and wildness, brilliant mythology gags (like such outlandish but somehow-it-works scene where the characters don masks, old-fashioned dresses and make like the original Furies) and a glittery surface of dresses, money and ass-kicking that gives the seriousness of the themes real fun and freshness. Particularly the amazing ending, which made Eliza's kickass mother sharpen into focus as one of my favourite secondary characters ever and their final scene together was just amazing. I particularly liked the idea that true judgement had perhaps even eluded the characters. "Fury" isn't about learning a lesson. It's about the emotion that gives the book its title - and everything else is up to the characters.

[~Tina~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uh-oh, I seem to be in the minority here. A lot of my goodreads friends just loved this book to pieces and I could see why, but for me I didn't have the same experience.
There are many factors I take into consideration while reading a book.
Plot-concept. Writing-flow and balance. Character-personalities. And overall entertainment.

Fury had a good plot. There's noting quite like a good ole' murder to give yourself a reality check and change your life's perspective. Something that Eliza sincerely needed.
The writing was excellent. Intrigue, mystery and suspense was carefully woven throughout the story linking the reader and what these character had to endure. I was curious which means I cared.
But when it comes to the characters and their personalities is where I unfortunately had to draw the line.
I liked Neil. I liked Brain...and that's about it. I don't really have much to say about Ella, Marianne and Lexi since it was Eliza that I had the most problems with. She isn't a characters that I liked. At all. I tried, really I did. But she's so dame stubborn, violent, hostile, bitter and a spoiled brat. She's the "leader" of the group, something she reminds us frequently in this book, which I found a bit annoying. Who has a leader in high school anymore? But when push comes to shove and we finally do get the truth out of Eliza...I dunno, it just didn't seem enough to me. Yes, what happened to her friends was awful and I was glad that she wanted to go out and stop the monster for her friends, out of loyalty and maybe out of guilt, and yes she also realized that her mom wasn't the bad guy here and was touched that someone believed her to the point where she finally wanted to believe in herself, but in the end it just didn't seem...enough for me to actually like her. Add a lot of high school drama blah blah, a very open ending where it could have gone either way and we'll never get the chance to find out, and well, I guess this just leaves me feeling rather disconnected and let down.

Bottom line, I didn't love it and I didn't hate it. It definitely had it's moments and for the most part I was entertained. If I could have liked the main protag then most likely this review would have had a different ring to it.
But there it is...

I've been so very curious about this book for such a long time now, so if anything I'm very happy to have had the opportunity to finally read this. So thanks Crystal for touring this one out. My curiosity is hugging you right now.

Read the other many fab reviews out there about this book guys. This was just me.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first thoughts were WOW! My second thoughts were hmmmm. Let me start by saying that the book has it all. The mystery, suspense, character intrigue everything was there in full force. I have to say Shirley Marr definitely knows how to pull readers in and tell a wicked story. I was literally on the edge of my seat reading.

Eliza on the outside looked like your typical spoiled teenager living in a secluded rich part of town. On the inside though she is so much more than that. Yes she has her flaws but really what teenager doesn’t. When she would retell certain parts of her story I would get chill bumps because it all seemed so real. From the simple stories of her and her best friends to the complicated story of the actual murder, it was just all so captivating.

I also enjoyed the Neil moments. He felt like a secondary character that needed to be upfront. I guess I am use to more romance in my reading, but I can definitely get past the lack of in this novel.

The part that had me hmming was the end. There is a huge shocker in there that I never saw coming and it broke my heart. I also didn’t like the ending. It felt way to open for me and I wanted more emotions from Eliza. I think she veered away from the spoiled brat syndrome up until the end. I just can’t get over how the last few pages played out. I am still pondering my reaction and I hope that when I read this again (which I definitely will) I will come to understand why she changes so suddenly. I have a theory but I will keep it to myself as it is a bit spoilery.

