This was my first Meg Abbott book, though she had been on my radar before with some of her previous works.

It's a bit of an obvious statement but: this book is not for everyone. I loved it, though. Sometimes you love a thing blindly, truly unable to see why someone would not like it. Unable to see it's flaws. Not the case here. I get why some people would complain about how the underlying mystery is treated, and I also get why some people wouldn't like Abbott's very inwardly focused, slightly dark and almost lyrical style of prose. It worked for me here, however.

Here's why:

- The Nash family. We have a running joke on Snark Squad about how you know you are getting old when you start relating to the parents in teen shows/books more than the teens. It's a half joke, BECAUSE IT'S TRUE. While I liked both Deenie and Eli, and I related to them in some "been there" kind of way, it's father Tom who gets most of my sympathy. The way he describes holding onto his family, feeling them grow apart...? It was gripping. Each of these characters were traveling through the story almost independently, but always thinking of the unit. Each tied to the other by the past and the bonds of family, to put it tritely. It was well done.

- The hysteria. I feel like some people may complain about the way the sickness develops, how the mystery is navigated and the resolution. I liked it because to me, it never seemed like the fever was actually the thing. Tom kept thinking about how it could be anything, or everything, or nothing at all. There was this sense that we are all always exposed to all of these different things that could do us harm, from the water we swim in or drink or use, to the people we associate with daily. It's a creepy thought. I thought the fever aspect was handled reasonably well, and I love the resolution because while it's heavily hinted at what the answer is, it's not confirmed out-rightly. It was a smart move. If you go into this book, however, expecting more of a mystery or thriller, chances are this story won't deliver.

- Additionally, I love the way the fever played against this backdrop of #teenagedproblems, especially sexuality. It was an odd choice using the HPV vaccine in this story, considering it's a real thing, but it played right into what Abbott was saying about teenaged sexuality, especially in females.

On top of that, we get a look into the politics of being friends, of accepting new friends into the mix, of why we pick the friends we do, etc, etc.

- The writing. I've seen it described as noir in other reviews. It's very introspective, which is the kind of writing I have a soft spot for. It's the kind that speckles the narrative with big observations about life or love or loss, but in (mostly) understated ways. There was only a time or two when there was a line of dialogue I would describe as trying too hard. The one that sticks out the most in my memory comes almost at the end of the story, when Deenie tells her father that staring at the sky hurts her eyes. You'll see it when you get there. It was weird.

That is one of just a couple of downsides. The story does bounce around a bit between points of view and sometimes it is done a little less gracefully than others.

Overall: I really enjoyed it. It was hard to put down and I think it will prove to be the kind of story I remember long after the last page.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.