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midnightpoison13's review
4.0
"Panic" by Lauren Oliver is a gripping and intense read that kept me hooked from beginning to end. Oliver's talent for crafting suspenseful narratives shines through in this novel, which explores the lengths to which people will go when pushed to their limits.
I was impressed by the concept of Panic, a high-stakes game that tests the bravery and resilience of its participants. The tension is palpable throughout the story, and I found myself eagerly turning the pages to see what would happen next.
The characters are well-developed and relatable, each grappling with their own fears and insecurities. While I appreciated the depth of their emotions, there were moments when certain character motivations felt a bit predictable or clichéd.
Additionally, while the pacing of the novel is generally strong, there were times when the story felt bogged down by unnecessary subplots or repetitive scenes. However, these instances were few and far between, and overall, the plot flowed smoothly.
In conclusion, "Panic" is a thrilling and thought-provoking read that will appeal to fans of suspense and drama. While it may not be without its flaws, it offers a compelling exploration of fear, friendship, and the courage to face the unknown.
bookph1le's review
2.0
No, I just don't think so. I didn't dislike this book, per se, but there's so much about it that bothers me that I'm erring on the side of two stars, though technically I'd give it 2.5. More complete review to come.
Full review:
I've read several of Lauren Oliver's books now, and I've had trouble with each of them. Oliver is a talented author, but there are some very problematic elements of her books that prevent me from being fully invested in them, and this book is another example. While Oliver excels at creating realistic characters and situations, there are some major flaws to this book that made it impossible for me to really love it. Spoilers to follow.
The first thing that struck me about this book was the realism of the teens' behavior in these books. I'm a former teacher, and it's interesting to me to see the ways in which parents often sanitize the picture of adolescence. Teens are nowhere near as innocent as most people like to think, and I overheard more hair-raising teen conversations during my career than I could recount. The teens in Oliver's book drink, they smoke, they swear, and they engage in risky behavior. Naturally, it's not true that ALL teenagers do these things, but a lot of them do, and I always find it strange to read books in which teens are on their best behavior.
Told from split perspectives, the book mainly focuses on Heather and Dodge, though Bishop and Nat are two of the other main characters. I didn't strongly dislike Heather, but I found her hard to relate to at first. It's not as though human being (not just teenagers) overreact in very dramatic fashion when they go through a breakup, but Heather's motivations for joining Panic are problematic from the beginning. I could buy that she took the leap in a moment of impulse, but the book becomes more muddied as it progresses, and I found this to be a fundamental dishonesty about Heather's character. At some point, she starts insisting that she's in the game for herself and her sister, Lily, and while this may become true, it's not the whole truth. Heather fails to grow because she never acknowledges that she made a very bad and stupid decision on a whim, and it's to the book's detriment. Taking a look at one's actions and learning how to face blame are important parts of growing up, and it was disappointing to me that Heather doesn't do this.
The one character who does is Bishop, but he's problematic as well. His motivations are entirely unclear, and I didn't really buy what seemed to me to be something of a hero complex on his part. Problematic characters are good, but when the bad they do is swept aside, it lessens a book's impact. There are no real, solid consequences to Bishop's actions, which was a letdown.
The worst offenses, though, have to do with Nat and Dodge. Nat does something extremely risky, yet it's never addressed in any real or significant way, and that bothered me. It's the sort of thing that could conceivably happen to a lot of impressionable young women, yet the book pretty much glosses over it. Dodge's issues felt equally glossed over. He has a serious dark side, yet the book seems to make excuses for him. It's not that I wanted to book to be super dark, but I would have respected it more had Dodge not been given an out. Even so, no consideration is given to the serious nature of his decisions, and that's just bad. I don't think I'd call him an evil person, but he has some serious issues, and I don't think the book does a good job of illuminating them.
I also had many problems with Panic itself. Yes, teenagers can and do engage in very risky behavior, but not all teenagers do, yet there's no real character in this book who points out the stupidity of what's happening, and I found that a little hard to swallow. Even if no one directly stands up, at no point does the book present a character who thinks the game is dangerous and stupid and eschews it, which I think was really necessary. It also didn't make sense to me that the adults are so sanguine about it. There are hints that they're concerned, and I simply couldn't buy that they wouldn't spring into action in light of several deaths and life-altering accidents. I've seen communities rocked by serious trauma, and every one of them sprang into action immediately, bringing counselors into schools, implementing programs, setting up educational programs. It really bothers me when YA acts as though adults don't exist, and this book is a particularly egregious example. It's made clear that not all of the parents are indifferent to their children, yet they show an incredible lack of concern about what their kids might be up to.
