Jenny Downham looks at women’s rage in new YA

David Fickling Books (DFB) has acquired world English rights to Furious Thing, a YA on the theme of women’s rage by Jenny Downham.

The protagonist of the novel is Lexi, who wants her step-father to accept her, her mother to love her like she used to, and her step-brother to declare his desire to spend the rest of his life with her. She tries to push the fury down but it simmers below the surface waiting to erupt.

Downham said: “There are lots of girls like Lexi in the world, with real and justifiable cause to be angry. Girls who fight to claim back the spaces that belong to them and who battle to be heard. I hope Lexi’s story encourages more of them to make a noise.”

DFB acquired world English rights from Catherine Clarke at Felicity Bryan Associates and will publish in October 2019. Scholastic will publish in the US.