Find out what Mumsnetters thought of Megan Abbott's books

[SorchaMumsnet]

Megan Abbott is an award-winning writer of contemporary crime fiction and these three books are bound to have you up all night.

Lizzie and Evie are inseparable - until Evie goes missing, and Lizzie suddenly realizes their friendship wasn't quite what she thought. The End of Everything is a suspenseful novel of friendship, loss and the more sinister side of adolescence.

There's something dangerous about the boredom of teenage girls - Coach said that once. She said it like she knew, and understood. Dare Me tells the dark and tension-filled story of the new cheerleading coach and the deadly game she's playing.

When Lise Daniels collapses to the floor during maths class, unfortunately she's not the first. As hysteria swells in The Fever, the safe world they've been building for their children starts to come apart.

We ask all winners to share their thoughts about the book(s) on this discussion thread. Everyone who gives detailed feedback on the thriller of their choice by end of day, Friday 29 September will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 Love2shop voucher.

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had no idea I won a copy of this book tell it dropped in my letterbox this morning as its the 31st august no way will I got to have read by the deadline of the 15th September sorry.

Received my copy of The Fever today. Thank you. Can't wait to start reading it.

I've still not received my book:((

Many thanks for the copy of "The end of everything" which I finished in less than a day.

I was very eager to find out what happened in this simmering, murky, rather unpleasant story that certainly left a taste of something or other in my mouth at the end.

I don't know what it was though! It certainly wasn't chocolate or ice cream....

This, to me, is the sort of book that needs to be processed after reading, and I'm still doing this.
So I'm not entirely sure if I really did enjoy it or if I was just so fascinated by the disturbing undertones that I ravenously devoured it without stopping to think because the book and what it seemed to suggest was so dark...

The characters were very skilfully observed and Megan Abbott definitely knows how to write very meaningfully about what adolescent girls can go through, and the effects the girls subsequently could have on the adults around them, especially the males.

Fascinating, almost quirky in parts, with an undercurrent of the macabre twisting and turning across every chapter.

I'm not really sure what to feel about this book.

Initially I found the writing style really irritating - a bit too mannered, and 'try hard'. But then the story gripped me, and I wanted to know what happened.

I thought the depiction of the girls was good, and the chaos of being a teenager, going through puberty and the awakening of sexuality was very well evoked.

But the story of Evie's 'abduction' and Lizzie's 'helping' was frustratingly bad. Shallow and patronising to think that the police would have believed her stories. And the constant 'aha' moments that Lizzie had were really daft.

All that said, I did enjoy the read, and I think it was left sufficiently open to interpretation, whilst also being interestingly dark and suggestive.

Mine arrived yesterday! I'll start it and hopefully will get it read before the deadline.

i read the end of everything

it was a quick and easy read

i liked it and the undertones but felt the lizzie helping a bit to staged

8/10

i would recommend

Dare Me - I probably would not have read this book had I not received it through Mumsnet. However I did find myself enjoying it. Being an avid reader I found that the pages flowed and the characters developed well through the book as if they were "growing up". There were plenty of twists and turns as well as I felt a coming of age book and how rivalry is a big part of learning about life

Just finished "The End Of Everything". Felt it had a good beginning, but I found the end uneasy, especially the twist.

I read The End Of Everything and I was gripped throughout! The story revolves around two best friends, Evie and Lizzie, who are inseparable until Evie suddenly goes missing.

I thouroughly enjoyed reading this, I started it and I found I couldn't put it down, I had to know what was going to happen with Evie and Lizzie. I loved the writing, and I thought the descriptions of being a teenager and going through that life stage were very realistic. There was a lot of suspense and I raced through some parts as I was so eager to see what would happen next.

It was a very deep and dark read, and even now after finishing the book my mind is still going over and processing everything. It is a story that doesn't leave you after you've turned the last page. I was hooked from the very beginning and will definitely be reading more of Megan's books.

I only got mine today!

Just finished reading 'Dare Me'. Thoroughly enjoyed it because it was so original. An insight into the dramas and emotions of being part of a seriously competitive Cheerleading squad, showing how dark it can become and how believable it was

I received a copy of Dare Me to read and my initial thought was that I really didn't like the cover. It didn't look like it belonged on a thriller - it felt more suited to steamy trash like 50 Shades.
That alone would normally have been enough for me to skip straight past it on the shelf so I guess that proves the old adage about never judging a book by it's cover!
Inside this is a tale of seething teenage rivalry and passions. Beth is top dog and quite inseparable from Addy, who appears to be the quieter and more submissive of the pair.

A new cheerleading coach arrives at the school though and immediately ousts Beth as captain and forms a close bond with Addy,
Cue rampant jealously, full on sexuality, revenge and a death.

It always feels clear that the apparent suicide is actually a case of murder but far less clear who the perpetrator may be.
One thing is for sure - never underestimate hormone driven teenage girls!
I'm not sure I'd necessarily seek out other books by the author as it lacked a certain tension for me but for all that it was an enjoyable and well paced read.