So why the three stars? This book does a good job of delving into its character's psychology. They're so real that they feel like actual people, and Oliver is good at writing about human misery and basic human kindness. There are some very touching scenes in the book, and some of it is very action-packed. Despite its flaws, I found myself drawn into it, wanting to keep reading so I could find out what happens next. I think Oliver is an author who shows a lot of promise, and if the glaring flaws in her books were eliminated, I have no doubt that I'd find her books strongly compelling. Sometimes I think her work is a little too ambitious, which is what causes it to collapse in on itself, and I hope this will change with future books.
Full review:
I've read several of Lauren Oliver's books now, and I've had trouble with each of them. Oliver is a talented author, but there are some very problematic elements of her books that prevent me from being fully invested in them, and this book is another example. While Oliver excels at creating realistic characters and situations, there are some major flaws to this book that made it impossible for me to really love it. Spoilers to follow.
The first thing that struck me about this book was the realism of the teens' behavior in these books. I'm a former teacher, and it's interesting to me to see the ways in which parents often sanitize the picture of adolescence. Teens are nowhere near as innocent as most people like to think, and I overheard more hair-raising teen conversations during my career than I could recount. The teens in Oliver's book drink, they smoke, they swear, and they engage in risky behavior. Naturally, it's not true that ALL teenagers do these things, but a lot of them do, and I always find it strange to read books in which teens are on their best behavior.
Told from split perspectives, the book mainly focuses on Heather and Dodge, though Bishop and Nat are two of the other main characters. I didn't strongly dislike Heather, but I found her hard to relate to at first. It's not as though human being (not just teenagers) overreact in very dramatic fashion when they go through a breakup, but Heather's motivations for joining Panic are problematic from the beginning. I could buy that she took the leap in a moment of impulse, but the book becomes more muddied as it progresses, and I found this to be a fundamental dishonesty about Heather's character. At some point, she starts insisting that she's in the game for herself and her sister, Lily, and while this may become true, it's not the whole truth. Heather fails to grow because she never acknowledges that she made a very bad and stupid decision on a whim, and it's to the book's detriment. Taking a look at one's actions and learning how to face blame are important parts of growing up, and it was disappointing to me that Heather doesn't do this.
The one character who does is Bishop, but he's problematic as well. His motivations are entirely unclear, and I didn't really buy what seemed to me to be something of a hero complex on his part. Problematic characters are good, but when the bad they do is swept aside, it lessens a book's impact. There are no real, solid consequences to Bishop's actions, which was a letdown.
The worst offenses, though, have to do with Nat and Dodge. Nat does something extremely risky, yet it's never addressed in any real or significant way, and that bothered me. It's the sort of thing that could conceivably happen to a lot of impressionable young women, yet the book pretty much glosses over it. Dodge's issues felt equally glossed over. He has a serious dark side, yet the book seems to make excuses for him. It's not that I wanted to book to be super dark, but I would have respected it more had Dodge not been given an out. Even so, no consideration is given to the serious nature of his decisions, and that's just bad. I don't think I'd call him an evil person, but he has some serious issues, and I don't think the book does a good job of illuminating them.
I also had many problems with Panic itself. Yes, teenagers can and do engage in very risky behavior, but not all teenagers do, yet there's no real character in this book who points out the stupidity of what's happening, and I found that a little hard to swallow. Even if no one directly stands up, at no point does the book present a character who thinks the game is dangerous and stupid and eschews it, which I think was really necessary. It also didn't make sense to me that the adults are so sanguine about it. There are hints that they're concerned, and I simply couldn't buy that they wouldn't spring into action in light of several deaths and life-altering accidents. I've seen communities rocked by serious trauma, and every one of them sprang into action immediately, bringing counselors into schools, implementing programs, setting up educational programs. It really bothers me when YA acts as though adults don't exist, and this book is a particularly egregious example. It's made clear that not all of the parents are indifferent to their children, yet they show an incredible lack of concern about what their kids might be up to.
So why the three stars? This book does a good job of delving into its character's psychology. They're so real that they feel like actual people, and Oliver is good at writing about human misery and basic human kindness. There are some very touching scenes in the book, and some of it is very action-packed. Despite its flaws, I found myself drawn into it, wanting to keep reading so I could find out what happens next. I think Oliver is an author who shows a lot of promise, and if the glaring flaws in her books were eliminated, I have no doubt that I'd find her books strongly compelling. Sometimes I think her work is a little too ambitious, which is what causes it to collapse in on itself, and I hope this will change with future books.
uutopicaa's review
3.0
Nunca me ha gustado Lauren Oliver. Ninguno de sus libros anteriores me parecieron buenos. Sin embargo, muchas personas que opinaban igual que yo le estaban dando cuatro y cinco estrellas a Panic. Debatí con mi billetera por meses, hasta que lo encontré de casualidad, usado y ya no tuve excusas para evadirlo. Me alegra haberle dado una oportunidad.
Ahora bien, vayamos en orden.
