Panic by Lauren Oliver
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I found Panic to be mildly interesting with great potential but ultimately failed under the weight of its own angst. The story itself has so much possibility and Oliver has the storytelling capability of making this an incredible book. Unfortunately she commits a cardinal YA sin of not actually advancing her characters from their initial weak, immature, and irritating teen behaviors to much more mature, developed, and rational young adults. Instead they simply get a happy ending without any consequences to their truly dangerous and immature actions while having learned absolutely nothing over the course of what should be a transformative summer. Some readers have said this is similar to Hunger Games or Divergent, which it’s not in any way. Both of those are rip offs of Battle Royale and Panic is a study of desperate immature teenagers with no future because they’re too stupid to actually grow up. Totally different books. Continue reading →