I received The Fever yesterday - will be back with some feedback when I've had a chance to read it.

Thanks for The End of Everything.
It's compelling in that I am invested, and keen to know how it ends, but I don't find it as gripping as some thrillers.

I'm not sure how much of that is because I'm reading it through the eyes of a teenage girl who I can't identify with.

I had a copy of Dare Me, and am pleased to say (after leaving negative reviews for the last couple of mn books I've had!) that I loved it.

It's a first person narrative, and much of the book's strength lies in the necessarily limited view that this gives: the teenage narrator is caught between conflicting accounts of dark events given by her domineering, controlling best friend, and the charismatic new female coach on whom she develops a crush. As a reader, we can see the flaws in both these characters, and tell that neither seems to be telling the whole truth, but we have no more knowledge than our narrator does, so have to peer into the shadows just as she does.

The prose is quite spare, but conjures up the visceral intensity of the girls' cheerleading team: the nature of the sport means that they are both physically and psychologically dependent on each other not just for success, but for safety, yet they are also competing against each other for the most coveted roles on the team. They revel in the capability and power of their bodies, and in their nascent powers of sexual attraction, but are vulnerable to the desires of others - and each other - in a way that they only think they understand.

The book is a satisfying mystery, but it is really about power, and the way that the young can get so caught up in analysing other people's power games over them that they fail to consider that they have power too. That while you're tiptoeing around trying to avoid getting your heart broken, you could be blundering about breaking other people's.

The narrator isn't deceptive, but she is fallible, and her account is subjective. The ending is perfect, and nothing was as simple as I expected. This book reminded me how I miss the energy and physical potential of my teenage years, but how I wouldn't be a teenage girl again for a million pounds. Highly recommended.

Ok so I gave up after a page or two of my book because I wasn't getting into it, but after reading others reviews I think I should give it another go. I will report back when/if I read it.

I have just finished reading Dare Me. It is definitely not a book I would have chosen to read but that's why I'm in this book club! I did find it enjoyable and easy to read. However I struggled to identify with the characters as an American cheerleading squad is so far removed from my own experiences of being a teenager at school! Having said that, the plot was believable and I can see how some teenage girls may have those same dark thoughts, feelings and experiences and the difficult friendships. I liked the drama and did not predict the ending. I also thought it was well written. Overall not something I would choose but still an enjoyable easy read.

Thank you for my copy of The Fever by Megan Abbott which was well-written and enjoyable.
This noir novel has a high school setting and the author makes effective use of this enclosed community and the damp climate of “the cloudiest city in the state” that surrounds it to generate a claustrophobic atmosphere. After a female student has a seizure in class rumours fly, helped by social media, and other girls start developing a variety of worrying symptoms.
The portrait of US high school life and teenage angst was thoroughly convincing and made me glad to be well beyond that age.
The story was intriguing rather than really scary – the most frightening thing to me was how the adults failed to get a grip on the situation as they tried to work out what was going on.

I read the end of everything I really really enjoyed it. It was interesting to explore the characters and the interplay between them all. Great read and would make me read more of the author.

Just starting reading The End of Everything by Megan Abbott. A minor criticism is that this is in American dialogue and some of the words and holidays like Labor Day I wasn't familiar with, which is a shame. You can largely guess but it would be nice to be amended for the British market to get a better feel for those not familiar with that part of the USA.

That said, it is very intriguing, playing on the disappearance of the girl's best friend, and her feelings for her friend and her friend's dad. I'm up to Chapter 8 so far as the book was late in arriving, but at the moment it's just about stuff that's going on in her head about her best friend and the situation. Enjoying it so far.

Are you really not familiar with Labor Day?! Even if you aren't, it's obvious from the context, surely, (as well as the dialogue,) what it's about?

I hate the idea that books written about other cultures should have to be amended in some way because we don't know about them!

Thank you for the great read of The End of Everything by Megan Abbott.

I read the book very quickly and without wishing to spoil the end, it's quite hard to get my point across. However, I believe I understand what the writer was trying to convey ( the love that dare not speak its name springs to mind) and I thought she had a very intelligent way of writing. Like I had to make my own mind up in the denouement ( to what she was alluding to if you see what I mean)

Blimey, I'm being a bit ambiguous. Anyway, my word I thought the book was excellent.

Thanks again.

Oh dear, I've just googled"The love that dare not speak its name" I didn't realise that it's probably referencing homosexuality. I thought it was something else entirely!
So if you've read my critique and the book, you'll be thoroughly confused.

Just ignore me

I have to say I was really looking forward to reading The Fever, having never read a Megan Abbott book. However I feel this story is such an anti climax! I won't put any spoilers but I nearly gave up on this a few times, it literally is a big built up to nothingness :/ That said Abbotts writing is very strong and definitely has an interesting flow to it. I wouldn't recommend this read, but I haven't let it put me off reading other books by Abbott! :)