Frankie could be any disaffected 16 year old girl who doesn't fit in with her classmates in her small Tennessee hometown. But Frankie has a secret she can never tell anyone, even the loving husband she will meet decades later: she was responsible for the Coalfield Panic of 1996.

In that fateful year, Frankie meets Zeke at the town pool, and they quickly bond over a shared love of art (Frankie: writing and Zeke: drawing). Zeke is only in Coalfield for the summer, staying with his grandmother after his mother discovered proof of his father's numerous affairs. But Frankie is determined to make it a unique, unforgettable summer that she will look back at nostalgically, perhaps even as the time she met the man she would marry (but not before she is in her 50s and has many other adventures).

In trying to determine what specific art statement the two should make, Frankie's writer brain supplies her with the perfect words: "The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us.." Zeke contributes some artwork and the piece de resistance is several spots of blood from the teens' fingers. Frankie recalls that there is a broken Xerox machine in the garage, stolen by her brothers but abandoned once they broke it. Once it is easily repaired, Frankie and Zeke make hundreds of copies of the poster and drive around town, stapling them to telephone poles, taping them to windows, and leaving them in random mailboxes. Their goal is for the posters to be seen and remembered, but their source to remain mysteriously unknown.

At first, the posters accomplish their goal: they get people talking. Then things start getting weird. A lady from Zeke's grandmother's church believes the Devil is behind the posters. Two teenagers claim that they were kidnapped by tattooed men in a black van who called themselves The Fugitives, and then dropped them at an abandoned house that was covered in the posters. Frankie and Zeke are bemused by these overreactions, but secretly Frankie is thrilled that something she created is having such a major impact. It's still going to be the best summer ever.

But then the situation spirals out of control. Frankie and Zeke's relationship, which remains undefined but sometimes involves kissing, takes a dangerous turn. Amidst the hysteria about the poster phenomenon, which by now is attracting tourists, it's probably inevitable that someone becomes a casualty.

Now is Not the Time to Panic is an intensely personal book for Kevin Wilson, who notes that the phrase Frankie dreams up was actually coined by a friend of his, and that it somehow comforted Wilson as he went through college lonely and isolated. I'm impressed by how well he writes from the POV of a 16 year old girl who is bursting with thoughts and emotions that she doesn't fully understand. The relationship between Frankie and Zeke is complicated and unpredictable, and the questions raised by the book about art are not easily answered. Who owns a piece of art? Who is responsible for the actions it inspires? How many times can it be mimicked by others until it is no longer the responsibility of its creator?

The story is bookended by chapters that take place in the present time, when reporter Mazzy Brower contacts Frankie, now living in Kentucky. Mazzy has traced the posters back to Frankie, and wants to interview her before she publishes an article about the infamous Panic. This sends Frankie on one last urgent trip back to Tennessee to finally confront and confess, but she is surprised by the responses she receives.

As with Wilson's most recent book, Nothing to See Here, the ending is a little abrupt, but this time it feels complete. Kevin Wilson's style is a little odd, occasionally funny, somewhat dreamlike, and compassionate to outsiders like Frankie. I hope they don't make a movie based on this book because it will probably be presented like a typical teenager coming of age story, when it is much more than that.

ARC received from Net Galley in exchange for objective review.

This novel captures the angst of being "different" and how two misfits discovered a way to express their hidden talents and find their personal passions. While the main characters are teens, this is not a trite "coming of age" tale. It's a wild ride that kept me turning the pages to learn how the unintended consequences of one high school summer prank sparked an international mystery and seriously affected the lives of many people living in a sleepy little town. Unlike many authors who try unsuccessfully to write in the style and language of teens, Wilson perfectly captures their unfettered enthusiasms, awkward silences and discomfort in their own skin.​ ​This story is light but many-layered, about teens but everyone can relate, funny yet psychologically penetrating. A very captivating read.

I don't even know where to begin with this book. It is hands down one of my top reads for the year. Wilson has a way with characters and storylines that can only come from the heart. His ability to get inside the head and heart of female characters is not something that a lot of male authors can.

"The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers, we are fugitives and the law is skinny with hunger for us." Thus begins a book about two characters who create a piece of art that changes the trajectory of both of their lives.

