December 2025: Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson > Likes and Comments

Our December book will be Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Read anytime, discussion opens December 1st. Until then feel free to discuss anything other than the story itself. (e.g. other books by this author, topics related to it, cover art, etc.)


2000, 225 pages, 3.93 stars
$8.99 Kindle, print starts at $7.59, also at library

"It's late summer 1793, and the streets of Philadelphia are abuzz with mosquitoes and rumors of fever. Down near the docks, many have taken ill, and the fatalities are mounting. Now they include Polly, the serving girl at the Cook Coffeehouse. But fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook doesn't get a moment to mourn the passing of her childhood playmate. New customers have overrun her family's coffee shop, located far from the mosquito-infested river, and Mattie's concerns of fever are all but overshadowed by dreams of growing her family's small business into a thriving enterprise. But when the fever begins to strike closer to home, Mattie's struggle to build a new life must give way to a new fight—the fight to stay alive."

I'm pleased to see this offered by my library as an audiobook. will read it next! Well... "read".

Yay! I already own this book.

Me, too!

Got it downloaded to Libby and will start tonight. Hoping it's good!

I’ll probably pass on this one. Have fun y’all!!!

Almost done! I guess I started way too soon since it's on audio.

I was a bit worried because set in the past is not my favorite but I am enjoying it.

This was a good selection. I hope some people read it.

It's on the back burner until next year.

Lawrence wrote: "It's on the back burner until next year."

Good thing it’s already November!

Haha! I'm not sure how i feel about the fact it will be 2026 in just over a couple months.

Gertie wrote: "Haha! I'm not sure how i feel about the fact it will be 2026 in just over a couple months."

Time goes by fast!

Gertie wrote: "This was a good selection. I hope some people read it."

Me, too. I'm almost done.

I'm not sure why this was a selection. I'm not complaining...I read it and will save comments for later but just wondering since it doesn't seem to fit the usual criteria.

Ah... we count micro apocalypse here too. If it changes the world as you know it for a community, it still hits on many of the themes that make apocalyptic stories interesting for lots of people. For example, Under the Dome and The Wall aren't apocalypses or dystopian worlds but there is that sense of isolation and danger.

Plague is kinda classic, though in this case it was specifically Philly and also based on a reality.

I am surprised we don't have a topic on this, but here is one now, if anyone wants to discuss:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Gertie wrote: "Ah... we count micro apocalypse here too. If it changes the world as you know it for a community, it still hits on many of the themes that make apocalyptic stories interesting for lots of people. F..."

That makes sense. I was impressed by the writing but I’ll stop there so I don’t spoil anything.

I was super lucky to get this on audio through Libby, I ended up enjoying this book more than i thought i would, it was a quick read. Happy to have read it and wouldnt have ever read it if it werent for the book club.