Unfortunately, Panic was shelved as a sci-fi/dystopian fiction novel, which is the wrong categorization and turns readers away. It’s about standing up, facing your fears, whether physical or emotional, and the growing up that comes along with it. The game is a literal rite of passage for the kids in the town, and those who play often risk their lives for even the thought of getting out. Heather and Lily will be stuck in Carp forever if they don’t win, and Dodge will never get the revenge he so desperately seeks. Oliver looks at the desperation, anger, and fears that drives these kids, how these hold them back, and how it moves them forward too.Īll of these kids have a future that can’t be realized without panic. The novel is very much a psychological analysis of the characters and the lengths they would go to overcome their fears to win the game. They show that sometimes what you fear most is the only thing that will propel you forward. Both Heather and Dodge will form an unlikely alliance as they move further into the game, revealing more about themselves than they previously thought. He’s a reminder that everyone has something to play for, and no one knows what it is. It’s what will get him to the very end of the game, and the $67,000 prize money.

He’s never been afraid of the game, and is only playing so that he can get revenge. She’s just a kid, a kid who shouldn’t have to live with their drug addict mother.

Heather wasn’t planning on playing, but when her boyfriend broke up with her, she’s reminded that there’s nothing holding her in Carp. They’re meant to weed out the weak, and show who is the most fearless of all of the players. Panic involves a series of adrenaline inducing games, each one more risky than the next. Two: the prize money won from panic is the only way that one of these kids can get the hell out of that town, and Heather will do anything to win a one-way ticket that will get her and her little sister Lily out of there. Why? One: because there’s nothing to do in their dead-end town during the summer. Panic by Lauren Oliver revolves around a game that the kids of Carp play in the summer.

Panic oliver