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rgamel's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Self harm, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Sexism, and Religious bigotry
mcwattsup's review against another edition
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Kevin Wilson has a way of writing about weird women in a way that’s almost frustrating because as someone who was a weird child, I don’t understand how he knows what it was like. But he captures so many unique adolescent feelings in this one that it felt almost comforting and validating to be seen. The feeling of when life is happening around you and to you and it goes careening out of control. I really enjoyed this one.
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Car accident
kelly_e's review against another edition
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Title: Now Is Not the time to Panic
Author: Kevin Wilson
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 3.50
Pub Date: November 15, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Accessible • Witty • Thoughtful
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Sixteen-year-old Frankie Budge—aspiring writer, indifferent student, offbeat loner—is determined to make it through yet another sad summer in Coalfield, Tennessee, when she meets Zeke, a talented artist who has just moved into his grandmother’s unhappy house and who is as lonely and awkward as Frankie is. Romantic and creative sparks begin to fly, and when the two jointly make an unsigned poster, shot through with an enigmatic phrase, it becomes unforgettable to anyone who sees it. The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us.
The posters begin appearing everywhere, and people wonder who is behind them. Satanists, kidnappers—the rumors won’t stop, and soon the mystery has dangerous repercussions that spread far beyond the town. The art that brought Frankie and Zeke together now threatens to tear them apart.
Twenty years later, Frances Eleanor Budge—famous author, mom to a wonderful daughter, wife to a loving husband—gets a call that threatens to upend everything: a journalist named Mazzy Brower is writing a story about the Coalfield Panic of 1996. Might Frances know something about that? And will what she knows destroy the life she’s so carefully built?
💭 T H O U G H T S
Now Is Not the Time to Panic is my first foray into Kevin Wilson's work. I wasn't exactly sure what I was expecting, but what I got wasn't it. What this was for me was a quick, forgettable coming-of-age story that was solid on audio.
From the very beginning, I had a hard time connecting with the characters. The pacing was slow through the first half, picking up through the second half but I just couldn't bring myself to care. The writing was decent, so I am thinking it was just the story itself. I will say after reading the author's note I had a little more appreciation for it simply because of how personal writing this story was for him.
Now if Not the Time to Panic is awkward and unsettling read focusing on young love, a sense of identity, the power of art and artistic collaboration, and the secrets that haunt us. For me, it was nothing memorable, and while I still might give Nothing to See Here a go at some point in the future, I just don't think I am the intended audience for this author's work. I can understand why so many connect with it though.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Kevin Wilson enthusiasts
• fans of the coming-of-age story
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"We’d created meaning where there was none, but, I don’t know, isn’t that art? Or at least I think it’s the kind of art that I like, where the obsession of one person envelops other people, transforms them."
Author: Kevin Wilson
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 3.50
Pub Date: November 15, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Accessible • Witty • Thoughtful
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Sixteen-year-old Frankie Budge—aspiring writer, indifferent student, offbeat loner—is determined to make it through yet another sad summer in Coalfield, Tennessee, when she meets Zeke, a talented artist who has just moved into his grandmother’s unhappy house and who is as lonely and awkward as Frankie is. Romantic and creative sparks begin to fly, and when the two jointly make an unsigned poster, shot through with an enigmatic phrase, it becomes unforgettable to anyone who sees it. The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us.
The posters begin appearing everywhere, and people wonder who is behind them. Satanists, kidnappers—the rumors won’t stop, and soon the mystery has dangerous repercussions that spread far beyond the town. The art that brought Frankie and Zeke together now threatens to tear them apart.
Twenty years later, Frances Eleanor Budge—famous author, mom to a wonderful daughter, wife to a loving husband—gets a call that threatens to upend everything: a journalist named Mazzy Brower is writing a story about the Coalfield Panic of 1996. Might Frances know something about that? And will what she knows destroy the life she’s so carefully built?
💭 T H O U G H T S
Now Is Not the Time to Panic is my first foray into Kevin Wilson's work. I wasn't exactly sure what I was expecting, but what I got wasn't it. What this was for me was a quick, forgettable coming-of-age story that was solid on audio.
From the very beginning, I had a hard time connecting with the characters. The pacing was slow through the first half, picking up through the second half but I just couldn't bring myself to care. The writing was decent, so I am thinking it was just the story itself. I will say after reading the author's note I had a little more appreciation for it simply because of how personal writing this story was for him.
Now if Not the Time to Panic is awkward and unsettling read focusing on young love, a sense of identity, the power of art and artistic collaboration, and the secrets that haunt us. For me, it was nothing memorable, and while I still might give Nothing to See Here a go at some point in the future, I just don't think I am the intended audience for this author's work. I can understand why so many connect with it though.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Kevin Wilson enthusiasts
• fans of the coming-of-age story
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"We’d created meaning where there was none, but, I don’t know, isn’t that art? Or at least I think it’s the kind of art that I like, where the obsession of one person envelops other people, transforms them."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Suicide attempt, Cursing, Sexual content, Infidelity, and Sexual assault
thebowandthebook's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Really interesting read, a bit slow to start but things picked up. Was a very mental book, small town, focused more internal versus external events. Captures teen years well but the adult Frankie didn't seem to have changed much at all 20 years later. Sexual references
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
blewballoon's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is a good book, for someone else. I listened to this on audiobook and Ginnifer Goodwin absolutely nailed the narration. I loved Nothing to See Here by the same author, so I grabbed this one without even looking at the synopsis. I found that book to be grounded, creative, funny, and hopeful. It dealt with darker subjects delicately. The dialogue and characters felt real and natural while also being unusual. I think this book also has most of those qualities, but it didn't have as much levity and hope. I felt a sense of dread the entire time I was reading it, waiting for things to go bad and then worse. I also found it harder to connect with the main character, it was more difficult to understand why she did what she did. I did really appreciate the Author's notes at the end about how this story came about and how it connected to his own life. I think this was just a little too somber for what I wanted, but I would recommend it to those who appreciate that more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood, Mental illness, Violence, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Infidelity, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Cursing
alywise's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Car accident, Cursing, and Death
Minor: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Sexual content, and Panic attacks/disorders
hinkleh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, and Infidelity
Moderate: Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Pregnancy
Minor: Medical content and Panic attacks/disorders
jae0141's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Car accident
author2223's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Infidelity
noveltay's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
3.5 rounded up. I thought the story was very odd, and I don’t quite understand how in invoked a whole world wide panic but I guess the Satanic Panic did too irl. I did not find any characters loveable besides the neighbor maybe. I think this was a great fast YA read though, which is out of my regular genre’s.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Death