El libro empieza sin tener mucho sentido. Los primeros dos o tres capítulos son confusos y un tanto aburridos porque todavía no conocemos a los personajes, no sabemos qué carajo es “Panic”; además tampoco nos lo explican todavía.
Luego, a medida que avanza la historia —y una vez que comienza Pánico—, las explicaciones se van dando y la novela está en un constante climax que parece nunca acabar. Cada capítulo es más atrapante que el anterior. La historia es interesante y casi obliga al lector a seguir leyendo hasta que lo termina.
Leé la reseña completa en mi blog http://pardonmispanglish.blogspot.com/2016/06/resena-panico-lauren-oliver.html
Ahora bien, vayamos en orden.
El libro empieza sin tener mucho sentido. Los primeros dos o tres capítulos son confusos y un tanto aburridos porque todavía no conocemos a los personajes, no sabemos qué carajo es “Panic”; además tampoco nos lo explican todavía.
Luego, a medida que avanza la historia —y una vez que comienza Pánico—, las explicaciones se van dando y la novela está en un constante climax que parece nunca acabar. Cada capítulo es más atrapante que el anterior. La historia es interesante y casi obliga al lector a seguir leyendo hasta que lo termina.
Leé la reseña completa en mi blog http://pardonmispanglish.blogspot.com/2016/06/resena-panico-lauren-oliver.html
mehsi's review
3.0
Short Review so I can at least say my thoughts on this book.
What I liked:
1. The game, at least at the beginning I loved the game, it was an interesting idea. But eventually I started thinking people are just damn crazy to participate in a game that might eventually kill you.
2. How the game was played was well written, so much that I wanted to continue reading and know more. Also how the game worked and the history of it was very interesting to me.
3. The fact that someone had tigers on their farm. o.0
What I didn't like:
1. We have 2 POVs, while actually there are 4 people. And all of the get quite a bit of time. So I think the book was better written if it just had 4 POVs, or just kept to those 2 and stopped making the other 2's side roles so big.
2. Again the game, and how dangerous is. I cannot for life understand how there haven't been more people who died. The challenges were just crazy and at times messed up.
3. The Main characters and also their friends. Dear Lord, what a bunch that was. At times I liked them, but at other times I just wanted to scream at how stupid and idiotic they were.
In overall a decent book, but I expected more.
What I liked:
1. The game, at least at the beginning I loved the game, it was an interesting idea. But eventually I started thinking people are just damn crazy to participate in a game that might eventually kill you.
2. How the game was played was well written, so much that I wanted to continue reading and know more. Also how the game worked and the history of it was very interesting to me.
3. The fact that someone had tigers on their farm. o.0
What I didn't like:
1. We have 2 POVs, while actually there are 4 people. And all of the get quite a bit of time. So I think the book was better written if it just had 4 POVs, or just kept to those 2 and stopped making the other 2's side roles so big.
2. Again the game, and how dangerous is. I cannot for life understand how there haven't been more people who died. The challenges were just crazy and at times messed up.
3. The Main characters and also their friends. Dear Lord, what a bunch that was. At times I liked them, but at other times I just wanted to scream at how stupid and idiotic they were.
In overall a decent book, but I expected more.
kat7890erina's review
5.0
Lauren Oliver writes YA so well. The concept for Panic grabbed me immediately and I was engaged right through to the final page. The TV adaptation was great as well.
tilaa's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
kkoerth613's review
5.0
This book was amazing. It tests your worst fears and makes you go against them. I think that if I were a character in this book, participating in Panic, I would NOT last very long.
Heather is amazing. I love how strong she is through everything thing that happens. She went through not only the Panic crap, but also the crap in her life, her mom, Lily, Nat, and Bishop.
I personally wanted to slap Bishop so much. But whatever.
Heather is amazing. I love how strong she is through everything thing that happens. She went through not only the Panic crap, but also the crap in her life, her mom, Lily, Nat, and Bishop.
I personally wanted to slap Bishop so much. But whatever.
akookieforyou's review
2.0
*2.5*
O.W.L.'s Readathon 2019
This book was just okay. It had an interesting premise, but the delivery left a lot to be desired. The characters were fine, nothing too special. The game aspect ending up being one of the less interesting aspects of the actual story, which was disappointing, especially since that was the main reason I picked this up. I wished this could have been that novel for me, but sadly, it was not.
O.W.L.'s Readathon 2019
This book was just okay. It had an interesting premise, but the delivery left a lot to be desired. The characters were fine, nothing too special. The game aspect ending up being one of the less interesting aspects of the actual story, which was disappointing, especially since that was the main reason I picked this up. I wished this could have been that novel for me, but sadly, it was not.
carriesouthard's review
5.0
Kept me on the edge of my seat to see how far these kids will go to win the game, Panic. Great read.