Fever Crumb

Philip Reeve

Hardcover, $17.99

Scholastic Press

April 2010

336 pages

From Philip Reeve, the author of Here Lies Arthur, is another book that I expect to see atop the bestseller lists.  This book is a member of the newest YA lit trend, post-apocalyptic society (move over, vampires!).  The story follows a young girl named, sadly for her, Fever Crumb.  An orphan (of course), she has been raised by the uber-rational Order of Engineers.  Her presence is requested in the countryside by an archaologist, Kit Solent, who has found a hidden tunnel.  Kit believes the tunnel and the room it leads to once belonged to one Auric Godshawk, the last of the Scriven overlords (okay, stay with me).  The Scriven, not-quite-human, ruled the city (post-apoc London) some years ago but were overthrown in a vicious coup.  As Fever begins the work of unraveling the mysteries of the tunnel, she starts to experience some mysteries of her own.  Who were her parents, what are these strange memories flooding her mind, and why are people trying to kill her?

I hope my description isn’t making this sound weird.  It’s a great steampunk book and well worth a read.  I eagerly await the sequel that I feel pretty sure is coming.