Frankie is a character to whom many of can relate. She doesn't really have any friends and lives a solo existence outside of her house. At home, Frankie is overshadowed by her triplet brothers who keep their household in a swirl of chaos on a daily basis. But, underneath their loudness, nonstop activity, and teasing lies a bed of love and compassion toward her. When she meets Zeke during the crazy watermelon game in the city pool, a world she never imagined is opened to her. She finds a fellow artist, a true friend, and a summer that will change her life forever.

There could not have been a better ending to this book than the way in which Wilson wrapped up his character's stories. It was not with a neat and tidy bow as many authors choose. Instead, he gave the reader the ending they didn't know they needed until the book was over.

#NowIsNottheTimetoPanic #NetGalley

Short synopsis: Two bored teenagers come up with a phrase and poster to pin all over town. And not only does the town go nuts, but the phrase becomes a hot topic across the country.

My thoughts: “The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers, “We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us.”

It was the story of a lonely girl and a boy going through big life changes. Their decision to combine their talents (drawing and writing) to create something together didn’t come out quite like they expected.

I had no idea what to expect going in to this one. I’ve only read Nothing To See Here and knew Kevin wrote quirky unique stories unlike anything else out there.

There was just something missing for me. I don’t know if I just didn’t connect well with the characters, if I was confused by the obsession, or if I’m not philosophical enough for the phrase to mean anything to me.

I did like how the ending tied up. I liked to watch as Frankie came to terms with her past for the sake of the reporter, and was honest with those she loved including herself.

Read if you love:
* Coming of age
* Unique stories
* Unlikely Friends
* Coming to terms with teenage decisions
* Flashbacks

Kevin Wilson’s “Nothing to See Here” was one of my favorite reads of the first half of the year. So I was truly excited to receive this ARC thanks to NetGalley!

While the tone is quite different from his other novel, I appreciated what it had to say about art, the teenage mind, and the backdrop of the Satanic Panic. The teenage lead characters were almost “John Green-esque” in their desire for artistic expression and individuality, and I enjoyed how the story came back to find them in their adult lives. It was an unexpected story, although at times I wanted the plot to drive beyond the “misunderstood youth”.

I absolutely loved the quirky concept of this author’s book - Nothing To See Here. So I was anxious to see what kind of story we would get in his newest novel.

Frankie and Zeke are teenagers trying to survive the boredom of living in a small town. Frankie is an aspiring writer and Zeke wants to be an artist. Together they create a poster. First Frankie comes up with an odd saying and then Zeke draws pictures to go with it. They makes hundreds of copies and then go about plastering them all over town. Eventually this sets off a chain of events no one could have predicted.

This was a quick, engaging read. One moment I was sitting down to start it and before I knew it I was 3/4 of the way through. I thought the storyline was unique. Best of all I really liked both Frankie and Zeke. Another satisfying read from a very talented author.

ARC from Netgalley.

*4+ stars

A story of unintended consequences. A 16-year-old teen named Zeke moves to his grandmother's house in Coalfield, TN with his mother for the summer after it's learned his father has been unfaithful in the marriage. He meets a local girl named Frankie, another loner, and they connect over their loneliness and similar family situations.

What to do with their summer?? Zeke is an artist and Frankie, a writer, so they come up with a project that combines the two to make a poster. Using a Xerox machine her brothers stole, they make hundreds of copies of this poster and hang them everywhere. Soon the residents of the small town are trying to figure out what they mean, and that's pretty cool, but then a lie or two sets off a series of unfortunate incidents and a feeling of responsibility and guilt sets in.

There's something about this rather oddball story that really resonants with the reader. I really cared for them and what was happening in their lives. How can something so fun and exciting get so out of hand?

I received an arc of this novel from the author and publisher via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and opinions expressed are my own.

3/5 stars.

Frankie and Zeke are two highly unique main characters. They're as awkward as teenagers tend to feel, but sometimes it was tough to read their story without cringing a bit at how awkward it was. On that note, at least they're original!

Zeke clearly has a bit of a darker past that is alluded to, but never fully fleshed out. Frankie's home life makes her notably different from others, but I miss out on her teenage relationships with her family. It's also not clear to me how Frankie's obsession with the poster continues into adulthood in such a consuming manner, or how quickly she agrees to talk to the reporter.

The entire premise was interesting, but just a bit too far fetched for me to get behind. Kids do weird things for fun...and for attention... a whole town missing these kids hanging THOUSANDS of posters, though? Not quite believable. It's a quick read, full of lots of interesting discussion points-- just not my favorite.

I'll tell my students about: violence, death, prejudice, mental health issues, trauma, LBGTQIAP+

**Thank you to NetGalley and for the free ARC prior to publication. All opinions expressed are my own.**

I became an instant fan of Kevin Wilson after reading his delightfully quirky Nothing to See Here about kids spontaneously combusting that was somehow genuinely endearing.

I was thrilled to have an opportunity to read an early copy of his latest novel, Now Is Not the Time to Panic. Y’all. It’s a vibe. (Isn’t that what the kids say these days?)

Sixteen-year-old Frankie Budge is an aspiring writer and a loner living in Coalfield, Tennessee with her mom and triplet brothers. Her mom is struggling as a newly single mom, the triplets are often out raising hell, and Frankie is really just trying to survive another summer.
Zeke is a talented artist living at his grandmother’s while his parents decide whether they’re going to divorce.
Together, Frankie and Zeke create a poster with an enigmatic image and phrase and spend their summer littering the small town with copies they make on a stolen copier.
Soon, the poster is bigger than them. Other people are copying and distributing it, rumors are flying about the who/why, it’s a mystery that gains national attention!

Twenty years later, Frankie is a successful author and a wife and mother. She receives a phone call from a journalist writing a story about what became known as the Coalfield Panic of 1996 and it threatens to destroy the life she has made for herself since that summer.

Now Is Not the Time to Panic is a quirky coming-of-age story that really embodies “the vibe” that I think most readers can relate to: that one summer when you became self-aware, the summer that defined who you were becoming. This story covers it all: young love, identity, the things that we let define us when we’re young. It’s weird and unique while managing to somehow be totally relatable and that is the charm of Kevin Wilson!

Thanks to Ecco and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Now Is Not the Time to Panic is scheduled for release on November 8, 2022.

This is a quirky book. It’s a coming-of-age story of two misfit teenagers. They start spending their summer by creating a poster to leave around their town. Their ultimate goal is to have people ask “what does this mean?” But then it turns into this world-wide phenomenon which ultimately leads to a couple deaths.

It’s a quick story. It’s quirky. And it’s unique. It’s filled with teenage angst and mystery.

Ultimately it wasn’t a story for me, but I’m glad I tried this author and read such a unique book.

I genuinely enjoyed this novel about two odd teens during a summer in small-town Tennessee during the nineties. Frankie is sixteen and has found herself without friends - she’d had friends but they seemed to just move on into adolescence in ways she had not - but she finds a friend in Zeke, an artistic boy who’s moved to town for the summer and who is just as lonely and awkward as Frankie.The two create a poster featuring an enigmatic phrase written by Frankie and artwork by Zeke on a lark and decide to post it around town. Soon, the posters have taken on a life of their own, well beyond Frankie and Zeke’s control. I loved this exploration of adolescence and art and the reverberations it can have even well into adulthood.

I loved Kevin Wilson's "Nothing to See Here"--it was laugh-out-loud funny but also had great heart and sensitivity. "Now is Not the Time to Panic" was a bit less enjoyable for me, mostly because it was deeply stressful and without the overriding humor of "Nothing to See Here." Having said that, I really liked the first section, when main characters Frankie and Zeke are teenagers--Wilson does a great job of capturing what it feel like to be that age, and Frankie and Zeke are fully realized and believable characters. The older Frankie of the second half of the book, however, was a little frustrating and much more difficult to understand, which detracted a bit from this section of the narrative. Overall, however, I liked the central premise of the book and Wilson's exploration of how groupthink can overwhelm a community.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Ecco for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. 3.5 stars rounded to 4.

🌟NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO PANIC🌟 by Kevin Wilson ~to be published November 8, 2022

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 What an original, touching story. Wilson is my current go-to author for the offbeat!

Sincere thanks to @eccobooks and @netgalley for the gifted advance review copy. All thoughts are my own.

