Fever Crumb

Philip Reeve’s Fever Crumb is his prequel to the Mortal Engines Quartet – known in the US as the Hungry City Chronicles. In this futuristic world, Fever Crumb is the name of a teenage girl found as a baby and raised by Dr. Crumb and the Guild of Engineers in London. They teach her their disciplined and emotionless ways which is most unusual for a female at that time. Readers learn that London had undergone a civil war when Fever Crumb was born. The commoners called Skinners overtook the higher class called Scrivens. Hate and prejudice against the Scrivens still exist. Early in the story, an archaeologist named Kit Solent needs the help of an Engineer and requests Fever. Once she is sent to London to work with Kit, beyond her protected environment, she begins to be troubled by memories that she could not have known being raised with the Engineers. When a crowd identifies her as being a Scriven, they begin to pursue her. How will Fever Crumb escape? Will she find out where she came from? This steam punk novel had me on the edge of my seat – the technology, weaponry, and means of transportation will take you to another world. It made me want to go back and re-read Mortal Engines, the first novel in the Mortal Engines series.