Fell

Fell #1

by M.E. Kerr

A strange incident on the night of the senior prom changes John Fell's entire life, leading him to enroll in an exclusive private school under an assumed name.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Mystery, Romance, Adventure, Teen

176 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1988

About the author

M. E. Kerr was born Marijane Meaker in Auburn, New York. Her interest in writing began with her father, who loved to read, and her mother, who loved to tell stories of neighborhood gossip. Unable to find an agent to represent her work, Meaker became her own agent, and wrote articles and books under a series of pseudonyms: Vin Packer, Ann Aldrich, Laura Winston, M.E. Kerr, and Mary James. As M.E. Kerr, Meaker has produced over twenty novels for young adults and won multiple awards, including the Margaret A. Edwards Award for her lifetime contribution to young adult literature.

Reviews

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically Pretty Little Liars for the late 80s. Not what I expected from M.E. Kerr, though I guess I don't know why not. It took me a month to read the first one but then I finished it and the other two in less than a day.

[CynicalPink · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable for all ages, teen and up. A drama that's a mystery in the making without allowing the reader to be aware of it until the twist at the end. Told in first person, the narrator's voice could make you root for him one moment then be irritated with him the next, flipping from a charismatic and poetic hero to a teen with very realistic and relatable faults.

This was another one on Amazon's .99 sale (when I went a bit click-happy thanks to the new e-reader). I was shocked to find that the book I read immediately following this was written by the same author under a different pseudonym:

[Ermy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great descriptions, though book was rather lengthy. Had subtle hints of suspense and humor, but lacked the thrill and entertainment to want to continue the series. Seemed almost typical and bland in a poor-kid-attends-rich-school plot line. What lacked in plotline, was made up in the ending. Definitely made me reconsider an earlier option.

[Bette · Rating 5 out of 5]

i just want to mention that this was not the cover of the edition i read, the cover of the edition i read was EVEN MORE RIDICULOUS AND UGLY. but this book is so so great. i will be reading the whole (short) series.

[Melanie Schweiger · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a descent realistic teen novel, but you might as well buy the whole series. The first book ends so abruptly and I was glad I had book two readily available.

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really didn't care for this. teenage sex. story not well developed.

[Lawrence FitzGerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't read much YA, like Romance it has a ready made theme. For YA it is coming of age, the path from boy to man or girl to woman. There is that moment when the views of the protagonist shift suddenly, radically and those even long held are altered, reversed.

Marijane Meaker writes beautifully, plots beautifully, has well drawn characters and has an apparent penchant for abrupt endings. I have read one other by her Is That You, Miss Blue? of which I could (did) say the same.

Will I read Fell, #2? You bet.

[Greg Kerestan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did the creators of "Riverdale" for TV read "Fell?" This young adult novel from M. E. Kerr (a lesbian-pulp-fiction novelist and sometimes partner of "Ripley" creator Patricia Highsmith) has the down-to-earth YA roots of "The Outsiders," but there's a dark, surreal, sexy undercurrent running through the whole thing. The mix of the all-American and the sordid is pure "Riverdale" here, which I have to admit, I love. This book speeds by like a strange dream, then abruptly ends with a climax that smashes in out of nowhere; it's a trilogy, so I assume this all pays off in the end?

[Sue J · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent read!

[Cerys Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another terrific book by Kerr.

[Roderick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written like a hard-boiled detective novel from the 1940s, this story features a sexist protagonist, who pretends his relationships with girls are romances, when his actual interest--as is made evident by how he describes them--is only their bodies.

[Jonathan Bartholomew · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read this when i was like 10 and forgot the name. spent 30 years trying to remember what it was. a goodreads post helped me figure it out. posting this here so i don't forget in the future hahaha

[Fenna Wieczorek · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75⭐️

[Moira]

The other reviewer who said this was basically Pretty Little Liars was right on the money - it's sort of an odd combination of Kerr's typical YA voice and some of her older crime books. Fell sounds like Philip Marlowe as a teenager, but Kerr's first-person storytelling is still strong enough to pull it off. The plot is ludicrous at first and just gets worse. There are the usual two love interests, the seductive treacherous woman and the good-hearted whiny girl. It's a little odd to see Kerr following the constraints of a genre she basically helped invent -- when I was a kid, the pathbreakers were Kerr, Judy Blume and Lousie Fitzhugh //cough creak tap cane -- but she still does it pretty well.

This single book was about three bucks on the Kindle, which is why I got it, but as yet another reviewer here says, it ends on a total cliffhanger and the second book picks up immediately afterwards. If you do actually want to read these I'd recommend the omnibus. All three books are quite short.

-- All that aside, there is one aspect that's just about as bad as the awful ebonic dialect in the much earlier Love is a Missing Person and the ha-ha "Jewish persuasion" jokes in If I Love You.... The evil stepmother figure, who is in a perpetual smoldering rage and paints awful cryptic paintings, tries to kidnap Fell -- or rather her stepson, whom he's impersonating -- to use him as leverage against her husband, who she persuaded into spying for China. Her father was imprisoned in a Japanese internment camp, which turned her against the States, and there's a background setup that she murdered her husband's first wife and married him for his secrets. Bonus: "She doesn't look Japanese." "She's not, her mother was Irish-American." So the one non-WASP character in the book is a traitorous scheming homicidal bitch. Surely there is a way to tell the story of someone whose unjust imprisonment turns them against the country which fears them so much, its political crimes create the very projection it used to justify such imprisonment in the first place -- but this really, really is not it.

[Ellen Thielen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a different take on a mystery. It was mostly a story of a young mans struggle with girls, school, and family. The mystery didn't come into play until the very end. But, now I need to read the next one ...

[Lenny Husen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this many years ago, in the 1990's, actually I listened to the audio version, and found it quite amusing and charming. I liked it enough to buy it for my father for a birthday gift. The prep school premise and main character were appealing and the Seven thing was awesome.

[Holly Deakyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great series of very odd detective/mystery type books. The main character Fell is a student in college.

[Carina · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as YA books go, this blows BS like Twilight out of the water. And truth? Everything I know about beguiling men comes from Delia Tremble. Still love this book after twenty years.

[Ngozi]

Just got book for summer reading . What could i find .? :] .

[Wendy]

bot

[Lynzee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why have I read this book more than once when it's not even that amazing?

[Suzanne Dix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very likable main character - clever storyline. Reminds me a bit of A Separate Peace.

[Devi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be a satisfying read with a story that has interesting plot twists.