Call number
FIC WIL
Collection
Genres
Publication
Ecco (2022), 256 pages
Description
A novel about two teenage misfits who spectacularly collide one fateful summer, and the art they make that changes their lives forever. Sixteen-year-old Frankie Budge, aspiring writer, indifferent student, offbeat loner, is determined to make it through yet another sad summer in Coalfield, Tennessee, when she meets Zeke, a talented artist who has just moved into his grandmother's unhappy house and who is as lonely and awkward as Frankie is. Romantic and creative sparks begin to fly, and when the two jointly make an unsigned poster, shot through with an enigmatic phrase, it becomes unforgettable to anyone who sees it. The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us. The posters begin appearing everywhere, and people wonder who is behind them. Satanists, kidnappers, the rumors won't stop, and soon the mystery has dangerous repercussions that spread far beyond the town. The art that brought Frankie and Zeke together now threatens to tear them apart. Twenty years later, Frances Eleanor Budge, famous author, mom to a wonderful daughter, wife to a loving husband, gets a call that threatens to upend everything: a journalist named Mazzy Brower is writing a story about the Coalfield Panic of 1996. Might Frances know something about that? And will what she knows destroy the life she's so carefully built?… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member richardderus
Real Rating: 4.75* of five, rounded up
The Publisher Says: From the New York Times bestselling author of Nothing to See Here comes an exuberant, bighearted novel about two teenage misfits who spectacularly collide one fateful summer, and the art they make that changes their lives
Sixteen-year-old Frankie Budge—aspiring writer, indifferent student, offbeat loner—is determined to make it through yet another sad summer in Coalfield, Tennessee, when she meets Zeke, a talented artist who has just moved into his grandmother’s unhappy house and who is as lonely and awkward as Frankie is. Romantic and creative sparks begin to fly, and when the two jointly make an unsigned poster, shot through with an enigmatic phrase, it becomes unforgettable to anyone who sees it. The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us.
The posters begin appearing everywhere, and people wonder who is behind them. Satanists, kidnappers—the rumors won’t stop, and soon the mystery has dangerous repercussions that spread far beyond the town. The art that brought Frankie and Zeke together now threatens to tear them apart.
Twenty years later, Frances Eleanor Budge—famous author, mom to a wonderful daughter, wife to a loving husband—gets a call that threatens to upend everything: a journalist named Mazzy Brower is writing a story about the Coalfield Panic of 1996. Might Frances know something about that? And will what she knows destroy the life she’s so carefully built?
A bold coming-of-age story, written with Kevin Wilson’s trademark wit and blazing prose, Now Is Not The Time to Panic is a nuanced exploration of young love, identity, and the power of art. It’s also about the secrets that haunt us—and, ultimately, what the truth will set free.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: Nothing to See Here was a solid 3.5-star read for me. It was entertaining and I got a few moments of real emotional involvement. I didn't think I'd go looking for more of Author Wilson's work but the Universe had other ideas...Ecco offered me the DRC and, being game as well as greedy, I hopped on it like a hen on a junebug.
Frankie Budge is a teenaged girl with a serious boredom problem. She's a Coalfield, Tennessee, girl who's smart enough to be a novelist in training and bored enough to do anything to stave off the screaming meemees. She's got triplet brothers whose lives will clearly end in tears, prison sentences, and severe emotional damage. Her father's left his family for another woman, and her mother...cruises...she lets Frankie be her own weird self because, well, triplet boys on the way to prison require more than a single working mother actually has to give. Yay for Frankie! Then she meets Zeke, a new kid with no friends.
Zeke's dad was a horndog, too. (Is this something Author Wilson knows about from personal experience, one must ask oneself.) Zeke apparently decompensated all over the guy in the middle of his office. Well, that's what his mom says...he can't remember any of it. Oh, and this is important: He's so freaked about the whole nightmare that he's decided to rename himself "Zeke" short for his middle name, Ezekiel. He and his mom are staying in Coalfield, where she was from. And that's how the match met the gas....
Y'all remember the 1980s Satanic Panic era? All that horror, all those lives ruined...well, in her gawky attempt to connect with this boy she likes, Frankie made the error to end all errors...she showed him a Xerox machine her brothers had stolen from the high school's shed. With toner and paper and everything...and she lets Zeke fix it, using the loveliest phrase for a paper jam I've ever heard: "like the machine had done origami"...so thus begins one of the major Satanic panics moved all the way up in time to 1996.
Their use for the photocopier is to make an art project (after Frankie uses it as an excuse to cop her first-ever kiss from a boy who's never kissed a girl either) of a poster—a drawing Zeke does after she writes “The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us” on a piece of paper. Then the Xerox comes into play...she comments in her narrative about them being kids from Nowheresville and never having heard of Andy Warhol so they were inventing this new thing together...and, after making a bunch of them, Frankie puts them up all over Coalfield.
Hijinks quite horribly ensue.
