Panic by Lauren Oliver 3/5 stars

Hey, guys! I've been meaning to read Panic for two years.  I enjoyed Lauren Oliver's previous series, Delirium, so I decided to give it a shot.  I thought it was pretty "eh" for the most part and hated the ending.  It wasn't all bad, but I was a little let down.

The Cover:

It shows Heather's face against a plain back background.  It looks nice aesthetically.  The title, "panic" is the name of the central competition in this book.  The cover doesn't tell you anything about the book, but I like it anyway.  B+ cover

Official Description:

Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of 12,000 people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.

Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.
Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game, he’s sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.
For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most. 

My (Ridiculously simplified) Description:

Graduated high school senior have an annual competition where they perform dangerous challenges to hopefully win a pot of money.  Drama ensues.  

My Review:

Panic sounded so good.  I thought it would have action or be a psychological thriller or something.  It was mostly high school type drama, with six action scenes thrown, each with only a few pages devoted to it. 

I didn't like the characters.  Most of them felt painfully shallow, and I couldn't connect with them. Not only were they dumb (and probably on a suicide mission) for even entering the competition but they also were whiners.  

Most of Panic was devoted to the internal drama of the characters, whom I didn't care about.  It was just filled with filler content.  We get detailed descriptions of Heather's day working but of little else.

Sure, not connecting with the plot/characters was a problem, but the part of this book that bugged me the most were the points.  If a character completed an especially difficult part of a challenge, they might win bonus points.  Fair enough.  But, the bonus points go nowhere.  They don't get a head start (eg Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) or win based on points.  It didn't even effect the betting, so why bother?

I would have given this book four stars, but the ending let me down.  At the climax, I was distracted by Lauren Oliver's attempt to place every single plot point in the book at a single point.  It felt cluttered and distracted me from the book.  Also, during the epilogue (always a bad ideas, epilogues), she decides to make a moral and shove it down the reader's throat.  A bad ending overall that left me dissatisfied.

Overall, I would not recommend Panic.  There is little action and uninteresting characters.

Phrase:

Revenge/ Get out of Dodge

Audiobook Review (read by Sarah Drew):

I wasn't a fan.  Sarah Drew, the narrator, only had two voices.  Her main character voice (that could be both from Dodge's or Heather's point-of-view) and her "other" voice for characters such as an old lady and a love interest.  It was hard to tell characters apart. 

It was a fine audiobook, but it had no special characteristics.

If you're looking for a good book, check out my Suggestions Page!

Happy Reading!

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