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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
I un ironically loved this TV show which is the goofy insane twisty teen drama (a la PLL) show of my dreams. So much about money and class and societal expectations. More mystery and intrigue. An absolutely bonkers ending. Jack Nicholson’s son being insanely charismatic and a fascinating character — and somehow that character is so minor in the book, despite being the best thing about the show half the time?? Anne having actual permits for the tigers, the different types of abuse children face, Heather’s financial burdens— so many little changes that made the story so much more impactful. All the challenges felt so much more thrilling and intense! Now, the show isn’t perfect, but it was so fun! This book is a bit more of a slog, a bit more predictable, less crazy (but still crazy— tigers and the bomb!), a lot more underwhelming and less memorable.
I listened to this on my work commute, and I don’t think the narrator helped. I don’t listen to a lot of audiobooks (maybe a few a year) but I desperately wanted to “read” this soon after watching the show to compare, so I settled for the only available copy. The narrator does a fine job but sometimes her voice is so childish sounding and over-earnest? Idk it grated sometimes and made the insanity of the story feel more generic and lower stakes.
Also, some of the writing is pretty good quality YA fare, but sometimes you get women compared to exotic popsicles or teen boys obsessed with teeth and I couldn’t help but laugh! There’s just these tiny nitpicky little things that came up occasionally where I was like Lauren, why would you say it like that??? But otherwise she does a good job conveying feeling and emotion, which this book needed. Just wish there was more of the family/social circle/PANIC drama and less of the boring BFF to lovers drama. The TV show was so right to make Bishop less boring and also not the main love interest.
I listened to this on my work commute, and I don’t think the narrator helped. I don’t listen to a lot of audiobooks (maybe a few a year) but I desperately wanted to “read” this soon after watching the show to compare, so I settled for the only available copy. The narrator does a fine job but sometimes her voice is so childish sounding and over-earnest? Idk it grated sometimes and made the insanity of the story feel more generic and lower stakes.
Also, some of the writing is pretty good quality YA fare, but sometimes you get women compared to exotic popsicles or teen boys obsessed with teeth and I couldn’t help but laugh! There’s just these tiny nitpicky little things that came up occasionally where I was like Lauren, why would you say it like that??? But otherwise she does a good job conveying feeling and emotion, which this book needed. Just wish there was more of the family/social circle/PANIC drama and less of the boring BFF to lovers drama. The TV show was so right to make Bishop less boring and also not the main love interest.
I liked the book, but there were some things which annoyed me.
Little more about the characters. Natalie, "Nat" pissed me off all the time. She was just so stupid, shalow and unlovable. And she didn't really have any real purpose, she was there to be that annoying friend whom you can't get rid of.
When in the same time, Bishop is just amazing. I adored him. I loved how he always wanted to protect Heather, but let her made the decision for herself.
Little more about the characters. Natalie, "Nat" pissed me off all the time. She was just so stupid, shalow and unlovable. And she didn't really have any real purpose, she was there to be that annoying friend whom you can't get rid of.
When in the same time, Bishop is just amazing. I adored him. I loved how he always wanted to protect Heather, but let her made the decision for herself.
Find this review and more at kimberlyfaye reads.
A fan of each and every one of Lauren Oliver's books to date, I was really excited to get my hands on Panic early. The blurb sounded really interesting. Danger! Intrigue! Romance! Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations. Don't get me wrong, it was entertaining, but something was just missing.
Panic is a game born out of the boredom of small-town teenagers. It is not a dystopian novel and there are no supernatural elements about it, despite how people are shelving it on Goodreads. It's a straight-up contemporary novel with a bit of mystery, a bit of action and a bit of romance. Sadly, I didn't find myself caring that much about any of it. I found it difficult to connect with the characters. The tasks they were to complete often seemed just plain stupid and dangerous, so I didn't even find myself on the edge of my seat that much. These kids chose to do this. No one forced them. They weren't trying to survive. They were playing a game. This is why I had a difficult time caring about what happened to them as a result of it. The friendships were confusing and I didn't really feel the chemistry between Heather and Dodge.
The book gets bonus points and a 3-star rating because it was incredibly well-written. No, the ideas didn't really work for me and the characters weren't ones I could sympathize with, but the writing was good and the intrigue was there if you could bring yourself to connect with the characters. The characters were well-developed and complex, just not particularly likable to me. There were some twists and turns in the book, but I didn't find them all that unpredictable. I guessed the major twist before it was revealed.
