Scan barcode
itsbumley's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual assault, Violence, Alcoholism, Car accident, Death, Child abuse, Animal death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Addiction, Fatphobia, and Gaslighting
katie_k1's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Child abuse, and Animal death
Minor: Car accident
ansatejones's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Drug use, Car accident, and Death
Moderate: Suicide, Self harm, Animal death, and Child abuse
Minor: Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders
lthumphrey's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Ableism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic friendship, and Car accident
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Suicide
Minor: Body shaming, Suicide attempt, and Panic attacks/disorders
ninaevan's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.25
This was a re-read (albeit, I read it many years ago) and was still completely shocked by every twist and excited by every turn. Lauren Oliver has this amazing talent for writing believable teenagers using sophisticated language that really validates their experiences in a way that is much needed in the YA genre. This book is a wild ride that I have had such fun revisiting. No complaints.
For a further discussion of my thoughts, check out the next episode of my podcast: Books without Borders. https://anchor.fm/books-wo-borders
My scoring:
5.00 | = everyone in the world must read this book
4.75 | = between 4.5 and 5
4.50 | = dessert island book
4.25 | = between 4 and 4.5
4.00 | = great, solid, recommendable book
3.75 | = almost a 4, but not quite
3.50 | = not a 4, but I had a good time
3.25 | = rough patches, but not bad
3.00 | = meh, read-able but nothing to write home about
2.75 | = between a 2.5 and 3
2.50 | = there’s something I liked here but it wasn’t enough to be good
2.25 | = between a 2 and 2.5
2.00 | = not good and there was nothing I liked
1.00 | = bad
For a further discussion of my thoughts, check out the next episode of my podcast: Books without Borders. https://anchor.fm/books-wo-borders
My scoring:
5.00 | = everyone in the world must read this book
4.75 | = between 4.5 and 5
4.50 | = dessert island book
4.25 | = between 4 and 4.5
4.00 | = great, solid, recommendable book
3.75 | = almost a 4, but not quite
3.50 | = not a 4, but I had a good time
3.25 | = rough patches, but not bad
3.00 | = meh, read-able but nothing to write home about
2.75 | = between a 2.5 and 3
2.50 | = there’s something I liked here but it wasn’t enough to be good
2.25 | = between a 2 and 2.5
2.00 | = not good and there was nothing I liked
1.00 | = bad
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Car accident, Child abuse, and Violence
jkpiowa's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The author appears to have done zero research about the climate of places in the US. There's a point where a character asks about living in Chicago, and the other person in the conversation says it's "freezing 10 months of the year, and nice the other 2", or something to that effect. What? No. Not even kind of. The book is supposed to be set in New York state, which should have a pretty similar climate to Illinois, maybe even a little colder on average.
CW: there's a character that has a disabled sister and he routinely refers to her as broken, damaged, etc., and insinuates that her life is barely worth living due to her disability. It was gross. There's also a plot point of child abuse and homelessness.
The writing was okay at best, though the plot itself was alright. I had to push through at some points and probably won't read this author again.
CW: there's a character that has a disabled sister and he routinely refers to her as broken, damaged, etc., and insinuates that her life is barely worth living due to her disability. It was gross. There's also a plot point of child abuse and homelessness.
The writing was okay at best, though the plot itself was alright. I had to push through at some points and probably won't read this author again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Addiction
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, and Child abuse
Minor: Murder
chaptersonapage's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Panic by Lauren Oliver follows a group of teens who have just graduated high school. They live in a small town where, after graduating, you have a chance to enter a game called Panic. Panic is dangerous and only played by those brave enough to face scary and sometimes deadly tasks. At the end, the winner takes all, a pot of money that usually averages around $50K.
We follow Heather and Dodge’s points of view through the book, two contenders in Panic. They’re both playing for vastly different reasons, but the result they want is the same - to win the game.
Heather is not sure where her life is going. She lives with her mother and little sister, but they don’t have much money. She also has a boyfriend that she’s ready to tell she loves, but is devastated when he breaks up with her for another girl. Heartbroken, she decides to take the plunge and joins Panic on a whim, which will change her summer forever.
Dodge is all to familiar with the repercussions of Panic. It’s the reason why he’s playing - revenge. A few years prior, his sister, Dayna, played the game and nearly won. She was beaten by Luke Hanrahan, who sabotaged her car in the last leg of the competition, which left her unable to walk. Now that it’s his turn to play, Dodge is determined to beat Luke’s little brother, Ray, and make them both suffer for the pain Dayna has gone through since.
Though they play for different reasons, Dodge and Heather come together during the challenges and form a friendship, along with Heather’s long time friends Bishop and Natalie. Though they have some bumps in the road, they learn to work together and help one another.
This wasn’t a bad book, but it wasn’t anything special either. I could have done with or without it. The characters were okay, but nothing special. Still, I did find myself liking them a little by the end, which is a plus for the book. The premise is interesting enough too, and I enjoyed reading about the different challenges.
The downside of the book was that it was predictable. Everything seems very formulated, and I feel like from the start I knew how it would go. This takes away some of the excitement of the book, as I feel like something like this should have twists and turns that keep you on your feet. Instead, I found myself knowing what would happen next before it even happened.
Overall, this was a decent read, solid 3 stars, and I can see some people enjoying it a lot. On the flip side, I can also see how people don’t like this book too. It really all depends on your tastes and what you look for in a book. I’m interested to finally watch the show on Amazon and see what they changed and how it plays out in a TV format. I could see myself liking it in a visual format for sure
We follow Heather and Dodge’s points of view through the book, two contenders in Panic. They’re both playing for vastly different reasons, but the result they want is the same - to win the game.
Heather is not sure where her life is going. She lives with her mother and little sister, but they don’t have much money. She also has a boyfriend that she’s ready to tell she loves, but is devastated when he breaks up with her for another girl. Heartbroken, she decides to take the plunge and joins Panic on a whim, which will change her summer forever.
Dodge is all to familiar with the repercussions of Panic. It’s the reason why he’s playing - revenge. A few years prior, his sister, Dayna, played the game and nearly won. She was beaten by Luke Hanrahan, who sabotaged her car in the last leg of the competition, which left her unable to walk. Now that it’s his turn to play, Dodge is determined to beat Luke’s little brother, Ray, and make them both suffer for the pain Dayna has gone through since.
Though they play for different reasons, Dodge and Heather come together during the challenges and form a friendship, along with Heather’s long time friends Bishop and Natalie. Though they have some bumps in the road, they learn to work together and help one another.
This wasn’t a bad book, but it wasn’t anything special either. I could have done with or without it. The characters were okay, but nothing special. Still, I did find myself liking them a little by the end, which is a plus for the book. The premise is interesting enough too, and I enjoyed reading about the different challenges.
The downside of the book was that it was predictable. Everything seems very formulated, and I feel like from the start I knew how it would go. This takes away some of the excitement of the book, as I feel like something like this should have twists and turns that keep you on your feet. Instead, I found myself knowing what would happen next before it even happened.
Overall, this was a decent read, solid 3 stars, and I can see some people enjoying it a lot. On the flip side, I can also see how people don’t like this book too. It really all depends on your tastes and what you look for in a book. I’m interested to finally watch the show on Amazon and see what they changed and how it plays out in a TV format. I could see myself liking it in a visual format for sure
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, and Child abuse
Minor: Car accident
jbellomy's review
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, and Drug use
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, and Violence
More...