The Fever : A Novel

I’ve only recently become a fan of Megan Abbott’s writing. The first book I read by her (The End Of Everything) really blew me away, so when The Fever was released last month I picked it up right away, anxious to read it.

So here’s what I thought about The Fever, and I’ll start with the positive. Megan Abbott, without fail, writes teenage girls impeccably. She holds back nothing, and the abrasive realities of life as a teenage girl is something she doesn’t dress up or put a bow on. I’d imagine a lot of her prose might make her male readers pretty uncomfortable. Another thing Megan Abbott is impeccable at – descriptions. She’s not overly descriptive, but when she does describe things, they are accurate and gorgeously vivid.

Now, unfortunately there were some things I took issue with in The Fever. For starters, I’d have preferred if Deenie was the sole narrator. I feel like the story as a whole would’ve had less filler than it did, and I think the huge gap between the red herrings and the truth would’ve made more sense. There was a definite reason why Eli was one of the narrators, but after having finished the book, I’m sure I could’ve grasped his subplot just fine without actually having him at the forefront as much as he was. Aside from that, I found this book to be a bit too long, which must sound strange considering it is only 303 pages in length. But I honestly feel that for this story, it would have been a lot better if it was about 100 pages shorter, or a novella.

All in all, I didn't hate The Fever by Megan Abbott, despite my criticisms. The plot itself was really unique and captivating. The writing was downright fantastic. But its execution was just slightly off. I’d most definitely recommend this book to those who love to read, but I would highly suggest reading one of Megan’s other books first if you haven’t already.