Pretty Furious

Pretty Furious / E.K. Johnston
NY: Dutton Books, c2024.
206 p.

I read this novel by a local author a little while back, and reviewed it for my library. But it was a good one and I wanted to share it with readers here as well! It's the story of five young women who decide they're not putting up with crap anymore ;)

Maddie, Mags, Louise, Jenny and Jen have been best friends for years. But they are noticing that their small town of Eganston, Ontario, has some issues with hypocrisy.

 It started with Amelia Chaser. She is 18 and pregnant, and judged harshly when she decides to get an abortion. Maddie notices that there is no disapproval or gossip about the boy involved, although it's not like Amelia got herself pregnant. But it’s Maddie's 17th birthday, and she makes a birthday wish for payback for Amelia.

 Their small rebellion succeeds: as the girls note, they are "good girls", they follow all the rules. No-one would suspect them of anything. And they decide to use this double standard to their advantage. 

 That year, each of them makes a wish as they turn 18, for something that fights back against the mistreatment of girls and women. Ranging from simple to complex, they come up with plots to punish the perpetrators of unjust behaviours. 

 Maddie's last wish, as she turns 18, is more significant and tied to the first one that starts the book. And it will be the last, as the girls will soon be leaving town for their lives in university and beyond, breaking up this group of five. 

 This is a story of revenge served cold, some pretty karmic results, and reflections on the social expectations of girls to be "good girls" even while holding them to standards that are not applied to anyone else. Entertaining and thoughtful, this story of friendship and just desserts brings up many issues that may get people talking.