All in all I really enjoyed this book and I think that even with the last few pages blowing up at me I still think it is a great book. I would highly recommend this book to everyone that I know.

[Misha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read great things about Fury from Nic and Nomes' reviews; but I did not realize how awesome this book was until I read it myself. This is only the third Aussie YA novel I've read and now I am craving for more.Fury is witty, fun, dark and sad all at once. I finished it in one sitting! The synopsis at the back of the book is exciting without actually revealing anything. We know there has been a murder and that Eliza Boans, our snarky MC, is somehow involved in it. But who was murdered? How did it happen? How is Eliza involved? So many questions! I have a bad habit of reading the end beforehand; fortunately I somehow managed to control myself from reading the end . Instead I savored this book word by word, which made the ending more impactful.

I cannot say much about the plot in order to avoid spoilers, but what I can say is - Read this book! It's completely worth it. Eliza Boans, the MC, is not the most likable person. She says and does things which made me go "What?!!" more than once. Despite that, somehow I found myself getting more and more attached to her. Her sense of humor and her fierce loyalty to her friends makes her very difficult to dislike. As I got to know more about her past, I couldn't help but feel sorry for her because beneath the whole "tough-girl" attitude lies an insecure young girl whose father has abandoned her and whose mother spends most of her time away from home.

I love the author's description of East Rivermoor, the setting for the book. It appears to be like an utopian society on the outside - all bright, shiny and perfect. Beneath that facade lies darkness and ugliness, not completely invisible, but mostly unacknowledged. Fury is about being a teenager; about friendship and loyalty; anger and revenge; most of all it's about how life can take a complete about turn because of one small decision which doesn't even seem to be so important.

There are not many books that can combine entertainment with thoughtfulness - but Fury is one of them. The book is sort of like Mean Girls, which I enjoyed immensely. Moreover, there are some Jane Austen references too! Fury is probably the most refreshing and the best YA contemporary novel I've read recently.

Overall:
An absorbing, edgy and fast-paced read recommended to fans of YA contemporary fiction.

Recommended?
Highly!

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

"My name is Eliza Boans and I am a murderer."

Stuck in a police station, still wearing her disheveled, blood stained school uniform is the seventeen year old teenage fury, Eliza Boans. Sitting across from her is Dr. Brian Fadden. He is an anthropologist / case worker, and it is his duty to drag the truth out of the reluctant Ms. Boans. She is designer labels, spoiled and difficult. She comes equipped with a razor sharp tongue that slews out sarcasm and flippancy. Yet, despite her unwillingness to reveal her role in the murder, Dr. Fadden senses there is more to Eliza than meets the eye. Behind the facade is a girl, who is the neglected victim of an acrimonious divorce. Her father abandoned her after the split and left in his stead a stack of cash to fill his shoes. Her mother is a self absorbed, high priced lawyer bent on securing an illustrious reputation. She has little to no time for her daughter, so Eliza fends for herself. The abusive neglect of her parents has created an angry, young lady full of angst, hate and rebellion. Eliza is thrust into a world of wealth and uppity pretenses and the end result is rage. She fights to control what little she can in her life, flailing against the system and those who have failed her. Especially, when a horrific crime inflicted on her best friend goes unpunished letting all hell break loose. The question is why is Eliza so furious?

What I Liked:
*The tone of this book reminded me of one of my all time favorite books, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Eliza is like Holden Caufield, in that she hates her surroundings and all the fake people. This book is in your face and no holds bar. obviously with a name like Fury, it is to be expected. I loved the biting, snarky commentary, although I know it isn't for everyone.
*I enjoyed the mystery of the book. From the first pages you are heaved into a murder mystery. Even though Eliza admits in the first line that she is a killer, you spend the entire book pondering her motives. Furthermore, you also need to determine who was murdered and who were the accomplices. You are kept in the dark until the very end. I flipped the pages furiously to get the answers!
*This novel is told in a stream of conscious format. I personally am a huge fan of this type of story telling. I know that few authors dare to use this format because it can be tricky to pull off successfully. Ms. Marr does an excellent job of plunging us into the mind of her modern day fury. As a reader you are assaulted with a deluge of Ms. Boans thoughts. Be prepared because they come at you fast and crazy with no thought to time or sequence so pay attention.
*I love that this novel is a stark departure from all the other YA novels on the market. There is no sweet romance or awful love triangle. Want a neat, happy ending? Forget about it! How about a nice, dress up party that culminates with a tender kiss. Nope! Instead you are treated to a huge multi person fracas with slapping, punching and stabbing remarks! Is there redemption at the end? Well, in a way but it is open ended so it is up to the reader!
As a U.S. reader I enjoyed getting a peek into the Aussie lifestyle. A got a flavor for customs and sayings from Down Under.

And The Not So Much:
*I mentioned that this is a stream of conscious book, which I loved. What I didn't like was that this book in a sense was like having a huge puzzle dumped in front of me. Each piece is a plug in the story but it can fall anywhere into the timeline. The result is that the book jumps all over the place and often times I was a bit confused and disorientated. Heads up when you read this one.
*I guess as the reader I was hoping for some type of resolution or redemption for Eliza but the story is left open to interpretation and the final reveal unfolds rapidly. It is up to me to determine Eliza's final destiny or will there be a sequel?
*I despair that this book is not readily accessible to United States readers. I do not know all the details as to why this book has not escaped the confines of Australia but I am hoping that someone will get on the stick and get this in the hands of hungry U.S. fans. A big thanks to Shirley Marr for providing a copy of this book for tour and to Wendy Darling @backinthemmidnightgarden.blogspot. Thanks ladies for letting me and many others read this story.

Fury is a dark, humorous commentary on what happens when a rich kid lacks the one thing she desires, love. Prepare yourself for a shocking and brutal look into the mind of a furious girl. A big commendation to Ms. Marr for writing this revealing novel. I admire Shirley's rebellious spirit. She is a lady who refuses to color in the lines and gets kicked out of book stores. I can't wait to see what she has up her sleeve for her second novel, which she is hard at work on right now.

Favorite Quotations:
"It's all beautiful and perfect.  Even the girls toilets smell like vanilla cake."

"I have never been inside a gym and I never plan to, thank you very much.   Gyms are so, like Greco-homo-erotic."

"They want us to all be the same, but individual. Independent, but controlled. It's all very PC."

"When I think hard about it, I find that I...actually don't like many people. I must be an angry person."

"I watched him as he walked off down the driveway. Hunched over against the world in his black knee-length coat, he looked like a semi-colon."

"It was then that I realized I was wrong in thinking that I knew who the monsters were. Maybe each of us, in turn, is a monster to someone else."
Visit My blog for a guest post by Shirley Marr on the original Epilogue of Fury: http://rainydayramblings.typepad.com/...

[shady boots · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is also available over at my blog.

________________________

Actual rating is 4.5 stars.

I knew before I read this book that it wouldn't leave me disappointed, and it didn't. It met my hopes and expectations, although due to some minor problems I have to take half a star from the rating, but we'll get to that later.

Eliza Boans is a girl who lives a privileged life inside the gates of East Rivermoor, a wealthy, high class neighborhood. But why is she, along with her friends, sitting in a police station confessing to murder?

The book switches from the current events of Eliza in the police station, and to the past events that led up to that fateful night that landed her there in the first place. In the present parts, we usually see her being interrogated by Dr. Brian Fadden, who Eliza seems to be crushing on at times. And in the past parts, we get to know her three friends; Marianne, Lexi and soon Ella. Those parts were mostly just teen drama at first. You don't really get to see the seriousness until nearing the end, and we see how involved they were in the crime.

I liked the characters a lot. Their interactions with each other kept reminding me of The Lying Game for some reason. Maybe it's just the rich-teen-drama-and-murder-mystery combination. I liked Eliza's voice. She can be bitchy at times but that's part of why I love her.

The love interest I guess is Neil, Eliza's friend since she was five years old. At first I thought it was Dr. Fadden, because Eliza kept showing interest in him and bugging him about if he had a girlfriend or a wife or a date or something. But in the past parts we get to see Eliza's growing relationship with Neil. I didn't really pay much attention to it, to be completely honest. The romance was the least of my interests in this book, because I just wanted to know what happened that night. The suspense was killing me.

The last half of the book was awesome. When that night actually happened, my jaw dropped, even though a little part of me kind of saw it coming, due to a clue dropped several pages back. I'm disappointed about the ending, though, because it was very anti-climactic, and I still wanna see what happens to some of the other characters. Shirley Marr could make a sequel for this, in my opinion.

Also, I loved how in this book the girls were compared to the Furies of Greek mythology. :D The title definitely makes sense.

Even though I had to take away half a star, I still thought this book was very awesome, and I would recommend it if you're looking for a good YA murder mystery.

[Milly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aussie Reading Challenge #7

Dumbfounded. Numb. These are my feelings exactly upon reading Fury's conclusion. I thought it was superbly and smartly-written. I don't usually find myself reading murder-mystery especially of the YA genre but I was quite impressed with how well this book turned out to be especially for a debut.

The female protagonist, Eliza Boans, is not your typical female protagonist. She is smart, privileged, and a snob. She is so messed up and flawed, hurt, insecure, and so afraid to be vulnerable and let anyone close enough to care for her. It was very hard to like her especially when she was mean and hurtful towards her friends. It's quite sad because she seemed like she was clueless on how to be nice. I definitely couldn't relate to Eliza. But, despite an unlikeable protagonist, one's compelled to keep reading. Shirley Marr has done well weaving together an engrossing and fast-paced prose. We all know Eliza is involved in a murder from the very beginning as she confesses to it. But because she is a teenager and has everything going for her, you just want to believe that there's a glimmer or possibility that she she's not a psychotic murderer. That it could all be a mistake or that it was for a good reason or that it was self-defense. It is this desire to get to the bottom of it all that I couldn't put the book down! But the more I read, the more I felt confounded. I was lost for words to describe how I felt about Eliza and her friends. All I know is that I detested Alistair and that he needed to be taught a lesson. What he did was abominable and should be punished. I did feel sorry for Eliza but only because of how she was abandoned emotionally by her mother and physically by her father. And then there's Neil, her oldest friend who's always been there for her. He's as lost and lonely as she is and what he did in the end broke my heart. If only Eliza was there for him too...if she only opened up...things could have been different. The ending just left me feeling empty and hollow inside...just like how I felt at the ending of "City of Angels".

Still, it's quite a book and I definitely recommend it!

My thanks again to Missie at the Unread Reader and my Booker friend, Nic, for sharing this Aussie treasure! It was quite a ride!

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wonderful debut novel by Shirley Marr tells the story of Eliza Boans, a spoiled rich girl who makes no apologies for her attitude or behavior, and who confesses to murder on the first page. As the narrative unfolds, the identity of the victim, the motive for the crime, and the modality of the murder are revealed by Eliza in a series of flashbacks as she recalls her tale to a forensic anthropologist working for the police.

Fury is a nice departure from most of the YA novels I've read lately, most of which are romance driven rather than plot driven. Fury has a solid plot, one that isn't overwhelmed by a sweeping romance. In fact, the romance in Fury is very minimal. Although the main character does have a love interest, and there is teenage dating, it's mostly on the sidelines. For readers looking for a sweeping love story this is not it. That said, I really enjoyed the friendship/flirtation between Eliza and Neil. Their connection was understated, yet very touching and believable.

