A Web of Air

October 15, 2011
Grades 6-9 Two years have passed since Fever fled London at the end of Fever Crumb (2010), set centuries before Reeve's Hungry City Chronicles. Now the engineer-raised girl is living the most irrational sort of life with a traveling theater group, which makes a stop in a small coastal city at the edge of Europa. She meets another genius sort who is convinced that he has discovered the old-tech secret to flying, if only he could cobble together an engine light enough to do the trick. They join up, Fever experiences the weird sensation of love, and together they try to outwit a gaggle of deadly villains. Though Reeve again displays a knack for the sort of inviting cleverness that makes readers feel as if they are in on an inside joke, this follow-up is a bit less crammed full of imaginative delights than the first. There is still plenty of high-wire action and inventive writing to savor, though, and if the downer of an ending leaves some crestfallen, the promise of what is in store (the mechanizing and mobilizing of cities) should keep appetites hungry for the next book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2012
In this Fever Crumb sequel, Fever learns of enigmatic Arlo Thursday's attempts to construct a flying machine. When word leaks out that Arlo's close to powered flight, villains come calling and Fever gets caught up in the intrigue--murder and kidnapping. Reeve's distinguished world building and remarkable storytelling gifts, coupled with a trenchant understanding of human nature, are on full display.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from September 1, 2011

Fever Crumb is back!

Two years after the events of Fever Crumb (2010), Fever finds herself far south of London (which continues to ready itself for mobilization), in a volcanic city where a lonely young man seeks the secret of flight. Reeve's writing, already excellent, shines here as he turns his attention to the romantic, in both the human and poetic senses. Fever herself is a virtuoso character: prickly, even unlikable, hampered by her eminently rational upbringing and the way it distances her from others, yet compelling and even lovable by readers and characters alike. Her rational approach to the world blinds her; readers will intuit elements of the mystery consuming Fever long before she catches on. It also dooms Fever's chance at love, because love in inherently irrational. Religion and political machinations both play a role here, and the actions of her Scriven mother and grandfather continue to intrude on Fever's attempts to make her own way in this ingenious world. A final delight for old fans: Building blocks of the Mortal Engines series appear like video-game Easter eggs (the first Jenny Haniver!). This is clearly the middle of Fever's tale, and the end hints at more adventures to come.

Imaginative, inventive and exciting. (Steampunk. 12 & up)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

September 1, 2011

Gr 6-10-Having fled London and her recently discovered parents, Fever Crumb is traveling around a postapocalyptic Europe with an acting troupe. She earns her keep by using her knowledge of technology and electricity to provide lighting and special effects. The audiences and performers are appreciative, but deep inside, Fever is unhappy about how unreasonable the acting business is, since her childhood training by the Order of Engineers focused on facts and rational thought. Then, at a seaside town, Fever comes across a model glider built by a mysterious young recluse named Arlo Thursday, who is trying to rediscover the lost mysteries of flight. Fever wants to help him, but shadowy powers seem to be working against any inventor, philosopher, or engineer who wants to study flight and flying machines. Reeve's intricately imagined world, combined with a fast-paced plot, offers a rich, rewarding reading experience. In the bittersweet ending, Fever continues to develop as a character as she experiences the transformative power of love and makes sacrifices that none of her family and friends can truly appreciate. This book can be read as a stand-alone work, though readers familiar with Fever Crumb (Scholastic, 2010) will have a better understanding of the backstory.-Misti Tidman, Licking County Library, Newark, OH

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2011
For the past couple of years Fever Crumb, now sixteen, has been traveling with a touring theater company, using her rare scientific knowledge to provide electrical lighting for their productions. World-building, always a strength for Reeve, is particularly distinguished here in this sequel to Fever Crumb (rev. 3/10), as the story is set entirely within and around Mayda, an island city sited in the shell of a volcanic crater with funicular houses that scale the sides of the steep cliffs in order to maximize the sunlight. When Fever meets Dr. Teal, another Engineer, and learns of the strange, enigmatic Arlo Thursday and his crazy attempts to construct a flying machine, she decides to remain in Mayda when the company moves on. Then word leaks out that Arlo is close to powered flight, and all kinds of villains come calling. As Fever gets caught up in the intrigue -- murder and kidnapping -- she finds herself falling, reluctantly, for the handsome, reclusive Arlo. The resolution sorts out the allegiance of the various players, ends Fever's self-imposed exile from London, and sets the stage for greater things to come. It's clear that Reeve, just as he did in the original Mortal Engines quartet, is building toward an epic, and his emarkable storytelling gifts, coupled with a trenchant understanding of human nature, make the projected volumes worth the wait. jonathan hunt

(Copyright 2011 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)