Jill Wolfson

Dani has been limited her entire life, thanks to a heart that grew on the wrong side of her chest and could never pump properly. She's rolled with most of the limitations, but can't help but wonder whether she'll die with a bucket list of 'nevers'.
Amanda is an accomplished and focused fourteen year old gymnast. They've never met, but their lives are about to intersect after Amanda misses part of a routine and suffers a serious brain injury.
When Amanda's parents and her older brother have show more to face the choice of removing life support and deciding whether to donate her organs, it's very painful. Each one deals with their pain in a different way. Tyler, her brother discovers a secret folder on his sister's computer that opens up an entirely new way of understanding her.
While Dani is waiting for a new heart because hers has weakened too much, she meets other kids who are waiting for transplants. There's nine year old Wendy, a ball of sassy fire who needs a kidney and Milo who looks hot even if he's sort of yellow because his first donor liver is dying because he got angry and stopped taking care of himself. The last thing Dani expected while wondering if she's going to die or get a new heart is a boyfriend, but that's what happens when she and Milo start talking.
There are multiple story lines in this wonderful book. The girl whose mistake cost her life, but allowed several other kids to have a new lease on theirs, the grieving brother who starts to see the world in a totally different way as he reads letters from the kids who received his sister's organs and the bit players like the nurses, organ transporter and the parents.
This is a beautiful book about a reality that many juveniles will face either personally or when a family member or friend needs a transplant. Jill Wolfson has done a superb job of weaving the realities of transplants into a quirky teen love story. show less

*3.5 Stars*

Due to copy and paste, formatting has been lost.

We are straight out of mythology, goddesses who avenge, retaliate, punish, haunt, hunt, and don't stand around being victims, but make things happen.

I was really expecting to love Furious. And while I liked it, this didn't add up to "love" for me; although I wish it could have. The first seemingly small thing that I couldn't get past was the fact that it's based in America. Normally, this isn't a big deal, as most YA books are based show more in America. But the fact still remains that this is a GREEK myth come to life. Why isn't it based in Greece?

I realize that this is a small thing... but come on! I never got an explanation for it. And I would have liked to have seen one. The other thing that bothered me was "The Plagues". I could possibly see how someone might come up with a set of nicknames like that, but I really doubt that it would be a group of teenage boys. It just doesn't ring true for me. I can't imagine boys going by nicknames such as "Gnat", "Bubonic" or "Pox". This is also a small thing. The rest of the book was fairly enjoyable!

I liked the character of Stephanie; I believe that she was my favorite. I could relate to her, because in her own way she was trying to change the world. I loved that about her. Even when she could have (or even should have) given up, she kept trying to stand up for what she believed in. As a result, I admired her. Alix and Meg, however, didn't really do it for me. Alix was too tough and hardcore (with no sense of mercy) and Meg was... how do I say this gently? I felt like Meg was way too power-hungry, which threw her sense of justice out of whack.

Meg definitely grew as a character throughout the book, though, which is a bit more than I can say for Alix. Stephanie figured it out too, eventually. I was proud of them for that. I felt bad for Meg's friend Raymond, though. He always seemed like such a happy light-- I wish that he had gotten a bit more character time, you know? I also wish that the romance between Meg & Brendon would have been given more time. They fell "in love" by the second date, which is a big no-no. Thankfully, the romance was such a small part of the book that I easily overlooked it.

My favorite part of this book was the myth of the Furies. I loved it when the girls took out their fury on people; it gave the story so much. It was so easy to see why they did, and I'm positive that the story would have been lacking if they hadn't thought that they were justice itself. As Furies, they were superbly power hungry and mildly insane.

All in all, I would definitely recommend Furious is you're in a mythology mood (like I was), and don't mind a few minor things. show less

I picked up this book while doing inventory, and skimmed the first two pages. Then I put it on my desk to take a look at it in case I wanted to recommend it to some kids. Then I read the first chapter while taking a break. Then I read the second chapter during the dinner hour. Then I took it home and read the rest of it in one go. And when I finished it, even though there was nobody in the room, I looked up and said, "I loved this book."

I admit that the character is difficult to love, but so show more does she. She's not quiet, she's not polite, she's not organized or dedicated, or any of the things that adults value in kids. But I found this book funny, touching, and with just a touch of edge that helps keep me grounded in the fact that this face she's put on is her way of coping with a life of loss and displacement that could grind her down. Instead, she can use the front to defend herself from the best way she knows how.

I'm getting my son to read it next and tell me his review, just in case I'm nuts. :) show less

Cal Lavender's mentally ill mother has a breakdown, and Cal is taken by social services and put in a group home with four other girls. The home is kept by an elderly woman that everyone calls "The Knitting Lady." In addition to the usual group home duties, the Knitting Lady teaches all the girls to knit, and tells them stories, which they love. Cal struggles because she believes her mother will come get her in the next day or two. Everyone else, including the other girls in the home, know show more that isn't very likely. Cal's story is interspersed with a tale the Knitting Lady tells of Lillian, a girl from long long ago, who was also in a situation similar to that of the girls in her care. Cal slowly learns to accept the reality of the situation, and grow fond of the other four girls. show less