The inspiration of some older teens to play off this mysterious and compelling artwork, using it for their own ends, and the horrors that any powerful thing can call forth when it's anonymous and unclaimed, break the entire town. Frankie and Zeke are kids. They're way too scared to face up to the consequences (some truly terrifying) of their innocent actions. And that is where I realized I was a lot more involved with this story than I ever was with the first book of his I read. I circled back and read "On Writing Now Is Not The Time to Panic", Author Wilson's introductory story of how this book has been moving inside him for a long time. He spoke directly from his heart, revealed his genuine grief that finally summoned this book into the world after the decades of growing, and I was utterly changed. A story I'd thought was pretty good became a moving, honest act of love for a past and a life he was no longer living. And that made my pleasure multiply many-fold.
What it means to my old-man self to see someone as young as Author Wilson contend with the doomed promise of nostalgia, to confront the power of a past one can never reach but must always reach for...well, that spoke to me. That made me feel I was heard and understood by a complete stranger who couldn't pick me out in a line-up of Boomers. I am validated by this evidence of my sad, wistful knowledge of the ghost-hand of the past clutching with steel talons in someone young enough to be my child.
Then what the hell happened to that fifth star, it's fair to ask. Welllll...I'm really not sure it's fair to say, he said, glancing at the ever-present truncheons of the Spoiler Stasi. I'm not a big fan of the way the pressure to dredge up her past with Zeke, now going by his first name again, entered Frankie's life, and the things it led her to do were understandable but frankly disturbing to me. I felt she was violating boundaries for selfish reasons. It's not like she needed to do something she did the way she did it...the knowledge could've been gained less invasively...but here we are. I've only docked a quarter-star and I'm pretty sure the sales won't suffer because one no-name blogger was squicked out at some stuff that most of y'all (who never had your boundaries utterly disregarded by a woman) won't notice.
I'm still glad I read the book, you can see. I'm especially delighted by a piece of mother-daughter healing that spoke loudly to me. And you know, that is more than enough of a gift to take the slight sting of imperfection off my eyes.
The Publisher Says: From the New York Times bestselling author of Nothing to See Here comes an exuberant, bighearted novel about two teenage misfits who spectacularly collide one fateful summer, and the art they make that changes their lives
Show More
forever.Sixteen-year-old Frankie Budge—aspiring writer, indifferent student, offbeat loner—is determined to make it through yet another sad summer in Coalfield, Tennessee, when she meets Zeke, a talented artist who has just moved into his grandmother’s unhappy house and who is as lonely and awkward as Frankie is. Romantic and creative sparks begin to fly, and when the two jointly make an unsigned poster, shot through with an enigmatic phrase, it becomes unforgettable to anyone who sees it. The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us.
The posters begin appearing everywhere, and people wonder who is behind them. Satanists, kidnappers—the rumors won’t stop, and soon the mystery has dangerous repercussions that spread far beyond the town. The art that brought Frankie and Zeke together now threatens to tear them apart.
Twenty years later, Frances Eleanor Budge—famous author, mom to a wonderful daughter, wife to a loving husband—gets a call that threatens to upend everything: a journalist named Mazzy Brower is writing a story about the Coalfield Panic of 1996. Might Frances know something about that? And will what she knows destroy the life she’s so carefully built?
A bold coming-of-age story, written with Kevin Wilson’s trademark wit and blazing prose, Now Is Not The Time to Panic is a nuanced exploration of young love, identity, and the power of art. It’s also about the secrets that haunt us—and, ultimately, what the truth will set free.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: Nothing to See Here was a solid 3.5-star read for me. It was entertaining and I got a few moments of real emotional involvement. I didn't think I'd go looking for more of Author Wilson's work but the Universe had other ideas...Ecco offered me the DRC and, being game as well as greedy, I hopped on it like a hen on a junebug.
Frankie Budge is a teenaged girl with a serious boredom problem. She's a Coalfield, Tennessee, girl who's smart enough to be a novelist in training and bored enough to do anything to stave off the screaming meemees. She's got triplet brothers whose lives will clearly end in tears, prison sentences, and severe emotional damage. Her father's left his family for another woman, and her mother...cruises...she lets Frankie be her own weird self because, well, triplet boys on the way to prison require more than a single working mother actually has to give. Yay for Frankie! Then she meets Zeke, a new kid with no friends.
Zeke's dad was a horndog, too. (Is this something Author Wilson knows about from personal experience, one must ask oneself.) Zeke apparently decompensated all over the guy in the middle of his office. Well, that's what his mom says...he can't remember any of it. Oh, and this is important: He's so freaked about the whole nightmare that he's decided to rename himself "Zeke" short for his middle name, Ezekiel. He and his mom are staying in Coalfield, where she was from. And that's how the match met the gas....
Y'all remember the 1980s Satanic Panic era? All that horror, all those lives ruined...well, in her gawky attempt to connect with this boy she likes, Frankie made the error to end all errors...she showed him a Xerox machine her brothers had stolen from the high school's shed. With toner and paper and everything...and she lets Zeke fix it, using the loveliest phrase for a paper jam I've ever heard: "like the machine had done origami"...so thus begins one of the major Satanic panics moved all the way up in time to 1996.
