Book Review: Panic

7,5/10 for Panic by Lauren Oliver

Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of 12,000 people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do. 

Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought. 

Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game, he’s sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for. 

For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.

Source: Goodreads

Panic is a game played in the little village Carp, NY. It's played by the high school seniors and there can only be one winner.

The game feeds off, you guessed it, fear; people's fear. And if you fail a challenge then you're out.

Heather, Dodge and Nathalie are three participants supported by their friend Bischop.

Bischop doesn't want his friends to enter, he thinks the game is stupid and wouldn't want his friends, especially Heather, to be hurt.

We follow Heather and Dodge in their journey as they learn about every topic in the YA shelf (confidence, love, family, , friendship, values, etc....) during the game and the decisions they make.

Considering the title  I had expected the fame to be featured more in the story (like 70%). There were definitely parts all about the game and it was always lurking in the background or on people's minds and influencing their behaviour. I missed the thrill and tension you should experience as a reader when it comes to a game like this.

I struggled a little to click with the characters too. I felt they were a little bit too manufactured. I know that when you would strip ever YA to their frame they all sort of have the same basis but this time I really picked up on it. Almost as if they had to tick off a list of character traits.
Lauren Oliver is a magnificent writer, I love her stories but this one feels a little too much like a 'Roll the dice' story with a set of given plot points. Even the small plot twist wasn't really a twist at all (her clever hinting had given it away too soon).

It wasn't until the final challenge that for one chapter I got to feel the tension that I had craved so much but then I reached the next one and it all became mellow again, which was such a shame. I really felt like that chapter was totally unnecessary.

I guess I had just expected this book  to be balanced differently that it was and that's where I tripped.
However, the writing is still of great quality and the characters had growth without too many loose strings and there was even a moral - though that felt a bit forced and unnatural. If you're looking for the next Hunger Games (I wasn't but I saw people comparing it to HG, making me think many people would pick it up just for that reason) then this isn't it, I"m afraid.

Panic is its own story about a boy and a girl growing up within a mad game and realising what's important to them.