It’s summertime in Coalfield, TN. There’s little to keep the city’s teens occupied other than the community pool and their watermelon game that’s somewhere between pig wrestling and apple bobbing. When Frankie befriends Zeke at the pool, they find out they have much more in common than being bored teens in a small town. Over the next few weeks, the pair starts combing their artistic talents and eventually creates a poster they start to put up all around town anonymously. When the poster develops a cult following, strange events start to happen. Will Frankie and Zeke be able to stop the madness or will the poster haunt their lives?
Kevin Wilson has a long list of titles to his credit, but this latest release Now is Not the Time to Panic has been in the plans for decades with memories and callbacks to his own teen years. A Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fiction in 2023, this book has also developed a bit of a cult following. With a nod to group-thinking and the way society can cling to an idea and blow it out of proportion, this is a book more about the society we live in than a group of characters on the pages. This is also a novel about the power of coming clean and not hiding from our pasts.
I give Now is Not the Time to Panic 3 out of 5 stars. This book left me feeling creeped out and disconnected from the story. I understand where the author was looking to take readers, but I didn’t feel the connection I normally feel with characters here. I didn’t appreciate the way the author included mental illness in this story as more of an afterthought and as an underlying reason for the negativity throughout the novel. I was also bothered by the writing style of this author. There was an inclusion of language that felt wholly unnecessary and inappropriate for the characters. It also felt like this was more about shocking readers than about developing genuine characters. This was a book I walked away from more appalled than intrigued.
If you, like me, grew up watching Friends or The Whole Nine Yards, you will find this book fascinating. Given the themes of drug use and alcoholism, this book may not be the best choice for all readers and should definitely be directed to audiences over 16. I do think this memoir would be a great read for the friends and family of those struggling with addiction – it gives great insight into the mindset of the user.
I have heard from readers who loved this book that they also loved Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro or Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng. With topics of mental health, substance abuse, criminal behavior, and underage sex, this may not be the best novel for all audiences. I would direct this novel to more mature readers over 16. I’ve also heard readers in the Gen Z age range tend to enjoy this book more than other groups.
I chose Now is Not the Time to Panic for the US States reading challenge prompt “Tennessee”. It felt odd to read this book the same week Hurricane Helene was wreaking havoc on Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina – an area that has felt so much like a second home to my family. To help support recovery efforts in the region, consider the Mountain Ways Foundation
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What I’m Reading
- Current print book: The After Party, Anton DiSclafani
- Current audio book: A Discovery of Witches, Deborah Harkness
- Book I’m most looking forward to: Virgin River, Robyn Carr
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