Their use for the photocopier is to make an art project (after Frankie uses it as an excuse to cop her first-ever kiss from a boy who's never kissed a girl either) of a poster—a drawing Zeke does after she writes “The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us” on a piece of paper. Then the Xerox comes into play...she comments in her narrative about them being kids from Nowheresville and never having heard of Andy Warhol so they were inventing this new thing together...and, after making a bunch of them, Frankie puts them up all over Coalfield.
Hijinks quite horribly ensue.
The inspiration of some older teens to play off this mysterious and compelling artwork, using it for their own ends, and the horrors that any powerful thing can call forth when it's anonymous and unclaimed, break the entire town. Frankie and Zeke are kids. They're way too scared to face up to the consequences (some truly terrifying) of their innocent actions. And that is where I realized I was a lot more involved with this story than I ever was with the first book of his I read. I circled back and read "On Writing Now Is Not The Time to Panic", Author Wilson's introductory story of how this book has been moving inside him for a long time. He spoke directly from his heart, revealed his genuine grief that finally summoned this book into the world after the decades of growing, and I was utterly changed. A story I'd thought was pretty good became a moving, honest act of love for a past and a life he was no longer living. And that made my pleasure multiply many-fold.
What it means to my old-man self to see someone as young as Author Wilson contend with the doomed promise of nostalgia, to confront the power of a past one can never reach but must always reach for...well, that spoke to me. That made me feel I was heard and understood by a complete stranger who couldn't pick me out in a line-up of Boomers. I am validated by this evidence of my sad, wistful knowledge of the ghost-hand of the past clutching with steel talons in someone young enough to be my child.
Then what the hell happened to that fifth star, it's fair to ask. Welllll...I'm really not sure it's fair to say, he said, glancing at the ever-present truncheons of the Spoiler Stasi. I'm not a big fan of the way the pressure to dredge up her past with Zeke, now going by his first name again, entered Frankie's life, and the things it led her to do were understandable but frankly disturbing to me. I felt she was violating boundaries for selfish reasons. It's not like she needed to do something she did the way she did it...the knowledge could've been gained less invasively...but here we are. I've only docked a quarter-star and I'm pretty sure the sales won't suffer because one no-name blogger was squicked out at some stuff that most of y'all (who never had your boundaries utterly disregarded by a woman) won't notice.
I'm still glad I read the book, you can see. I'm especially delighted by a piece of mother-daughter healing that spoke loudly to me. And you know, that is more than enough of a gift to take the slight sting of imperfection off my eyes.
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LibraryThing member DrApple
I really liked this book which focuses on two sixteen year olds who are outcasts. Frankie is lonely until she meets Zeke who has come to town for the summer. The two of them decide to create art together, and they end up creating a poster that causes a huge uproar.
LibraryThing member jillrhudy
Thanks to HarperCollins and Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Two awkward teenagers just want to make art when they are thrown together one strange summer in the small town of Coalfield, Tennessee: all Frankie knows about herself is that wants to write, and all Zeke
The two teens painfully discover that they can anonymously put images and words out into the world, but they can't control the trajectory of their art, or how it will capture the minds and imaginations of others around them. Even as adults, the explosive result of their art is something that Frankie and Zeke would very much prefer to keep a secret, even as their creation seems to propel them each toward a less exciting version of their original dream. Did the kids create the art, or did the art create them?
This coming-of-age novel is both unique and compelling, an explanation of how art can serve as a vehicle for unexplored feelings and desires, how art can be appropriated by others in surprising ways, how art can morph into legend over time, and how art often cannot be suppressed because it refuses to release its hold.
Two awkward teenagers just want to make art when they are thrown together one strange summer in the small town of Coalfield, Tennessee: all Frankie knows about herself is that wants to write, and all Zeke
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knows about himself is that he wants to draw. While they spend some time making out, neither is comfortable with sex or a definition of their relationship beyond friendship. When they discover a broken copy machine and repair it, a disturbing shared art project becomes their obsession. They seal their art in blood, make hundreds of photocopies all summer, and put them everywhere in town.The two teens painfully discover that they can anonymously put images and words out into the world, but they can't control the trajectory of their art, or how it will capture the minds and imaginations of others around them. Even as adults, the explosive result of their art is something that Frankie and Zeke would very much prefer to keep a secret, even as their creation seems to propel them each toward a less exciting version of their original dream. Did the kids create the art, or did the art create them?
This coming-of-age novel is both unique and compelling, an explanation of how art can serve as a vehicle for unexplored feelings and desires, how art can be appropriated by others in surprising ways, how art can morph into legend over time, and how art often cannot be suppressed because it refuses to release its hold.
