There are all different ways someone’s powers can manifest, and using magic is largely dependent on understanding the science behind it (though I’m not clear on whether any witching could develop any power if they decided to learn the science). The magic adds another interesting element to the story.

It also makes you question where exactly the line should be drawn if one is doing bad things for a good reason.

The relationships between characters are well-written too.* And one thing this book does exceptionally well is illustrate the way good people can be pushed into doing bad things. There’s POC and LGBT+ rep since all three characters are queer and Jewish, Noam is Colombian, and Dara has brown skin. Lehrer with his mysterious past and his smooth control in all situations. Dara with his brittleness that he covers up with coldness and alcoholism. Noam with all his roughness and passion and righteous anger. I would call this mature YA because of all the heavy themes and topics it handles.īut for all its politics, this book is also very focused on and driven by the flawed characters. Also for this reason, there are a lot of content/trigger warnings, and the author’s list can be found here.

For this reason, there’s a fair amount of world-building and politics. The main character, Noam, is the child of refugees and spends the whole book fighting for their rights, and the author themselves has said the story is about “the intersection of intergenerational trauma and personal trauma.” Although I cannot speak to the portrayal of those things, what I can say is that they are very much the backbone of the book. The book is also very relevant to our world. There did reach a point when I realized certain things, but even then, there was no lack of tension and unpredictability, especially with that intense ending. Nothing was obvious, but it also wasn’t a forced kind of mystery. I was on edge almost the whole time I was reading because, like Noam, I wasn’t sure who to trust or what everyone’s plots and plans were. It was grittier than I expected it to be, and the whole thing was so unpredictable. Outbreaks of magic sometimes spread and kill people, only sparing a few each time who survive and develop supernatural abilities. This book is kind of a combination of fantasy and sci-fi with a dystopian-ish or post-apocalyptic world in which the US is divided and separated with wastelands of Quarantine Zone between the livable areas. I feel like the ending of this book short-circuited my brain, and now I don’t know how to word. *I received an ecopy of this book via NetGalley.

The fever king by victoria lee