The Fever

The Fever

by Megan Abbott

Deenie lives in a small town with her brother and her dad.  Her mother left years ago after having an affair.  In addition to her family, Deenie has her best friend, Lise, and a couple of other girls with whom she spends her time.

One day, Lise has a violent attack in the middle of class and collapses.  She ends up in a coma in the hospital.

When another friend suffers an attack, parents become worried.  As a third girl falls, the one thing that connects them all is Deenie.

As the panic grows, Deenie searches for clues to find out what is really going on.

Final thoughts:  Bland and confusing.  There are multiple points of view, a couple of which are just unnecessary.  The author goes out of her way to misdirect the reader, with no real purpose for doing so.  There's also a preachy quality, as if Abbott is very anti-vaccine and uses the HPV vaccine as the prime suspect in all of the attacks.  The real reason for the hysteria is never really explained at all even after the initial cause is revealed.  Maybe there was an attempt being made to explain the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials, but that never really worked, either.  Blah.

Rating: 2/5