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LibraryThing member jnmegan
Kevin Wilson, the author of Nothing to See Here, has been lauded for his quirky and unusual characters that wander freely into the surreal while taking it all in stride. Now Is Not the Time to Panic is his fourth book, and Wilson delivers a novel that is a bit more grounded, but still skates the
Thanks to the author, ECCO, and Edelweiss for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.
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edge of believability. The story takes place during summer when a lonely teen, Frankie Budge, meets a boy who transforms her life. Zeke is a newcomer to town and his artistic sensibility is a perfect match for Frankie. They decide to collaborate on a project that will attract the attention they crave while retaining their anonymity. Their experiment becomes an obsession that quickly takes on a life of its own. Twenty years later, as Frankie relates the story of their friendship, she remains haunted by unresolved issues from those days. Now, the long-held secret that Zeke and Frankie were the initiators of the unforeseen events that erupted long ago is about to be exposed. Now is Not the Time to Panic explores identity as it develops through personal connection and how shared neglect works as a way of obtaining power. Wilson examines how creations, once brought into the public sphere, require an artist to relinquish complete ownership. At times repetitive and heavy-handed, the novel remains intriguing due to Wilson’s crafty wit, characterization skills and his ability to portray hyperbole as fact.Thanks to the author, ECCO, and Edelweiss for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.
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LibraryThing member nancyadair
“The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers, we are the new fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us.” Sixteen-year-old Frankie, future writer of successful YA books, thought up that line. It was part of a teenage prank cooked up by her and her summer bestie Zeke, two bored
Small towns. I lived in a few back in the 90s. I grew up in the ‘burbs, so I had little understanding of how small towns worked. I was told that the bank was the hub of the rumor network where gossip was a commodity. A woman warned a man who had returned to his hometown should not to carry his purse on the street or he would get beat up. The Klan left posters in rural driveways. I would be told not to take our son to the preschool filled with ‘those people,’ i.e., the rural poor. Adults were sure that role playing games were causing physic harm to teenagers unable to keep their roles and reality separate, or that the games were leading them to worship the devil.
So when Frankie and Zeke obsessed over getting their art across the town, I was not surprised that the townspeople reacted in fear, imagining it a sinister message. That other teens made an icon of the poster, and used adult’s fear to claim they were victims of imagined, evil, deviants. That they patrolled the streets with guns, looking for trouble where there was none. That things went crazy, and people died.
Ten years later, Frankie is a successful writer, happily married with a child. Happy. But haunted by that summer, those words still echoing in her head constantly. A phone call from a stranger threatens to upend everything. But first, it was time to tell her story to her family, and to find Zeke and warn him of what is to come.
The characters feel out of sync with the world, turning to art for expression and to make an impact. Art is their obsession, but what they create is misunderstood and feared by their isolated community. What they create is misappropriated and copied. Once out in the world, they can’t control what happens. They struggle with pride of what they created and the guilt of how it was misused. As an adult, Zeke struggles with mental health issues and Frankie can’t shake off those few months of combustive creativity and excitement.
The characters learn the nature of art and it’s impact, the rush of expression, the joy of putting it out there. Then watching what happens to it in the world, out of your ability to control it.
I read the novel in a day.
I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
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teenagers trapped in a small, boring town. Frankie wrote the line down on paper, and budding artist Zeke drew around the words, creating their own personal ‘tag.’ Piercing their fingers, they spotted the paper with their blood, imagined stars. Using the copier Frankie’s older brothers had stolen and hidden in the garage, the pair made thousands of copies which they posted throughout the town.Small towns. I lived in a few back in the 90s. I grew up in the ‘burbs, so I had little understanding of how small towns worked. I was told that the bank was the hub of the rumor network where gossip was a commodity. A woman warned a man who had returned to his hometown should not to carry his purse on the street or he would get beat up. The Klan left posters in rural driveways. I would be told not to take our son to the preschool filled with ‘those people,’ i.e., the rural poor. Adults were sure that role playing games were causing physic harm to teenagers unable to keep their roles and reality separate, or that the games were leading them to worship the devil.
So when Frankie and Zeke obsessed over getting their art across the town, I was not surprised that the townspeople reacted in fear, imagining it a sinister message. That other teens made an icon of the poster, and used adult’s fear to claim they were victims of imagined, evil, deviants. That they patrolled the streets with guns, looking for trouble where there was none. That things went crazy, and people died.
Ten years later, Frankie is a successful writer, happily married with a child. Happy. But haunted by that summer, those words still echoing in her head constantly. A phone call from a stranger threatens to upend everything. But first, it was time to tell her story to her family, and to find Zeke and warn him of what is to come.
The characters feel out of sync with the world, turning to art for expression and to make an impact. Art is their obsession, but what they create is misunderstood and feared by their isolated community. What they create is misappropriated and copied. Once out in the world, they can’t control what happens. They struggle with pride of what they created and the guilt of how it was misused. As an adult, Zeke struggles with mental health issues and Frankie can’t shake off those few months of combustive creativity and excitement.
