Now Is Not the Time to Panic: A Novel

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

Named a Best Book of the Year by: Time * Kirkus Reviews * USA Today * Entertainment Weekly * Garden & Gun * Vox * Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A Most Anticipated Book of Fall from: Associated Press * Atlanta Journal-Constitution * BookPage * Book Riot * The Boston Globe * Entertainment Weekly * Esquire * Garden & Gun * LitHub * St. Louis Post-Dispatch * Sunset Magazine * Time * Town & Country * The Millions * USA Today * Vogue * Vulture * The Week

An exuberant, bighearted novel about two teenage misfits who spectacularly collide one fateful summer, and the art they make that changes their lives forever

Sixteen-year-old Frankie Budge--aspiring writer, indifferent student, offbeat loner--is determined to make it through yet another summer in Coalfield, Tennessee, when she meets Zeke, a talented artist who has just moved into his grandmother's house and who is as awkward as Frankie is. Romantic and creative sparks begin to fly, and when the two jointly make an unsigned poster, shot through with an enigmatic phrase, it becomes unforgettable to anyone who sees it. The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us.

The posters begin appearing everywhere, and people wonder who is behind them and start to panic. Satanists, kidnappers--the rumors won't stop, and soon the mystery has dangerous repercussions that spread far beyond the town.

Twenty years later, Frances Eleanor Budge gets a call that threatens to upend her carefully built life: a journalist named Mazzy Brower is writing a story about the Coalfield Panic of 1996. Might Frances know something about that?

A bold coming-of-age story, written with Kevin Wilson's trademark wit and blazing prose, Now Is Not the Time to Panic is a nuanced exploration of young love, identity, and the power of art. It's also about the secrets that haunt us--and, ultimately, what the truth will set free.

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256 pages

Average rating: 7.08

103 RATINGS

6 REVIEWS

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blewballoon

Nov 21, 2024

6/10 stars

This is a good book, for someone else. I listened to this on audiobook and Ginnifer Goodwin absolutely nailed the narration. I loved Nothing to See Here by the same author, so I grabbed this one without even looking at the synopsis. I found that book to be grounded, creative, funny, and hopeful. It dealt with darker subjects delicately. The dialogue and characters felt real and natural while also being unusual. I think this book also has most of those qualities, but it didn't have as much levity and hope. I felt a sense of dread the entire time I was reading it, waiting for things to go bad and then worse. I also found it harder to connect with the main character, it was more difficult to understand why she did what she did. I did really appreciate the Author's notes at the end about how this story came about and how it connected to his own life. I think this was just a little too somber for what I wanted, but I would recommend it to those who appreciate that more.

Amymc713

May 27, 2024

7/10 stars

Teen angst with adult healing. A little weird in a good way. Thought provoking.

LMahoney

Jan 26, 2024

10/10 stars

loved this book and the audiobook was excellent. I esp like that is was set in the 90s and I related so much to Frankie and Zeke.

Maddieholmes

Aug 28, 2023

7/10 stars

I really liked some of the pieces, especially the premise, but overall it didn't work for me. I think it was the present day sections, they didn't have the same depth as the past sections. I think that the past sections were much more successful. I didn't relate to the characters, but I liked the intricate relationship.

KrisT

Aug 13, 2023

Lovely sweet funny coming of age story - Frankie and Zeke create a poster and a frenzy ensues