This my first book by Lauren Oliver who is New Yorks Time best-selling author. Panic is published Hodder & Stoughton.I loved how different Panic is. I have never read a story about a game before .The unusal story of a game gives the setting such power and depth. Lauren Oliver knows how to invent a broader of characters that you may like or be wary of. The energy just flows through the game of panic.The novel Panic is a very easy gripping read. About the novel Panic it is a game that is played by Carp High school. Its Saturday, June 18th. Two judges plan the game, name the challenges, deliver instructions, award and deduct points. The Two judges are picked in secret, and sworn to secrecy. They must not be subjected to bribes. No information, or leaks must be let out. The players of the game Panic are not to know what in the game to expect so know one can prepare. It is partly the unexpected, of never-knowing what to expects weeds them out, one by one.The prize money of $50,000, after fees are deducted and the judges who ever they are take their cut. The starting amount of cash prize in the past where one bought a lemon yellow Ford, and another bought herself new teeth. As the game of Panic started Heather stood on the ridge, suddenly petrified, afraid to jump.Dodge had a secret he knew something about Panic, he knew more about it, probably, than any of the other people on the beach I highly recommend Panic a story full of challenges exploring the true meaning of hope and fear. I hope that many readers buy Panic and enjoy the story as much as I have. Review by ireadnovels.wordpress.com

A fantastic book by Lauren Oliver, I thought Panic was extremely well written. About a group of teenagers who play a dangerous and secret game, in hope of winning a pot of cash. A game that puts their lives at risk and thats before the hidden vendettas! i could not put this book down!

What are your greatest fears? What makes your stomach drop, your legs turn to jelly, your brain shut down? What makes you panic? For the teenagers of Carp, Panic is a game of nerve, a game with a big payoff: $50,000. Only graduating seniors can enter, and you have to be made of steel to win. The players are pushed to their limits, and forced to discover what will drive them to overcome their fears, to go that extra mile. Heather hadn’t planned to play, but changed her mind at the last minute after seeing her boyfriend making out with another girl. But will this be enough motivation to see her through the death-defying challenges ahead? Dodge has plenty to fuel him, though: revenge. And he’s willing to go to any length to get what he wants. Panic is more thriller, less love story than Oliver’s earlier books, yet conforms to her signature style and, despite being 400 pages long, it feels like I read it in a flash, the adrenaline from the characters seeping off the page, making my palms sweat and my heart race. Oliver alternates between Dodge and Heather’s viewpoints as the summer ticks by and Panic takes hold of their lives. Heather goes through several stages of turmoil, from her freezing lack of self-esteem, to dealing with her difficult mother, caretaking her little sister, and the ups and down in her friendships as the tremours from Panic ripple outwards. Meanwhile, Dodge is an unreliable narrator, so I was never entirely sure whose side he was on or which way he was going to turn. This is a brilliant choice of Oliver’s: instead of using Dodge as a love interest, by making his loyalties so difficult to predict, Oliver brings an extra level of tension and fear to the story, and plenty of opportunities for betrayal. This is a game with no rules, no holds barred, but plenty of consequences. Will any of them still be friends by the end? How will the tables turn? And as only one person can win, who will you be putting your money on?

For me, this was very much like re-reading a Lois Duncan or Christopher Pike from 20 years ago. I loved Point Horror in my early teens and this was very similar, if for a slightly older readership. I think, as this wasn't what I was expecting, I was a little bit disappointed at first. A lot of what I've read of Lauren Oliver so far has been beautiful and full of meaning from the outset, and this was more a straightforward thriller at first glance - ultimately though as I read on, I started recognise the voices of the characters and couldn't put this down. The story revolves around the game of 'Panic' - the teenagers at the local high school all pay in a dollar a day throughout the school year to build a pot of prize money for the game at the end of the year. Increasingly dangerous dares weed out the competition, culminating in a head to head vehicle 'joust' in order to be crowned winner and take the pot of money for yourself. In most cases, the dares are life threatening, and the desperate teenagers of this seemingly impoverished backwoods town are more than happy to tempt fate in order to win. I'm not sure who the final product will be aimed at - YA or adult readers, but I think this sits happiest in the YA category and is a great thriller for that age group. It's great to have a strong YA title released that isn't about the supernatural, a love story or a dumbed down, but well trodden plot line. This is definitely a story that marks the desperation of teenagers - reaching the age where sometimes you DO know better, but still being almost entirely powerless. For all readers, the dip into the motivations of the characters and the overall message at the end (the penultimate scene was my favourite) shows how versatile Lauren Oliver is and how fascinating and frightening the behaviour of others can be.

After a flurry of dystopian novels in the YA genre where teenagers are put in perilous situations in which they have to fight each other, Lauren Oliver (who is probably best known for her own dystopian series, Delirium) has flipped the idea and adapted it for a contemporary setting. She still put the characters in mortal danger, but without the complex political background, which usually elevates these otherwise seemingly pointless battles to much more carefully crafted master plans. However, it does mean that this time around the story is perfectly suited to be told within a single novel and the reader isn't forced to commit to a trilogy or longer series. In Carp the kids have a lethal tradition: during the summer holidays those who have graduated from the local high school play a game called Panic. The winner will walk away with enough money to leave the deadbeat town and start over. And the losers? They're lucky if they come out of it without broken bones. Despite the game being played for many years now, no one really knows where it originated from and the participants keep each other and the individual tasks a secret so the parents and authorities don't get on to them. At this year's game Heather joins her best friend Natalie at the very last minute, while the man making up one third of their friendship, Bishop, doesn't enter himself but does keep an eye on the two girls like a protective older brother. Over the summer the three make allies and enemies as the finale draws closer and they discover that there are many secrets hiding in the town and what they thought they knew about each other and the game may not be the (entire) truth. When I read the blurb for Panic I was instantly intrigued and having already read both Before I Fall and the Delirium series by Lauren Oliver I knew that the interesting concept had a lot of promise in this author's hands. I love her writing style and her storytelling is both compelling and well-thought out, making her books addictive and engrossing. This was a very quick read and the style and tone felt reminiscent of the Point Horror novels from the early 2000s, though not quite as gory and scary, which is not necessarily a bad thing as I remember many sleepless nights as a teenager where I ended up foolishly reading a Point Horror just before going to bed and nowadays I cherish my beauty sleep too much to miss another night. I did feel that the novel was a bit predictable and there unfortunately was not enough excitement for the proposed premise; it played it too safe and delved too much into romance territory which took away from the game itself. Furthermore I felt that the background to the game of Panic was lacking, making it less believable that it has been going on for so many years without the authorities stepping in. Panic was perhaps a bit simplistic and lighthearted for its subject matter, but I did like the premise for the game. And there were some unexpected twists along the way, which ensured that I was gripped until the final page.