The characters learn the nature of art and it’s impact, the rush of expression, the joy of putting it out there. Then watching what happens to it in the world, out of your ability to control it.
I read the novel in a day.
I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
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LibraryThing member ozzer
Ideas, whether true or not, have power. They can soothe or excite fear and panic. Consider how the passing of a queen united the world while the delusion of a stolen election led to riots and mayhem. In this coming-of-age story, Wilson shows us how a piece of outsider art created by a couple of
Coalfield is an isolated small town in Tennessee. During the summer of 1996 it was just plain boring. “It’s like a bomb was dropped on it,” says Zeke, a recent transplant from Memphis, “and you guys are just getting back to normal.” His accomplice is Frankie Budge, a 16-year-old aspiring writer who is equally bored by the whole scene. The duo plans a poster that combines their talents—he makes images, and she writes words. The poster features the enigmatic phrase, “The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us.” They are shocked by the troubling reactions of the townspeople after the teenagers plaster the poster just about everywhere. In addition to fashion statements, tourists and copycats, the posters also prompt violence and even a few deaths. All of this threatens and eventually extinguishes the teens’ friendship. Things come to a head a couple of decades later when Frankie, now a successful writer and family member, is forced to confront the “Coalfield Panic” by a writer who plans to reveal all in a New Yorker article.
This is a satisfying and illuminating read. Wilson’s first-person narrative is very personal, capturing the uncertainties of adolescence while exploring the creative process. His plot is fast paced and accompanied by plenty of snappy dialogue. While often humorous, his tone never fails to show compassion for his youthful protagonists.
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misfit teenagers during a sleepy summer in rural Tennessee panicked a community. This hook notwithstanding, Wilson’s novel is really about nostalgia. His characters look back on a time in their youth when events went spectacularly off the rails and ultimately impacted their futures.Coalfield is an isolated small town in Tennessee. During the summer of 1996 it was just plain boring. “It’s like a bomb was dropped on it,” says Zeke, a recent transplant from Memphis, “and you guys are just getting back to normal.” His accomplice is Frankie Budge, a 16-year-old aspiring writer who is equally bored by the whole scene. The duo plans a poster that combines their talents—he makes images, and she writes words. The poster features the enigmatic phrase, “The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us.” They are shocked by the troubling reactions of the townspeople after the teenagers plaster the poster just about everywhere. In addition to fashion statements, tourists and copycats, the posters also prompt violence and even a few deaths. All of this threatens and eventually extinguishes the teens’ friendship. Things come to a head a couple of decades later when Frankie, now a successful writer and family member, is forced to confront the “Coalfield Panic” by a writer who plans to reveal all in a New Yorker article.
This is a satisfying and illuminating read. Wilson’s first-person narrative is very personal, capturing the uncertainties of adolescence while exploring the creative process. His plot is fast paced and accompanied by plenty of snappy dialogue. While often humorous, his tone never fails to show compassion for his youthful protagonists.
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LibraryThing member Twink
Now is Not the Time to Panic is Kevin Wilson's latest book. And it's one of the most unique, offbeat, complex, additive, perfect books I've read in a long time.
Frankie is sixteen and lives in the small town of Coalfield, Tennessee. She's a loner by choice. When Zeke moves to town, she finds a
"The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us."(Say it a few times - it is addictive and intriguing, isn't it?)
That small town summer is seen through Frankie's thoughts, actions and experiences. The poster is important, but its not all of the story. The book is also a coming of age tale, an exploration of family, young love, self, friendship, and yes, art. Bookending that summer is the grown up Frankie's voice, twenty years on.
I was immediately drawn to Frankie. Zeke was harder to get to know. I'm sure that Wilson's depiction of teenage angst will spark memories for many readers. But the supporting players are just as interesting and offbeat. Frankie's mom appealed to the adult in me.
I think Wilson has written a wonderful story, remarkable in so many ways. His insight captured me. As for how it ends - not what I expected, but suits what has gone before.
Frankie is sixteen and lives in the small town of Coalfield, Tennessee. She's a loner by choice. When Zeke moves to town, she finds a
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kindred soul. Frankie writes and Zeke is an artist. They decide to collaborate on a project - a poster that they'll anonymously post around town. Frankie's words are oddly powerful and unsettling. Zeke's illustrations are also compelling and disconcerting. But soon the project grows in dangerous leaps and bounds..."The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us."(Say it a few times - it is addictive and intriguing, isn't it?)
That small town summer is seen through Frankie's thoughts, actions and experiences. The poster is important, but its not all of the story. The book is also a coming of age tale, an exploration of family, young love, self, friendship, and yes, art. Bookending that summer is the grown up Frankie's voice, twenty years on.
I was immediately drawn to Frankie. Zeke was harder to get to know. I'm sure that Wilson's depiction of teenage angst will spark memories for many readers. But the supporting players are just as interesting and offbeat. Frankie's mom appealed to the adult in me.
