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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
I've seen some mixed reviews about Panic. The main idea for this book was creative. This story had suspense and mystery. The characters were relatable and realistic. Lauren Oliver found away to keep you interested in the story wen during some boring parts. I literally could not put this book down. I was hook from the beginning to the end. This book is officially a book I would recommend to other people. But I understand how some people was that impressed by this book. This book wasn't focused on romance that much really. Which I found that it made the story better by not focusing on romance. It was more about the concept of this game they play in the story. Anyway this book is worth reading and I loved it very much.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
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Just to get this clear straight off the bat, this is NOT a dystopian novel. Panic is much more akin to Lauren Oliver's [b:Before I Fall|6482837|Before I Fall|Lauren Oliver|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361044695s/6482837.jpg|6674135] than [b:Delirium|11614718|Delirium (Delirium, #1)|Lauren Oliver|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327890411s/11614718.jpg|10342808] in that it is set in a realistic high school in upstate New York.
Panic is a game played by the senior class every summer after graduation. It is a high-danger, high stakes series of tasks that leads to the winner getting fame and glory in the small town as well as a pot of $67,000, and coming from such a poor town, that's a lot of money for an eighteen year old to start their life.
The first narrator we get is Heather, who comes from a poor family and doesn't have any real goals. She was just dumped by her boyfriend before the start of the book and Matt was her ticket out of town, so now she has nothing but Panic. In the course of the book we see her go from a quiet scared girl to a real contender in the competition.
Heather personally didn't interest me. Yes, we see her grow with panic, but we never actually saw her weak before, we're just told that she was. What's interesting that's involved in Heather's story is her best friend Bishop, with whom she's in love but has constantly been in other relationships. He seems like your pretty average nice guy, but without giving any spoilers, there's a bit more to him. Good twists and turns in his story line if you ask me.
The other narrator is Dodge. He was never friends with Heather in high school, but he's in love with her gorgeous best friend, Nat, and panic draws the three of them together. Dodge's reason for joining panic is much more personal. Two years earlier, his sister was in the last tasks of panic and the other contender rigged her car to crash, resulting in her being paralyzed from the waste down.
We don't know this right off the bat, but as the story unfolds, we learn more and more that Dodge's singular reason for being in panic is to maim or possibly kill the brother of the guy who hurt his sister, who is playing this year. But this gets complicated by his feelings for Nat and his first time having real friends.
Nat, now...though she's not a narrator, she's a main character, and I just couldn't stand her. She's a backstabbing friend to Heather, plus she's terrible at panic. The narration is so dragged down by "Nat failed at this and Heather had to drag her along." As intriguing as Dodge's dark side was, Nat seemed oblivious to it, and even when it comes to light she doesn't seem to care. I don't know if that's an active choice in her character or Oliver just trying to make the story fit together, but I hated their dynamic and the resolution of both their stories.
Speaking of dynamics, the strangest thing about this story to me was the Dodge and Heather as the two narrators had no real relationship. Dodge says a few times that he enjoys Heather's friendship, but it feels stiff, like Oliver's just throwing it in there to make the two work together. Nat and Heather had a relationship and Nat and Dodge had a relationship--even Dodge and Bishop had one--but I never felt a real connection between these two.
Action is definitely this book's strength. The tasks, while not necessarily scary to read, would be terrifying in real life. Everything seriously jeopardize the players' safety and breaks the law. Meanwhile, there's a whole mystery about who the judges are (it's a tradition of panic that no one knows). So when some serious stuff goes down and the police need someone to blame, it becomes a cat and mouse game between the players and the judges about who will get pinned.
3/5 stars because there was an extra oomph missing from this book. Not as thrilling as [b:Delirium|11614718|Delirium (Delirium, #1)|Lauren Oliver|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327890411s/11614718.jpg|10342808] and not as introspective as [b:Before I Fall|6482837|Before I Fall|Lauren Oliver|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361044695s/6482837.jpg|6674135], but worth a read for Lauren Oliver fans.
Just to get this clear straight off the bat, this is NOT a dystopian novel. Panic is much more akin to Lauren Oliver's [b:Before I Fall|6482837|Before I Fall|Lauren Oliver|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361044695s/6482837.jpg|6674135] than [b:Delirium|11614718|Delirium (Delirium, #1)|Lauren Oliver|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327890411s/11614718.jpg|10342808] in that it is set in a realistic high school in upstate New York.
Panic is a game played by the senior class every summer after graduation. It is a high-danger, high stakes series of tasks that leads to the winner getting fame and glory in the small town as well as a pot of $67,000, and coming from such a poor town, that's a lot of money for an eighteen year old to start their life.
The first narrator we get is Heather, who comes from a poor family and doesn't have any real goals. She was just dumped by her boyfriend before the start of the book and Matt was her ticket out of town, so now she has nothing but Panic. In the course of the book we see her go from a quiet scared girl to a real contender in the competition.
Heather personally didn't interest me. Yes, we see her grow with panic, but we never actually saw her weak before, we're just told that she was. What's interesting that's involved in Heather's story is her best friend Bishop, with whom she's in love but has constantly been in other relationships. He seems like your pretty average nice guy, but without giving any spoilers, there's a bit more to him. Good twists and turns in his story line if you ask me.