Loners, unite! We meet Frankie and Zeke, two awkward teens who don’t quite fit in with the mainstream, but find a connection with each other, bonding one summer over family turmoil and a love for art. When they create a catchy, mysterious poster and put it up all over town in an anonymous Banksy-style stunt, the repercussions will change their lives forever…

No exaggeration, I squealed when I received this ARC. Yes, I am a living cliché. I love books that are a little weird, and Kevin Wilson is one of my favorite offbeat authors, able to write coming of age stories with both humor and tenderness. He does it again here, although this one doesn’t have *quite* as much magic as Nothing To See Here (granted that is a VERY high bar). While ostensibly this novel is about art going viral in the pre-internet era, what it is really about is obsession and the way it can take hold, especially when a person is going through a tough time. I really felt for Frankie, in particular, and how she had trouble letting go of the thing that finally sparked a light inside of her after a long period of darkness. I also learned a lot from the way Wilson wrote Frankie’s mom and how she gave her children space to work through their personal issues.

Anyone who loved Nothing to See Here will find a lot to love here too! Out November 8th.

Sort of enjoyed. I enjoyed the two main characters, but felt that the story went on for too long without enough action. I understood what Frankie and Zeke were doing, and didn't need so many incidents described. I could have used a faster pace, more editing.

I love Kevin Wilson and I featured this book in my post about my most anticipated fall reads . Sometimes anticipated reads fall flat, but this one did not disappoint. I felt transported to being a teen and those feelings of everything mattering so much. It felt so reminiscent of side projects I would do with my friends in college when we felt like we could do anything (where did that optimism go?). I know I’m not giving you much of the plot, but it’s Kevin Wilson at his finest and weirdest- there’s a beautiful friendship dynamic and hilarious moments that will make you laugh out loud. If you loved Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, I think you should try this one next!

Kevin Wilson has done it again. This is an interesting tale of Zeke and Frankie who meet while both of them are having a lonely summer. They make art together that summer, but the impacts are tremendous and follow them into their adult lives.

Wilson is a master of strange and delicate detail-like the moment Zeke and Frankie met during a game of “capture the watermelon” at the local community pool. His details are always fun, whacky, and unique.

Would definitely recommend. Thanks to HarperCollins and Netgalley for the ARC and chance to review.

Kevin Wilson's Now Is Not The Time to Panic offers a compelling story and a narrator (Frankie) who does a wonderful job of combing through one summer in her childhood with the eyes of an adult who has not yet made peace with the decisions of her younger self. The gist of the story is that, during a mid-90s summer, a teenager meets a newcomer to town. Bored with nothing to do, the two use a stolen copier to recreate a piece that they post all over town. The art starts a buzz, and then, as the title suggests, a panic ensues. Years later, our narrator, now an adult, tries to make sense of her actions and that summer. This was a fast-paced, thought-provoking read that challenges the reader to negotiate their own actions as teenagers as they read about Frankie's summer.

I was so excited to read this book after loving Nothing To See Here. I felt like Now Is Not the Time To Panic had a similar feel and I enjoyed it just as much. It is a coming of age story but about weird kids! Right up my alley.

It follows Frankie and Zeke over the summer that they are 16. Both are lonely and find kinship with each other. One an aspiring artist, the other an aspiring writer, they create a poster and start putting it up all over town to fill their time. It becomes something of a phenomenon and has a big impact on those lives in the future.

I loved the character development in this book and I loved the writing. Kevin Wilson has such an unique style that really draws you in. If you like coming of age books and were a weird kid- you’ll probably love this book like I did.

I really like the characters in Kevin Wilson’s books. He makes them truly come to life. In this story, Frankie and Zeke form a friendship based on a single line Frankie wrote and their actions surrounding this line. I enjoyed following them through this pivotal summer and the secret they kept, as well as the present day storyline of a reporter planning to reveal the secret.

I love this authors writing style and was excited to read this after loving Wilson’s other novel, Nothing to See Here. While this was similarly quirky with realistic and often awkward characters, it wasn’t my favorite read. I still enjoyed elements of it, though.

I appreciated the authors look at art and how once it’s out in the world, who does it actually belong to?

In this story, things get out of control when two misfit teens form a friendship and create artwork that they spread around their small town the only way 90’s kids can- by making flyers and pasting it all over.

Art quickly turns to obsession and sets some dark things into motion as people become frenzied over this strange lyric and drawing that the photo displays.

I just couldn’t quite connect to the teens in this story. I loved Frankie’s mom, though.