I think Wilson has written a wonderful story, remarkable in so many ways. His insight captured me. As for how it ends - not what I expected, but suits what has gone before.
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LibraryThing member bookappeal
I like Wilson's writing style - it's intelligent but easy to read - and his characters are intriguing, even in this relatively short novel. I can't identify why but I never really understood Frankie and couldn't relate to her as a teenager or an adult. Maybe I lack the artistic sensibility
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necessary to truly appreciate the character Wilson has created. I still enjoyed the book but I preferred the story and humor of Nothing to See Here. Show Less
LibraryThing member reader1009
fiction. two misfit teens create xeroxed guerrilla art posters in 1990s Tennessee small town, but it becomes a meme and spins out of their control.
a quick read with a delightful flashback vibe. Would recommend.
a quick read with a delightful flashback vibe. Would recommend.
LibraryThing member ccayne
Wilson captures the strangeness of adolescence, trying to figure out who you are and where you belong. Family troubles can only complicate this difficult time and Frankie and Zeke have them in spades. Their bond is further forged when they create an enigmatic poster and plaster it around town.
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Perhaps, needless to say, panic ensued. These events shaped their lives for decades. The characters' voices are strong and strangely enough, I found the plot believable. Fans of quirky characters and the bizarreness of what people are capable of will enjoy this book. Show Less
LibraryThing member Hccpsk
If you’ve ever read anything by Kevin Wilson before, then you know he has a lot of strange things happening inside his head, and with his new book, Now Is Not The Time To Panic, he lets all that strange out to play. In the small town of Coalfield, teenage Frankie dreads spending the long, hot
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summer with nothing to do as her brothers are crazy and all have jobs, and her mom works all the time. Then she meets Zeke at the pool. He and his mom came to live with his grandmother for the summer while his parents contemplated divorcing. Frankie and Zeke are two outsiders who come together over their shared passion for art, and they create something — a piece of art — that takes on a life of its own. In Wilson’s own words, “It’s a book about friendship, about art, about memory, and about what it means to hold on to the person who we were, even as we become someone else.” This is a great coming-of-age story for the outcasts and artists who don’t always get a story, and how small moments from our teens really resonate and form our future selves. Show Less
LibraryThing member Narshkite
This one had a little less depth that Nothing to See Here, but really most things have less depth than that book. This is sweet and moving, and as I have come to expect from Wilson, not at all cloying or sentimental. It celebrates the power of art, and the power of connection to heal us at life's
There is an author's note that I won't spoil, it gives a lot of context to the book, but also it mentions that Kevin Wilson has Tourette's Syndrome. Knowing this really added a lot to my understanding of Nothing to See Here, and now I want to go back and read that one again
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hardest moments and to sustain us all the time. Wilson shows us how being in on something is soul-satisfying' Often it doesn't much matter what the "something" is - what matters is is the "in on." This has the simplicity of any great parable, and that for me is a YA thing. I don't usually like YA but I liked this very much. I will be handing this out to the high-schoolers in my life come holiday time.There is an author's note that I won't spoil, it gives a lot of context to the book, but also it mentions that Kevin Wilson has Tourette's Syndrome. Knowing this really added a lot to my understanding of Nothing to See Here, and now I want to go back and read that one again
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LibraryThing member browner56
It is the summer of 1996 and Frankie Budge is bored. As a sixteen-year old girl living in a small Tennessee town, she has no real friends and a difficult home life with a father who has recently departed to start another family. She meets Zeke, an awkward boy of the same age with a similar set of
In Now Is Not the Time to Panic, author Kevin Wilson tells Frankie and Zeke’s story in a humorous and tender-hearted manner, with just enough of the weirdness that fans have come to expect from his fiction. It is Frankie who receives most of the attention—in fact, the book is narrated from her perspective—which makes the entire tale feel like a somewhat twisted coming-of-age story. However, in a revealing Foreword to the main narrative, the author indicates that his real reason for writing this novel in the first place was to base the plot around these seemingly profound, but ultimately nonsensical, lines: “The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives and the law is skinny with hunger for us.” So, the whole saga of Frankie and Zeke actually had its beginning in Wilson’s desire to immortalize a catch phrase, which had become a touchstone in his own life and development as a writer!
I think that origin story is important because it simultaneously points to what makes this book so special as well as why it does not always work quite so neatly. Above all else, the characterization of the main protagonist is excellent, both in the development of her angst-ridden internal struggles, her idiosyncratic family life, and the urgency she feels to become something more. Also, Frankie’s relationship with Zeke seemed real and not a mere device to move the story along. On the other hand, it was hard to understand how The Panic developed out a relatively innocuous phrase, to say nothing of the hold that it has on Frankie throughout her life. I never understood why those words were so incendiary and I certainly could not fathom why both Frankie and Zeke felt any guilt whatsoever for the events that unfolded. As a consequence, the threat to reveal their secret did not seem like much of a catalyst for the second-half of the story. Still, I found this to be an enjoyable novel that told an engaging and quirky tale. It is one that I can easily recommend, despite its few shortcomings.