The other narrator is Dodge. He was never friends with Heather in high school, but he's in love with her gorgeous best friend, Nat, and panic draws the three of them together. Dodge's reason for joining panic is much more personal. Two years earlier, his sister was in the last tasks of panic and the other contender rigged her car to crash, resulting in her being paralyzed from the waste down.
We don't know this right off the bat, but as the story unfolds, we learn more and more that Dodge's singular reason for being in panic is to maim or possibly kill the brother of the guy who hurt his sister, who is playing this year. But this gets complicated by his feelings for Nat and his first time having real friends.
Nat, now...though she's not a narrator, she's a main character, and I just couldn't stand her. She's a backstabbing friend to Heather, plus she's terrible at panic. The narration is so dragged down by "Nat failed at this and Heather had to drag her along." As intriguing as Dodge's dark side was, Nat seemed oblivious to it, and even when it comes to light she doesn't seem to care. I don't know if that's an active choice in her character or Oliver just trying to make the story fit together, but I hated their dynamic and the resolution of both their stories.
Speaking of dynamics, the strangest thing about this story to me was the Dodge and Heather as the two narrators had no real relationship. Dodge says a few times that he enjoys Heather's friendship, but it feels stiff, like Oliver's just throwing it in there to make the two work together. Nat and Heather had a relationship and Nat and Dodge had a relationship--even Dodge and Bishop had one--but I never felt a real connection between these two.
Action is definitely this book's strength. The tasks, while not necessarily scary to read, would be terrifying in real life. Everything seriously jeopardize the players' safety and breaks the law. Meanwhile, there's a whole mystery about who the judges are (it's a tradition of panic that no one knows). So when some serious stuff goes down and the police need someone to blame, it becomes a cat and mouse game between the players and the judges about who will get pinned.
3/5 stars because there was an extra oomph missing from this book. Not as thrilling as [b:Delirium|11614718|Delirium (Delirium, #1)|Lauren Oliver|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327890411s/11614718.jpg|10342808] and not as introspective as [b:Before I Fall|6482837|Before I Fall|Lauren Oliver|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361044695s/6482837.jpg|6674135], but worth a read for Lauren Oliver fans.
Brilliant. Completely addictive, read it in 2 days. Well written complex characters. I was rooting for all of them, particularly Heather and Bishop.
tense
medium-paced
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It wasn’t horrible, I just didn’t feel like there was any real central plot so reading felt a little pointless
Lauren has distinct writing and the voices she creates for her characters are extremely real and raw. The dual narration of Doge and Heather was done very well and each character had their separate voice, which is pivotal when there are two narrators. I never felt like I had to check back at the beginning of a chapter to see whose story I was currently reading. The character development for the main characters is huge, but it's also the same for the secondary characters like Bishop and Nat.
Sometimes I wanted Dodge and Heather to quit Panic and other times I wanted them to win, but mainly I wanted the adults to stop the game. At times I felt like I saw what was coming and other times I was surprised with where Lauren took the story. I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that things were just going to go from bad to worse. The emotions of the characters jump off the page and become your own fears and anxiety.
The idea of the game Panic sounds incredibly unrealistic, but as I read I could see how it had formed due to the environmental aspects of the town and the character's motivation to continue this game was very realistic. The lives that these characters lead are devastatingly similar to situations that teens are living today. Lauren covers many topics such as addiction and poverty. This issues are beautifully intertwined into this action packed story about survival and bravery.
Cover Comments: Eh. I wish it featured the quarry where the story begins, or even Anne's "farm" with a certain animal. I know there aren't supposed to be "boy books" and "girl books," but students do judge books on their covers and I just wish it was more gender neutral.
Teacher Notes: Would actually work with a dystopian unit even though it is supposed to be realistic fiction. The idea of the game Panic could be compared to the Hunger Games and the town is in extreme poverty that it seems dystopian. There are also many realistic issues that would lead to great discussions. Many of my students would enjoy reading this novel, both boys and girls.
Sometimes I wanted Dodge and Heather to quit Panic and other times I wanted them to win, but mainly I wanted the adults to stop the game. At times I felt like I saw what was coming and other times I was surprised with where Lauren took the story. I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that things were just going to go from bad to worse. The emotions of the characters jump off the page and become your own fears and anxiety.
The idea of the game Panic sounds incredibly unrealistic, but as I read I could see how it had formed due to the environmental aspects of the town and the character's motivation to continue this game was very realistic. The lives that these characters lead are devastatingly similar to situations that teens are living today. Lauren covers many topics such as addiction and poverty. This issues are beautifully intertwined into this action packed story about survival and bravery.
Cover Comments: Eh. I wish it featured the quarry where the story begins, or even Anne's "farm" with a certain animal. I know there aren't supposed to be "boy books" and "girl books," but students do judge books on their covers and I just wish it was more gender neutral.
Teacher Notes: Would actually work with a dystopian unit even though it is supposed to be realistic fiction. The idea of the game Panic could be compared to the Hunger Games and the town is in extreme poverty that it seems dystopian. There are also many realistic issues that would lead to great discussions. Many of my students would enjoy reading this novel, both boys and girls.
It really was a great book, but it was hard to start reading it because the beginning wasn't spectaculair at all. But besides that I'm glad I read the book!
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Pretty engaging. Kind of slow-paced at first, but it gets better. Lauren Oliver is definitely better at writing contemporaries than dystopias. Both Panic and Before I Fall are engaging and intriguing, with strong, well-developed characters. I would not compliment Delirium so highly.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced