The Fever: A Novel [Kindle Edition]

Megan Abbott (Author)

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Print List Price:	$26.00
Kindle Price:	$12.99

Book Description

Publication Date: June 17, 2014

The panic unleashed by a mysterious contagion threatens the bonds of family and community in a seemingly idyllic suburban community.

The Nash family is close-knit. Tom is a popular teacher, father of two teens: Eli, a hockey star and girl magnet, and his sister Deenie, a diligent student. Their seeming stability, however, is thrown into chaos when Deenie's best friend is struck by a terrifying, unexplained seizure in class. Rumors of a hazardous outbreak spread through the family, school and community.

As hysteria and contagion swell, a series of tightly held secrets emerges, threatening to unravel friendships, families and the town's fragile idea of security.

This book is told in three different perspectives: Father, daughter, son - which at times makes for a real difficult read. It was very much like putting a jigsaw puzzle without the benefit of having a picture on the pieces. The writing is choppy at best, confusing at worst with its unfinished thoughts and sentences.

If it had not been for the rave reviews, the high kudos for the author and her style of writing (subject matter, depth of characters, how she supposedly understands teens) I would not have agreed to read and review this novel.

I must say that this should have been a very intense read, but it was not.  The girls, though-out most of the book, are not what I would have called ‘bad girls’, though so many readers are saying that this is was part of the books charm.  I found the girls to be inarticulate and flighty but not bad.

The mystery is another aspect – there are so many red herrings; one that is played on heavily, that are just not very believable.  Perhaps it would be more realistic to a pre-teen or young adult…I think even they have more common sense to understand what the author is try oh so horribly, to do.

So much of this novel was just completely unbelievable –what teen girl would ‘help’ a friend (no matter how good a friend) physically adjust a crooked tampon? 

The ending to the mystery of these girls getting sick was easily predictable –maybe that is just my age and experience and the targeted audience wouldn’t be able to see it coming a mile off.  Frankly, with all the sexual innuendo to be found within these pages, I don’t think this book is even appropriate for the targeted pre-teen audience.

ARC –supplied by publisher