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problems of his own. Frankie and Zeke quickly bond over shared artistic interests—she aspires to be a writer and he wants to be an illustrator—and they collaborate to produce an enigmatic poster using her words and his drawings. On a lark, they post hundreds of copies of their work all over town, which leads to a series of dire happenings—alleged kidnappings, claims of devil worship, mass hysteria, and even death—that are well beyond their control. The aftermath of The Panic, as it is called, continues to haunt both kids for decades following that singular summer, shaping the arc of their adult lives.In Now Is Not the Time to Panic, author Kevin Wilson tells Frankie and Zeke’s story in a humorous and tender-hearted manner, with just enough of the weirdness that fans have come to expect from his fiction. It is Frankie who receives most of the attention—in fact, the book is narrated from her perspective—which makes the entire tale feel like a somewhat twisted coming-of-age story. However, in a revealing Foreword to the main narrative, the author indicates that his real reason for writing this novel in the first place was to base the plot around these seemingly profound, but ultimately nonsensical, lines: “The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives and the law is skinny with hunger for us.” So, the whole saga of Frankie and Zeke actually had its beginning in Wilson’s desire to immortalize a catch phrase, which had become a touchstone in his own life and development as a writer!
I think that origin story is important because it simultaneously points to what makes this book so special as well as why it does not always work quite so neatly. Above all else, the characterization of the main protagonist is excellent, both in the development of her angst-ridden internal struggles, her idiosyncratic family life, and the urgency she feels to become something more. Also, Frankie’s relationship with Zeke seemed real and not a mere device to move the story along. On the other hand, it was hard to understand how The Panic developed out a relatively innocuous phrase, to say nothing of the hold that it has on Frankie throughout her life. I never understood why those words were so incendiary and I certainly could not fathom why both Frankie and Zeke felt any guilt whatsoever for the events that unfolded. As a consequence, the threat to reveal their secret did not seem like much of a catalyst for the second-half of the story. Still, I found this to be an enjoyable novel that told an engaging and quirky tale. It is one that I can easily recommend, despite its few shortcomings.
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LibraryThing member surlysal
Another home run by Wilson!
LibraryThing member bookworm12
I couldn’t believe how deeply personal this novel felt when I heard the author describe his reasons behind writing it. It was such a great exploration of the meaning of art, its impact, an artist’s control over it, and its ripple effect on culture. It was also very much the story of awkward
“The chaos of our daughter, so lovely and beautiful, I would always be grateful for it. How she required us to keep living, to keep moving forward just so she didn’t leave us in her dust.”
“We made the poster so we can still control it I think.
That’s not how art works.”
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teenagers trying to figure out who they are.“The chaos of our daughter, so lovely and beautiful, I would always be grateful for it. How she required us to keep living, to keep moving forward just so she didn’t leave us in her dust.”
“We made the poster so we can still control it I think.
That’s not how art works.”
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LibraryThing member RandyMetcalfe
Art is dangerous. Or it can be in the right circumstances. Those circumstances arose in the small town of Coalfield in the summer of 1996. Awkward teenagers, Frances (a.k.a. ‘Frankie’) and Zeke, combine their artistic talents to create an enigmatic poster. Frankie pens the words and Zeke
Kevin Wilson displays a positive belief in the power of art, or perhaps performance art. It is almost refreshingly youthful in its zeal. And though for both Frankie and Zeke the effects of their poster display are largely distressing (moreso for some others), they each gain something as well. Even if they aren’t ultimately responsible for everything that happens, they are also not wholly irresponsible. I suppose in this art mirrors life, or rather art is just another thing that happens and we are connected to all of it to a greater or lesser extent.
The story is told by Frankie and no doubt for this reason our sympathies always lie with her. Zeke is never fully formed as a teenager. So we also aren’t surprised to learn what underlay that instability later. Readers will no doubt divide on whether the enigmatic text of the poster resonates with them. For those whom it doesn’t, the many repetitions of it will perhaps grate. But it may nonetheless be understandable that for Frankie it becomes the mantra of her life.
Gently recommended.
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provides the illustration surrounding them. They seal their artistic union with their own blood and then, in Benjaminesque excess, use a photocopier to run off hundreds of copies. These they post around the town. And the effects are…startling. Because art really is dangerous. And their lives will be forever changed.Kevin Wilson displays a positive belief in the power of art, or perhaps performance art. It is almost refreshingly youthful in its zeal. And though for both Frankie and Zeke the effects of their poster display are largely distressing (moreso for some others), they each gain something as well. Even if they aren’t ultimately responsible for everything that happens, they are also not wholly irresponsible. I suppose in this art mirrors life, or rather art is just another thing that happens and we are connected to all of it to a greater or lesser extent.
The story is told by Frankie and no doubt for this reason our sympathies always lie with her. Zeke is never fully formed as a teenager. So we also aren’t surprised to learn what underlay that instability later. Readers will no doubt divide on whether the enigmatic text of the poster resonates with them. For those whom it doesn’t, the many repetitions of it will perhaps grate. But it may nonetheless be understandable that for Frankie it becomes the mantra of her life.
Gently recommended.
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LibraryThing member brianinbuffalo
As a fan of coming-of-age tales, I enjoyed Wilson’s latest work that features two quirky misfits and their adventures in a memorable setting. It’s built on an intriguing premise, although the narrative strains credulity in spots. This wasn’t quite as enjoyable as Wilson’s “Nothing to See
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Here,” but it kept my interest and nudged me to ponder the impacts of community hysteria. Show Less
LibraryThing member tangledthread
Two restless adolescents in a small Tennessee town combine their creative forces to create an enigmatic poster which they photocopy and post all over the town. Frankie (Frances) is a socially awkward girl who aspires to become a writer. Zeke is a talented cartoonist. Amidst their summer doldrums,
It's a fun coming of age story which explores the lack of control the artist has once the art is out in the world and the cascade of unintended consequences when others ascribe their own meaning to the art.
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they speculate about the effect their art will have on the community. But their imaginations fall short of the power they've unleashed on the world.It's a fun coming of age story which explores the lack of control the artist has once the art is out in the world and the cascade of unintended consequences when others ascribe their own meaning to the art.
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LibraryThing member shelf-employed
"The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us."
How can you NOT want to read a book that begins with that? Now is Not the Time to Panic is ostensibly a story of friendship, but it's also an examination of the nature of art. Once
The combination of a really unique book and a fantastic narrator is perfect.
The Author's Note is read by the author, who also does an excellent job, and to my mind, is revelatory. It is one of those books that you're dying to finish, but don't want to end. I was at my daughter's house when I reached the last chapter, and I saved it until I was home and alone so I could savor it.
It's been months since I listened to this book, and it's still in my head. Excellent!
How can you NOT want to read a book that begins with that? Now is Not the Time to Panic is ostensibly a story of friendship, but it's also an examination of the nature of art. Once
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released into the world, can art be reclaimed if it's not what the artist intended, or does it then have a life of its own? This is the question that teenagers Frankie and Zeke (and you, the reader) will have to contemplate. The combination of a really unique book and a fantastic narrator is perfect.
The Author's Note is read by the author, who also does an excellent job, and to my mind, is revelatory. It is one of those books that you're dying to finish, but don't want to end. I was at my daughter's house when I reached the last chapter, and I saved it until I was home and alone so I could savor it.
It's been months since I listened to this book, and it's still in my head. Excellent!
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LibraryThing member muddyboy
This is a quirky novel about a pair of misfit teenagers (a boy and a girl) on the Summer vacation. They are bored and have access to a copying machine and decide to manufacture a poster. It will have very mysterious artwork and a nonspecific phrase open to all kinds of interpretations. The kids
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bond by mixing their blood on the original.. They make hundreds of copies and spread them all over town and beyond. Eventually the posters get linked to what seems to be a cult and some deaths. A unique and entertaining premise. Show Less
LibraryThing member shazjhb
Interesting book about 2 teenagers who create a poster which leads to craziness. Frankie and Zeke.
LibraryThing member Castlelass
In 1996, Frankie is a sixteen-year-old living in Coalfield, Tennessee, with her mother and triplet brothers. She meets Zeke, who has arrived for the summer from Memphis, and they become friends. She is an aspiring writer, and he is an artist. They create a poster, containing a drawing by Zeke and
It is a story of youthful infatuation, individuality, artistic expression, obsession, and how events of adolescence can have a lingering effect. It also comments on how art takes on a life of its own once created and sent out into the world. It is a most unusual and creative work. This is my first time reading anything by Kevin Wilson, and I definitely plan to read more.
4.5
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an enigmatic phrase written by Frankie. They copy it and hang it all over town, making sure not to be seen. Other groups appropriate the art for their own ends, igniting the Coalfield Panic, and eventually gaining national attention. Twenty years later, a journalist calls Frankie to discuss the poster and its impact. Frankie worries that her past will damage her current life, as she has never told anyone about her (and Zeke’s) role in the Panic.It is a story of youthful infatuation, individuality, artistic expression, obsession, and how events of adolescence can have a lingering effect. It also comments on how art takes on a life of its own once created and sent out into the world. It is a most unusual and creative work. This is my first time reading anything by Kevin Wilson, and I definitely plan to read more.
4.5
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LibraryThing member alanna1122
Gosh I loved this book. Kevin Wilson is a tremendous writer. The plot was so fresh - so crazy but believable at the same time. I loved the character development and felt so much for these kids. Best novel I have read in ages and I have read some good ones!
Awards
Southern Book Prize (Finalist — Fiction — 2023)
BookTube Prize (Octofinalist — Fiction — 2023)
LibraryReads (Monthly Pick — November 2022)
Pages
256
ISBN
0062913506 / 9780062913500
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