The Fever - Hardcover

Megan Abbott

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1447226321 ISBN 13: 9781447226321

Publisher: Picador, 2014

Synopsis

In this impossible-to-put-down "panic attack of a novel," a small-town high school becomes the breeding ground for a mysterious illness.

Deenie Nash is a diligent student with a close-knit family; her brother Eli is a hockey star, and her father is a popular teacher. But when Deenie's best friend is struck by a terrifying, unexplained seizure in class, the Nashes' seeming stability dissolves into chaos. As rumors of a hazardous outbreak spread through school, and hysteria and contagion swell, a series of tightly held secrets emerges, threatening to unravel friendships, families, and the town's fragile sense of security.

The Fever is a chilling story about guilt, lies, and the lethal power of desire.

About this title

Review

An Amazon Best Book of the Month, June 2014: Megan Abbott writes about the madness of adolescence better than anyone. She seems to understand teens’ urgent rush to grow up, to try on adult masks and costumes and play adult games. But she also knows: in the big game of pretend, there are often grown-up consequences. In the spooky town of Dryden--“the cloudiest city in the state,” we’re told--high school girls are getting sick, one by one, seizure by seizure. Is the lake toxic? Is the drinking water poisoned? Are vaccinations to blame? Is it the sex? Paranoia begets fear and, fueled by texted whispers and internet rumors, a frenzy roils into a contagious hysteria. Characters’ legs and hands shake. They feel a flutter in the chest. Their chins quiver. It’s hard to breathe. “Don’t you see?” says one parent. “It’s just begun.” The story of what’s afflicting this tainted school is told through the entwined points of view of a divorced teacher, his fast-maturing daughter, and his stud hockey player son, all three tied in their own mysterious way to the source of the fever. The real fever here is the lust, hormones, jealousy, and fear of being a teenager. And high school is its breeding ground, the place that can mark us for life. As one teacher observes: “That’s what high school does.” The Fever is a brilliant and chilling tale of the bewildering age when everything--friendship, love, sex, revenge--feels “new and terrifying and significant.” To survive it? It’s heartbreaking. --Neal Thompson

About the Author

Megan Abbott is the Edgar Award-winning author of six previous novels. She received her Ph.D. in English and American literature from New York University and has taught literature, writing, and film studies at New York University, the New School, and the State University of New York at Oswego. She lives in New York City.

Edition details

• Publisher: Picador
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1447226321
• ISBN 13: 9781447226321
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 305