Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: March 4th 2014
Pages: 416 (ebook, Kindle Edition, Paperback)
408 (Hardcover)
Synopsis:
Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of twelve thousand 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 thoughts:
I really have mixed feelings about this book. Usually I can decide unequivocally whether I liked a book or not, but this time I can't. It's very different from what I usually read, which I wouldn't mind, but I was sort of struggling with it and that's why it took so long to read it. Let's start with the things I didn't like so that I can finish the review with something nice.
In the first place, I found a mistake that was present throughout the book. Not even a mistake more like an indicator that it wasn't wholly schemed. It was ambiguous, obscure and sporadically there were contradictions in it. The book wasn't unfathomably obscure and these contradictions weren't that blatant, but they were still pretty disturbing. Furthermore, it gave me the impression that everything was happening during that summer, during the time that the book was set. Of course, a book is not set when there is nothing new or surprising but calm and peaceful, nonetheless it still was a bit overwhelming. I have figured it was, because the book wasn't well-built, the occurrences weren't a repercussion of a process that had been in progress for years, but they were there just in a split second and happened because things have to move, and she didn't want the book to be slow, which is a nice thing, nobody likes those slow, halting books, but still.
However, there were beautiful motives in the book. It's kind of an abstract writing, brooding and revolving around the people's character development. I often came to the realization while reading the book, that it's not even really about panic but how it changes them or rather how it makes them realize important things in their lives and so they change. They are fight with very real problems and their reactions touched me, I could feel for them, and not just because I'm very perceptive about depression and these kind of problems, but because that's what Lauren Oliver is good at. She can transmit feelings exquisitely. One more thing that she does prominently is the descriptions. Especially the topographies. They are just incredible. Anyways, although it wasn't such an exciting, suspenseful plot, it did cause surprises and there were unforeseen twists. And that's exactly why I would have been glad if some threads had been expounded better.
And at last, I would like to dissolve a delusion. Many people allege that it's a Hunger Games copy. It is not. It shows no resemblance to it. It's a game, too, but the details, every single detail is different. Trust me on this. ;)
Rating:
Characters: 4/5
Plot: 3/5
Writing (style): 5/5
Overall Rating: 
About the Author:
Lauren Oliver comes from a family of writers and so has always (mistakenly) believed that spending hours in front of the computer every day, mulling over the difference between “chortling” and “chuckling,” is normal. She has always been an avid reader. She attended the University of Chicago, where she continued to be as impractical as possible by majoring in philosophy and literature. After college, she attended the MFA program at NYU and worked briefly as the world’s worst editorial assistant, and only marginally better assistant editor, at a major publishing house in New York. Her major career contributions during this time were flouting the corporate dress code at every possible turn and repeatedly breaking the printer. Before I Fall is her first published novel.
Her website: http://www.laurenoliverbooks.com
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