Fever Crumb - Philip Reeve

Philip, Reeve. Fever Crumb. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2011.


Summary: Fever Crumb is a fourteen year-old girl living in London after the time of present day technology and society.  Modern advances in technology and thought have seemingly been wiped out, and people have started to build from the remains of the present day.  Women are again valued less than men, and London is recovering from the rule of a being known as the Scriven.  Scriven, or homo-superior are further evolved humans who do not show the signs of age as much as homo-sapiens, and think themselves worthy of the rule they maintain.  Fever Crumb, is unknowingly half human, half Scriven, and lives with her father in the Order of Engineers.  The engineers confine themselves to only rational thought, attempting to force emotions from their existence.  All of this changes, however, when Fever is sent on a mission to unlock the secret chamber of the former leader of the Scriven, Godshawk.  Fever slowly discovers where she comes from, and who she is.  Meanwhile, a nomad troop with a moving castle are invading London, intent on gaining the knowledge held within Godshawk's chamber.  Having been taught to be rational all her life, Fever discovers what it means to have emotions and be human and not so human at the same time.  In the end, Fever sets off to discover herself, while the nomads seek to build a moving city.


Dystopia: As seen from the summary, this novel sets up another of Philip Reeve's: Mortal Engines.  While I haven't read this novel, I can assume that the nomads from this novel will build their moving city and engulf others that they come in contact with.  I do not know what Fever's part will be in all of this, but guess she'll work to stop the nomads.  Perhaps it would be worth reading on in the series to see how the dystopia progresses, but Fever Crumb does do a good job of setting up a dystopian society while following the maturation of a teenage girl.  In the London of Fever Crumb people live in fear of the Scriven, and due to Fever's unique appearance - her eyes are different colors - she causes an uproar among the society members.  Led by an old Scriven hunter, some set out to find Fever, while others use the opportunity to riot and ransack the city.  Throughout all this, the mayor is thrown out of office, and a sleazy business man takes over.  His rule is short, as the nomads soon take over, but consists of mostly drunkenness.  In all of this, there is a dystopia of fear.  The Londoners are afraid of anyone who appears slightly Scriven-like and are wary of those who would claim power.  Although she is half Scriven, there is nothing that makes fever dangerous to the people of London, and in fact she stands up for them when the nomads propose building a moving city out of London. 


This sets up the second dystopia in the novel.  The nomads from north of London plan to build giant moving fortresses and roam the land, taking what they need from other cities by force.  Although this does not happen in this book, the following book covers this story.  The potential dystopia here is one similar to other books, just on wheels.  A crude dictatorship would run this moving city, and those who support the idea do so blindly without thinking about the consequences.  Interestingly enough, those who are trained to think rationally, Fever and her father the engineers, are the ones who see the abomination of this plan.  Even though, rationally, this city would be very effective, Fever sees the moral crime involved.  This novel does not end with her taking a stand, but, rather disappointingly, she escapes London in order to figure out who she is.  This ending is tolerable because there are other books, and I plan to read the rest to see where the story goes.  Overall, this story is one of a girl finding her place in a dysfunctional society fueled by fear.  She navigates the dystopia and escapes it in order to further grow.


Like the other books in this blog, there is a focus on choice in this novel, but it takes a supporting role to the importance of Fever discovering her true identity.  Like The Giver's Joel, Fever discovers she is special among the people of her society, and must decide what to do with this realization.  She does make choices, and it is most interesting to watch her struggle with her rational side and her newly found emotions.  She learns to make her choices based on both of these sides of herself.  Like other characters, she grows and becomes stronger and more sure of herself.  This novel diverges though, because Fever does not choose to confront the faults she sees in her society, but rather she flees.  Unlike  the characters The Giver and Unwind, Fever does not try to immediately change the world she lives in for the better, although I expect her to do so in the sequels.


I found this book fairly enjoyable to read and I think that the content is not a substantive as some books, but redeeming.  This book is creative, and it has been interesting to see how many female main characters I have encountered even in books written by men.  Perhaps this is a sign that more girls are reading these books?  Or just an indication that authors are trying to incorporate girls more widely?  Either way, it is nice to see strong female characters in these novels.  This book should please a lot of readers, and the suspension of disbelief is doable, even with some inconsistencies on the author's part.  I recommend it.


- Zach O

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