The Fevered Imagination of Danielle DeVor

Chelle is a thirteen-year-old from a severely dysfunctional family. Her home life makes being bullied at school almost preferable. She has no hope, and in her own mind, no future.

She gets a shot of hope when Troy comes into her life. He’s the first boy to really show her kindnesses she hadn’t had before. Unfortunately, Troy is older, and unbeknownst to Chelle, is not interested in her in a romantic way.

The chaos in Chelle’s life ramps up when she discovers that Troy has a girlfriend. Her shaky emotional hold on life causes her to do many things that she wouldn’t have otherwise. But, as the book moves forward, we discover that her emotional instability has deeper roots that have been growing for much longer than we, the reader, anticipate.

Don’t be fooled. This is not a light and puppy-dogs type of YA story. Full of grit and sadness, this is not a tale for the lighthearted.

That being said, I did find that some tropes in the story were a little cliche. One specific line concerning rape offended me, and may offend others. I’ll not state it here.

The book is well-written by a very talented writer.