Well that was a messed up story! I definitely did not guess what was happening but it all made perfect sense once the cause was revealed. ( )

Meh. ( )

My review will be up on www.gimmethatbook.com soon. ( )

I read "The End of Everything" and liked it so I bought "Dare Me" which was awful, so I figured the author was one for two, I will try "The Fever". Big Mistake! This book is a dogs breakfast of a story. The characters are barely fleshed out or likable, the bulk of the book is dialog between characters, but most of it makes no sense, you don't know who is talking, what they are talking about or to whom they are talking. There are streams of plot, everything from environmental pollution, STD's, teen sex, vaccinations, poisons, mass hysteria to explain what is happening to the girls at the school. Like the authors other books the male adults characters are all creepy bordering on having incestuous or pedophile thoughts about all the teenage girls.
It is so sad with all the great books out there that the books that get all the hype and press and prominent displays in bookstores are usually books like this that are awful. ( )

“I have another friend who gets what I’m really like, and I get her. She scares me. Did you ever see yourself times ten in another person and want to cover your eyes?”
― Megan Abbott, The Fever

After reading and not really liking, "You will know me" I am happy to report I am back on my love fest with Abbott's books.

The first book I ever read by her was "Dare me" and I was amazed. I also liked "Die a little". You will know me was a miss however. Then there is The Fever. This book was so good!

This is Megan Abbott at her best. When a mysterious illness, targeting young girls, sweeps across a small town, the whole town begins panicking. What is causing this illness? And what can be done to stop it?

There is a murky feeling of doom hanging over this whole book. And it starts from the first page. The reader has no idea what is going on. But I know for me, I was hooked by the end of the first paragraph.

Like Dare me, this book is addicting. I literally could not put it down. You get addicted from that first sentence which is such a tease that after reading it(the sentence), you slowly sink into your chair knowing you are about to read something really special.

I LOVE the way Abbott writes. Even in one of her books, which I did not like, the writing is amazing. If I had to describe it I'd say "it is the epitome of languid". It is lush and unhurried but beneath the Prose one can feel something disturbing crackling and that feeling is delicious and makes one want to continue reading. It is so seamless and somehow manages to be both ominous and lyrically beautiful at the same time.

It also helps that everything in this book is so moody including the murky and brooding lake which is simmering with secrets. Nobody else I have ever read writes this way.

In summary.. I loved "The Fever". It was a heck of a read although "Dare me" is still my current favorite of her books. ( )