Mini-Review! - Panic by Lauren Oliver

Title: Panic

Author: Lauren Oliver

Genre: YA, Contemporary

Amazon: UK - USA

Verdict:

Ahhh summers as a teen. Long lazy days of such wholesome activities as... walking across a main road blindfolded and... playing Russian roulette.

No? Yeah, me neither. But in the no-hope town of Carp, New York, this is what summer means to the high school's graduating class.

Every year, the seniors play Panic. A game where people get hurt.

Why take the risk? Because the prize is enough money to get the hell out of Carp - and that's what most of these kids want.

This book was a) well-written, b) full of complex characters and real life problems and c) generally awesome.

BUT DO NOT TAKE THESE CHARACTERS AS ROLE MODELS.

THE DECISIONS ARE SOOOO BAD! BAD DECISIONS EVERYWHERE!!!!!!

That said, the decisions, despite their stupidity, are realistic ones. You can see desperate teens doing these things, just because they feel so trapped.

I liked our protagonists - there's a duel point of view from seniors Heather and Dodge - but I so wanted to scream at them to NOT DO THE THING.

But this is an awesomely readable book - it may be a cliché, but it really was a page-turner.

I also loved the realism here - not gritty for the sake of it, but most definitely not sugar-coated either.

Oh, there's some swearing, a dash of violence, and references to sexy-times, but nothing your average teenager can't handle!

Buy Now UK – Buy Now USA – Goodreads – Author's Site

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