REVIEW: PANIC BY LAUREN OLIVER.

Title: Panic
Author: Lauren Oliver
Edition: Paperback
Published: March 4, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 416
Source: ARC provided by the Publisher
Category: Romance, Contemporary
Trailer: Not applicable.

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Synopsis:

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.

I have mentioned it several times in the past that Delirium is one of the books that pushed me back to reading and started my love for Dystopian novels. I loved it to the moon and back. I was also totally floored by its sequel Pandemonium like Oliver knows perfectly how to make her readers ask for more. However, this series didn't end the way I expected it to. Disappointment rushed to me like a mother longing for her child after reading Requiem. It was devastating for me. So hearing that Oliver has written a new novel made me a little iffy about it.

When I read Panic's synopsis and saw its cover, the anticipation was high. I believed it would redeem my confidence in her writing. Basically, I was really hoping I would love it like how much I loved Delirium only to be disappointed again. It was totally different from Delirium yes, but it didn't make sense to me at all.

The story revolves around Heather and Dodge's point of views and it is about the dangerous game, Panic. They would win a certain amount of money by doing crazy and dangerous challenges and they don't have rules, they don't even know who are the judges. Because Heather and Dodge's needed huge money to start a different life other than being poor, they joined and persisted to win even if it includes cheating. And in between the game, there goes the complicated life struggles and heart issues.

Panic didn't make sense to me. What kind of game it is?? Why would you risk your life for something as ridiculous as this?? It wasn't even THAT of a dystopian setting. They were just poor. And why name it Panic when you can name it something else. I didn't see how it fits the story because the game isn't even worth panicking for. It makes you terrified. Plus, how would the players know they weren't being cheated on?? Is this some kind of a Hunger Games remake?? Too vague for my taste and senseless to be honest.

Aside from having under developed world building and plot, Panic resonates SO MUCH bitterness. I don't understand how the characters pour out emotion this negative. There's just too much regret and hate and unnecessary pain that the story would jump from one subplot to another. It was just all over the place. The characters were so immature that they tend to cling to hate and become selfish. These characters whine about almost everything and push revenge as lightly as a pancake. Jesus. My head hurts.

Heather?? She's just phenomenally stupid. Hands down stupid. She's emotionally unstable, selfish, jealous, insecure, unworthy of trust and ridiculously stupid. She joined the game because her boyfriend dumped her then as the story goes, she realizes she's in love with her best friend. Then when her best friend tells her he loves her, she pushes him away. Like what the hell is wrong with her?? She is definitely one of the protagonists I hate. I totally hate. And Dodge?? Another ridiculous character. He joined the game to get even with the guys responsible for his sister's accident. Like IT WAS A FREAKING ACCIDENT. ACCIDENT. I understand that he loves his sister so much that he would do whatever it takes to make life easy for her but why would he even get jealous when she's being happy with a suitor? OMG. Unbelievable, right?? Just unbelievable.

Panic has a lot of potential to be a good novel. Oliver's writing style has always been amazing but I believe Panic was just totally underdeveloped. The plot and world building's uniqueness emerge on every page but the sensibility FOR ME of the entire story is lacking. It is a little difficult to immediately breathe after being drowned with so much negativity and I wish that I was pulled out a bit sooner. I don't hate this book. I just didn't connect with it. I got completely lost and wouldn't want to be lost in it again.

Thank you ever so much Sarah and Megan of HarperCollins for the ARC!!

"She didn't think. She just leaned in and closed her eyes and kissed him.

It was like taking a bite of ice cream that's been sitting out just long enough: sweet, easy, perfect.... [She] felt little bursts of happiness in her chest, as though someone had set off sparklers there.

Then, abruptly, he pulled away. "Wait."

And instantly, the sparklers in her chest were extinguished, leaving only a smoking black place. Just one word and she knew: SHE'D MADE A MISTAKE."

"[She] felt like she could cry. His clown-hair; his faded Rangers T-shirt and sweatpants spotted with paint; his smell. She had thought it was hers -- she'd thought he was hers -- but all this time he'd been growing up and hooking up and having secret crushes and BECOMING SOMEONE SHE DIDN'T KNOW."

"..when you love someone, when you care for someone, you have to do it through the good and the bad. Not just when you're happy and it's easy.."