Not Lauren's best book in my opinion, but it wasn't a total waste of time either. A younger crowd would likely be able to relate to the characters and appreciate it more than I did.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
A fan of each and every one of Lauren Oliver's books to date, I was really excited to get my hands on Panic early. The blurb sounded really interesting. Danger! Intrigue! Romance! Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations. Don't get me wrong, it was entertaining, but something was just missing.
Panic is a game born out of the boredom of small-town teenagers. It is not a dystopian novel and there are no supernatural elements about it, despite how people are shelving it on Goodreads. It's a straight-up contemporary novel with a bit of mystery, a bit of action and a bit of romance. Sadly, I didn't find myself caring that much about any of it. I found it difficult to connect with the characters. The tasks they were to complete often seemed just plain stupid and dangerous, so I didn't even find myself on the edge of my seat that much. These kids chose to do this. No one forced them. They weren't trying to survive. They were playing a game. This is why I had a difficult time caring about what happened to them as a result of it. The friendships were confusing and I didn't really feel the chemistry between Heather and Dodge.
The book gets bonus points and a 3-star rating because it was incredibly well-written. No, the ideas didn't really work for me and the characters weren't ones I could sympathize with, but the writing was good and the intrigue was there if you could bring yourself to connect with the characters. The characters were well-developed and complex, just not particularly likable to me. There were some twists and turns in the book, but I didn't find them all that unpredictable. I guessed the major twist before it was revealed.
Not Lauren's best book in my opinion, but it wasn't a total waste of time either. A younger crowd would likely be able to relate to the characters and appreciate it more than I did.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
i'll say up front that i'm a fan of lauren oliver's work. her characters are believable and her books well-written -- this book was no exception. the writing was solid, the descriptions evocative without being flowery, the characters relate-able without being cookie-cutter. but there was just something about the hook in this one --the game, panic -- that rubbed me the wrong way. i understand that teenagers tend to feel invincible and as a result take risks that adults would balk at. but, by in large, this is not a desirable trait and one that human beings happily grow out of. i had a problem with how this book seemed to revel in this reckless abandon. yes, the characters are afraid during the challenges, but they still do them, and very little is made of the consequences of their actions. what does that say to the ya's this book is geared toward? the fact that the ending was basically a 'perfect, look how good everything turned out' moment (the characters noting that difficulties will doubtless arise in the future did nothing to mitigate this feeling) was such a disservice to the target audience. a heavy dose of reality -- lose and consequences (so very present in oliver's other works) -- was sadly missing in this book. so, did i enjoy the book? yes, but i have no illusions about my own invisibility and realize that my actions always have consequences.
I love Lauren Oliver, and was looking forward to this one a lot. I don't think it lived up to my expectations, but I did really like some parts of it, and overall I think it was good. I just had really high expectations. The writing was beautiful, parts were very suspenseful, it was a very quick listen.
The narrator (as usual) was great!
The narrator (as usual) was great!
Spoiler
I felt like a lot of the story was pretty predictable. It was obvious to me early on that Bishop was a judge. I don't know if it was supposed to be that obvious or not. I didn't exactly love any of the characters or feel really strongly about their relationships. Heather and Nat felt very different and I wasn't sure why they were friends. I kept waiting for Nat or Dodge to turn out to be really bad. I was kind of surprised that the ending wrapped up so well...for a little while I thought maybe Heather was going to die. I do think you have to suspend belief about a lot of it. Russian roulette? People dying, $67K? How do they DEMAND that every student pay into it? How do the participants know they can trust the judges? Interesting idea, and I enjoyed it when I didn't think too deeply into it!
Thoughts: well-written, though that is a hallmark of Oliver's work. I didn't want to put it down, and it was definitely engaging, though I do have a couple of thoughts. I thought some of the twists were really obvious, and I really wanted more of why Nat acted the way she did. I wanted more of her character. She felt more like a foil to Heather than an actual character. I just wanted more. I also felt like it wrapped up a little too neatly, and it felt like some of the characters were drawn broadly from stereotypes. I think, again, it was well-written and it had a lot to offer in the end, but I think some of the starting ground was shaky.
The perfect book to read at the end of my high school graduating summer as it's the same setting. I liked it, but also had some pet peeves like the foreshadowing being as subtle as an elephant in a room, or the general stupidity of the characters. Overall, I really liked the suspense and tension, especially at the end. There's also a general love of life that shone through this work, which I loved very much.
Has some cool elements and good characters, but really, why are all these kids risking their lives for a high school competition? Sorry, but $67,000 is not enough money for me to Russian roulette myself in the face.
I enjoyed the story, but it was not as fast paced as I expected.