I enjoyed Eliza, both as a character and as a narrator. She's snarky and fun despite her troubled home, which goes beyond the typical teenage woes. She makes no apologies for who she is or what she's done. Eliza reminds me a bit of Scarlett O'Hara from Gone with the Wind in that she can be selfish and spoiled, yet these traits are balanced by an endearing strength, which she uses to defend both herself and those close to her. Her strength, along with her fierce loyalty to her friends make her likable despite her obnoxious attitude.

I also really liked Eliza's childhood friend/sort of crush Neil. Although he's a violent individual with tragic psychological flaws, he still comes across as a sympathetic character. This may partly be due to the fact that we're told the story from Eliza's perspective, which is highly subjective. I fell in love with his protectiveness, as well as his introspective nature. Most of my favorite lines from the book were attributed to him. Neil provides a good balance to Eliza's frustrating lack of self-awareness.

The tone of the novel while dark, is lightened some by Eliza's snark, making it a fun read despite taking on some serious issues. Marr was able to effectively convey Eliza's anger, both in her attitude and her behavior towards others. I was able to get a clear sense of who Eliza was because she treats the reader with the same defensiveness as she does the other characters in the book.

In terms of the writing, Marr's use of a nonlinear narrative style was flawless. Although the novel jumps around quite a bit between the present and the past, the transitions were done in such a way as to prevent confusion. By switching between the past and present, Marr was able to build suspense and foreshadow events without revealing everything until the very end.

On a superficial note, kudos to the author and publisher for choosing a title and cover that are both interesting and relevant to the plot. It's a beautiful cover.

The reason this was a four star read rather than a five, was mainly because I felt that the side characters needed more variety. With the exception of Lexi and possibly Neil, every other character is either a bitch or a jerk from our protagonist, Eliza, to the minor characters like the Principal and the mother sentenced to work in the canteen as retribution for a DUI. Although East Rivermoor is a wealthy suburb filled with entitled snobs, it wasn't believable that every single person was rotten. Perhaps if some of these characters had been fleshed out more, in particular Marianne, whose actions made little sense until the very end, this wouldn't have been an issue.

Additionally, there were also some believability issues related to the police investigation. To be fair, some of my disbelief may be due to the differences in the criminal justice system between Australia and the U.S. Mainly, the supervision of Eliza seemed overly lax, and there were times when I thought that the relationship between Eliza and Dr. Fadden, the forensic anthropologist, was inappropriate.

Also, I found it odd that a forensic anthropologist was questioning Eliza rather than a forensic psychologist or a detective. It is my understanding that forensic anthropologists usually study the remains of the victim to determine the identity and cause of death, while forensic psychologists are typically brought in to question the suspect. This may be a misunderstanding on my part, or a difference between the U.S. and Australia, but it stood out for me, perhaps due to my background in psychology.

Overall, this was an enjoyable novel that kept me hooked from the first page until the last. I look forward to reading Marr's other works once they are written and published. Hopefully Fury will find an international publisher so readers in the U.S. and other countries can obtain a copy more easily.

Acknowledgements

I'd like to thank Wendy Darling over at The Midnight Garden for organizing the U.S. Fury Tour so that I could have the opportunity to read this book. Also, a special thanks to Shirley Marr for providing a copy of the book.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Original post at One More Page

If I can judge books by their cover (I know I can, I just don't do that. Not too often, anyway), Fury by Shirley Marr is one book that I will judge positively. See that really gorgeous cover? I would've bought this book just for display on my shelf even if I don't know if I will like it. I would even keep this book just for display even if I didn't like it because the cover is just so morbidly beautiful. Don't you think?

Actually, I don't think I'd let this book go even so because it's so hard to acquire -- I had to ask my friend who flew to Australia to get my a copy because this is practically unavailable anywhere else. It is available from Fishpondworld, but it costs twice the normal paperback, too. It's kind of a good thing I liked the book, so I won't feel too guilty saving shelf space for its gorgeousness, and I feel like the price was pretty worth it.

