Championing Contemporary YA: Fury

 Championing Contemporary YA is a movement in celebration of June as the Contemporary month over at The Contemps. Between, the 3rd - 10th of June, Dreamcatcher's Lair will be championing Contemporaries that deserve being talked about.

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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?

I consider myself extremely fortunate to have won this book, because it's Aussie YA, which hasn't been released internationally, and if not for the giveaway I might not have got my hands on it, which would have been horrible because Shirley Marr's Fury is a BRILLIANT debut.

Sample the first line: My name is Eliza Boans and I am a murderer.

And for the rest of the book you get to know why this propah- young girl from this seemingly perfect suburban town ends up being a 'murderer'. In fact, the East Rivermoor rich estate that Shirley Marr presents exists under the guise of an Utopia. Proper people live in perfect houses with perfectly manicured gardens. Think an Australian Upper East Side. It's a world segregated from the rest of the towns and cities by super-high walls built around its perimeter. Underneath though, East Rivermoor  isn't as shiny as it looks, and neither are its residents. It's a world where people refuse to acknowledge the very ugliness that exists along with them, holding up the facades of perfection they choose to live under. Marr does a fantastic job with the setting and the atmosphere she evokes from the first chapter, heck, the first line itself, grabs you by the neck and doesn't let go till you have finished the book.

Fury begins with a lot of questions. You don't know what exactly is the deal with Eliza or who she has murdered and why, and why on earth she is even confessing to it in the first place. And the answers to all that and more unfold in a breathtakingly tantalising fashion that could be possible  for only a highly skilled writer to pull off. Let me tell you, Shirley Marr does that with perfection.

And what can I tell you about Eliza? She's smart, witty, brash to-the-point-of-being rude yet so charming. I have to say ELIZA BOANS IS ONE OF THE BEST CHARACTERS CREATED IN YA FICTION. EVER. Eliza's voice keeps you captivated throughout and along the way you end up loving her so much, you're sad to see her go when the book is over.

Fury lives up to its name. It isn't just angst. It's fury that runs throughout the novel. Fury towards the attitude of society to ignore whatever it chooses to ignore and fury at oneself for being helpless about it. Yet, the author's talent lies not in giving voice to such pent-up rage, but balancing out the anger and skepticism with the characteristic frivolity and love in teenage girl-girl friendship. It's a delightful combination of dark humour,  drama of the violent kind, gorgeous dresses and nail polish, guns and policemen and boys of the good and not-so-good kind. 

I would say, READ THIS BOOK. NOW. What are you waiting for? It's an entertaining romp of a thriller that should be on your must-reads list. I don't care if you have to go to Australia to get it or pay extra for shipping, get thee some Fury now. This is YA fiction at its best. Don't miss it.

Read a sample of Fury. 

Visit Shirley Marr 

Oh, look at that cover. I LOVE IT. I love the girl's mask and the splatters of blood on her hand. It evokes such strong imagery, so fitting for the book.