Panic by Lauren Oliver

3 Stars

 

Dodge has always known he would play Panic, but his reason changed after his sister played and ended up paralyzed. Now he’s willing to do anything he can to win and fix his broken sibling.

Heather has been watching people compete in Panic for years, but never thought she would be a participant. When you live in a dead-end town like Carp, with a drunken druggie for a mother, a boyfriend who just dumped you, and no hope to escape without hitting some kind of jackpot – you do desperate things.

Like jump off a cliff …

or risk your life crossing a busy highway …

or spend the night in a haunted house …

Only the strongest will make it to the end – a one-on-one winner-takes-all game of chicken.

Ahhhh, close enough.

How far will Heather and Dodge go to win the $67,000 prize?

Panic was a solidly good story with a nice flow, but it didn’t rock my world. I have a major problem with lead females in suspense/action plots who spend too much time discussing the “butterflies in their stomach” every time they interact with a male character. It’s not a huge part of this book, but it was enough that it made me not like Heather – and if you don’t like the main character, it’s kind of hard to go gaga over the book. But as I said, the pace is good, the plot is interesting and unique, the duel narrators work well, and Lauren Oliver once again writes a book that will be a huge hit with the teens, but is also palatable for adults.