Eliza Boans has everything: a huge house, great education and grades, and basically a bright future. Never mind that her mom barely pays attention to her, or that she's just really sick of everything in her life. Whatever Eliza wants, she can get -- the perks of being born under privilege. So if she's got everything and there is possibly nothing else she could ask for, why then would she commit murder?

At first glance, I thought this book is about some psychopath who just got bored about her life and decided to go on a killing spree. Other reviewers praised Eliza's voice in the story, about how she seems to lack remorse and her wit and all that, so I was expecting to read about a girl who kills just because she had nothing else to do. But my expectations were far from the truth. Eliza is a witty narrator whose voice shines with authenticity, but even with that, I wasn't sure if I would be friends with her. Come to think of it, I don't think she'd even pick me as her friend, anyway, if I were one of the privileged students of Priory. She is without remorse for a reason, and despite knowing that what she did was wrong, as a reader I can't help but sympathize.

The mystery behind Eliza's confession and the things leading up to it unfurls gradually and naturally, and I was kept guessing to what exactly happened. For a moment there, I almost felt like I was Gossip Girl, being privy with the rich boys and girls' lives, and seeing just how many things could go wrong with these things. I liked how each of Eliza's friends were given enough spotlight but not too much that we know too much about them. I especially liked how the author built Eliza's friendship with Neil -- it was my favorite part of the book, and probably also the saddest, but it feels like there's nothing else that can be done with it. I couldn't connect with Eliza at first, when I wasn't really sure what to make of her, but her honesty and loyalty won me over, making me want the best for ever even if I'm not sure what it is exactly.

Fury doesn't really end in a happy note, if you're looking for a happy ending. It leaves unanswered questions that readers are left to ponder. Books with an open ending are some of my favorite books because it leaves readers to imagine what could happen and to contemplate on what should happen based on their own beliefs and convictions.

This is my first Shirley Marr, but it will definitely not be my last. In fact, I've already asked my friend who's going to Australia this month to get me a copy of her second book, Preloved. Ah the lengths readers go to get some books. :) I think Shirley Marr's Fury will be a hit for readers who liked the friendships in Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall and the social hierarchies and complications of Courtney Summers' Some Girls Are. It doesn't have the drama or romance of the former nor the grit and intensity of the latter, but if those books are your thing, then Fury should be in your TBR pile.

[Nemo (The ☾Moonlight☾ Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

See this review and more on The Moonlight Library!

Eliza Boans is sitting in an interview room, confessing to murder. That’s the premise of this book, and it’s totally awesome. We are told the story in a series of flashbacks: when new girl at school Ella joins ‘Lizzie’s little group of Lexi and Marianne, the harmony of the group is thrown askew. What leads these privileged girls to murder, and who is the victim? What could cause a girl with a bright future ahead of her, a large credit limit, an education at the most expensive private school in the city, to murder someone?

Fury just clicked with me. I really liked Eliza’s voice: that of a spoiled, lazy, entitled brat – but one who knows it. Eliza doesn’t pull any punches. She’s fully aware of her own bad attitude, her own rising anger. She openly jealous of her closest friends, and she vividly appears to hate her own mother. I really enjoyed reading Eliza’s journey – her mistakes, her selfishness, her attempt at redemption, her overwhelmingly fierce loyalty to her friends. I think I like books with party scenes because they are full of all the drama I sought to avoid when I was a teen.

The writing was mostly pretty clean, and it was a lot smoother than Marr’s sophomore novel, Preloved. However the dialogue was often confusing – sometimes I wasn’t sure who was talking because an extra break was inserted or a lack of beat before dialogue that could have indicated who was speaking was ignored. However for the most part the book was easy to read and I devoured it in a day. It’s my kind of thing, you know?

Overall if you like Mean Girl stories, or stories about the downfall of a popular girl, or even a good mystery, I think you might enjoy this. I certainly did, and I am looking forward to more of what Marr can produce.