Reviews

Fresh off the Scriven genocide, the people of London are twitchy about folks who look a little different. Fever Crumb is as unique as they come-with a shaved head, two different colored eyes, and a face that is both beautiful and ugly. At 14, she leaves the safety of the Order of Engineers, whose members had raised her, and soon learns the truth about her mysterious origins. As an infant, she was implanted with the essence of Auric Godshawk-the loathsome leader of the mutant Scriven-who longed for immortality. Now she must find her own way in a world peopled by those who would destroy her or use her for their own ends. Why It Is for Us: Fans of Reeve's "Hungry City Chronicles" will devour this first book in a prequel series, which promises to describe the birth of the rolling cities. The uninitiated will delight in being introduced to one of the finest scribes of post-modern science fiction writing today.-Angelina Benedetti, "35 Going on 13," BookSmack! 7/15/2010 Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.

In this exciting steampunk adventure, Carnegie Medal-winner Reeve takes readers to a far future that looks back at our era with a darkly humorous sensibility (how's "Blog off," for an expletive?), while laying tantalizing groundwork for his Hungry City Chronicles quartet. Fever Crumb, a 14-year-old orphan, is the only girl ever accepted into the Order of Engineers and has been raised in seclusion by obsessively logical scientists in an enormous head, part of an unfinished statue of London's deposed ruler, the hated mutant "Scriven," Auric Godshawk. But Fever's thoroughly rational nature is thrown into flux when she's sent into the bustling, violent city on her first job, working for an eccentric archeologist who may have discovered Godshawk's secret cache of scientific inventions. As invaders near the city's outer perimeter, the streets of London erupt in mob violence, and Fever finds herself proclaimed a mutant and pursued by an implacable enemy. Beautifully written, grippingly paced, and filled with eccentric characters and bizarre inventions (such as foldable assassins made of paper), this is a novel guaranteed to please Reeve's fans-and very likely broaden their ranks. Ages 12-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.

Gr 5-8-Fever was adopted as an infant by the Order of Engineers in a future London. The only female, she is raised by Dr. Crumb almost as an experiment in the training of women (who are not thought capable of logic). Dr. Crumb agrees to send Fever out to assist an archeologist on a clandestine undertaking. While on the mission, Fever discovers a great deal about the world in which she has been born and some things about her own background. Philip Reeve's riveting story (Scholastic, 2010) will be recognized by fans as a prequel to "The Hungry City Quartet" (HarperCollins), but it stands entirely alone. Set in the London of an uneasy, warring future, Fever and other memorable characters come brilliantly to life through the author's resonant narration. At the novel's conclusion, Reeve's shares a deleted chapter from the print version (it made the book too long) which provides greater insight into the characters' world and their motivations as well as the author's writing process and the impetus for his work.-Maria Salvadore, formerly Washington DC Public Library (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.