The Fever

April 28, 2014
Abbott’s (Dare Me) thrilling seventh novel takes a peek into the strange, inscrutable minds of teenage girls. Deenie, Lise, and Gabby are the “Trio Grande,” whispering together in the library and giggling late into the night during sleepovers. Their “teen-girl-ness” confounds Deenie’s father, a teacher at their school, and her older brother, Eli, a popular hockey player. When Lise has an unexplained a seizure during class, the girls’ triumvirate is thrown into disarray, and no one seems to have any answers. Everyone from doctors to school administrators are keeping quiet, sending a ripple of fear throughout the school. Almost immediately, other girls start getting sick and the suspicions and hysteria quickly rouse the small town into a fervor. Parents, teachers, and students alike speculate wildly, the rumored causes ranging from stress to mutant viruses, as Deenie tries to find out the truth. Abbott’s adolescents are close to pitch-perfect with their sudden switches between childlike vulnerability and calculating maturity. What the narrative lacks in depth it makes up for in momentum and dark mystery. This is a gripping story fueled by the razor-sharp treachery, jealousy, hormones, and insecurities of teenage girls.

Abbott's new novel about a mysterious illness that strikes high school girls is performed by a trio of narrators: Caitlin Davies (the teen daughter), Kirby Heyborne (the older teen son), and Joe Barrett (the father, a science teacher). This casting works wonderfully to illustrate the alternating points of view in the novel. The combination of styles emphasizes the generational differences between these characters as well as their varying perception of events. Davies embodies the drama of the high school girl, which contrasts with the apathy of the teen boy. Barrett exudes the age and wisdom of the father as well as his rose-colored impression of his children. The novel itself is anti-climatic, but the performances make this audiobook engaging. J.F. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine