Class Book Review: Furious Thing

For International Women’s Day, Hannah Grayson and her class review Jenny Downham’s Furious Thing, a novel that encourages girls to be angry
8th March 2020, 11:02am

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Class Book Review: Furious Thing

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/class-book-review-furious-thing
Class Book Review: Furious Thing

Furious Thing 

Author: Jenny Downham 
Publisher: David Fickling Books
Details: 378 pages; £12.99
ISBN: 978-1788450980

Teacher review

Upon reading the blurb of Furious Thing, I was immediately intrigued. I wanted to understand what was causing Lexi to be angry and what, as the blurb put it, would cause her to “erupt”. However, while I was able to overlook her “crushing desire” to spend the rest of her life with her stepbrother, the prospect of a relationship between stepsiblings was off-putting for many of the students at my school. 

Lexi lives in a house with her mum, controlling stepfather (John), and stepsister (a 5-year-old who is the apple of her stepdad’s eye). It tells the story of Lexi’s life under John’s new regime and her desperate attempt to be a “good” daughter and person, despite the challenges that keep arising. 

When I first started reading the book, I struggled to put it down. As I read on, however, I felt I began to lose interest in the novel. This was because of the unnecessary plot additions that distracted from the main, key point of the story: Lexi’s justified fury. As the book progresses, it is easy to understand why Lexi is angry and, as somebody who encounters many angry teenagers, I felt that she was a relatable and rounded character, who, despite her difficult circumstances, was brave and empathetic through all of her trauma. However, I felt that the ending, while offering hope, was somewhat disappointing. I wanted more justice for Lexi. 

Overall, the narrative allows us to witness the manipulation and control that John has over the family, with the novel exploring the difficult subjects of gaslighting, emotional abuse and heartache. The book speaks of these challenging topics with the maturity and transparency that young adults need. I do, however, think that the book should be explicit with its target audience, as it contains unsuitable themes and unsavoury language for anybody below the age of 15.  

Hannah Grayson is an English teacher at Our Lady and St. Bede, in Stockton-on-Tees 

Pupil reviews

‘If I could, I would rewrite the ending slightly’

Overall, I liked Furious Thing and thought that it was a really good book. I finished it in less than a week and found the main character to be really relatable, especially the things that she was getting angry over. I also liked the plot and how it developed, particularly how it showed Lexi’s relationship with her mum. 

I like the ending of the book and thought that it linked really well with the story, but if I was able to, I would rewrite it so that it is slightly different. I wanted it to go further and I wanted her stepdad to be punished for his behaviour. I thought that they shouldn’t have forgiven him as easily as they did. I also thought that sometimes, the plot was a little bit strange - such as the relationship that Lexi had with Cass; partway through, there is a scene where she visits him at University that I didn’t enjoy reading and didn’t think was appropriate. It made me want to stop reading it at that point, however, I’m glad that I kept going because I really liked how the plot developed. I would also have also liked the character of Ben to be developed further because at the start, it seemed like he wasn’t a relevant character. 

Grace, age 12 

‘I liked this book, but it could have been told in 150 pages less’

I mainly liked this book. I thought that it covered lots of interesting topics and the plot was really detailed. I also liked that the main character was a similar age to me and it meant that I could understand lots of the different things that she was going through but I thought it was way too long and the same story could have been told in 150 pages less. Mainly, I liked that it covered lots of issues that teenagers face like mental health and anger issues. I didn’t really like the way that Lexi was treated by other people in her life and that made me really angry so I could understand where she was coming from. I think I would probably read something by this author again if it was shorter. 

Emily, age 14 


If you or your class would like to write a review, please contact ella.jackson@tesglobal.com

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