Once Upon a Fever

Once Upon a Fever is a clever story that takes place in a parallel London, where feelings cause actual sickness. Two sisters live with their father as he searches for a cure for their mother’s illness. Both are different, Payton is methodical and patient, determined to find a researched cure. The other, Ani, searches through alternative medicine for the same purpose. The story moves between the two sisters as they take different paths. The characters are strong, and likeable, with both girls being well drawn and sympathetic. The antagonists too are straightforward, and reasonably easy to spot.

The book is interesting to read and carries the reader on a fast-paced journey around their London. The themes of natural versus chemical, and the reliance on man-made medicine is timely, when you consider that we have just been through a world-wide pandemic, and that the growth of antibiotic resistant illnesses is picking up apace.

The protagonists are young, and so will appeal to the younger teen age group, and they are easy to empathise with. The themes are easily accessible and make for a well-balanced book.

This book would appeal to those readers who like fantasy, science fiction, or post-apocalyptic fiction. After all, there are many similarities between their world and ours.