I absolutely loved "Nothing to See Here", and this book provided many of the same characteristics that I liked the first time. The teenage awkwardness of Zeke and Frankie was so well crafted, and I appreciated these realistic young folks. Their teen struggles to fit in within their community/family, be seen, have fun, and make a difference are all woven into this story with such power. While the phrase on their poster is silly, I think it reminds us of the insignificant things that we remember from our teen years over decades, and help us realize the way these events shaped our lives in significant ways. I was cheering for Zeke and Frankie throughout the book, laughing at their awkwardness and crying over their struggles. While I really thought it would be a 5 star read, the book ended just a bit too abruptly for my liking. Another 25-50 pages would have allowed for a much cleaner ending.

This is a perceptive and compelling coming-of-age story. In 1996, Frankie is planning for a quiet summer in her small town of Coalfield, Tennessee. Then she meets Zeke, a skilled artist from Memphis who is spending the summer at his grandmother's house in town. The two soon develop a strong connection, which is enhanced when they collaborate to create an unsigned poster featuring a strange and indelible phrase. They post the posters in various locations around town, and then the posters begin appearing in other locations. First the subject of fascination, the townspeople begin to panic based on rumors about who is really behind the posters. As the rumors grow, the consequences for the people of the town, and beyond, grow increasingly serious. Twenty years later, Frankie receives a call from a journalist who shares that she is working on a story about the Coalfield Panic of 1996, and that she believes Frankie played a central role in it -- surprising Frankie and forcing her to revisit the events of the long ago summer.

This is a well-written and intriguing novel. Frankie, in particular, is a strong and complex character, and the author explores interesting themes around family, art, and secrets through a well-paced story revealing what really happened that summer and beyond.

Highly recommended!

What a great book! The plot was so quirky and unique, dealing with two teenage friends. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this wonderful book.

Kevin Wilson has done it again. Just like his previous novel, Nothing to See Here, his most recent book “Now Is Not The Time to Panic” is funny and quick witted while also covering some more serious topics and overall feel very heartwhelming. It’s summer and sixteen year old Frankie, an aspiring writer, is spending her days alone as usual until the day she meets Zeke at the local pool in her town of Coalfield Tennessee. Zeke, a talented artist, is staying at his grandmothers for the summer and feels just as alone as Frankie. The two strike up a friendship and work together to create a strange poster using their combined art and words that they make hundreds of copies of and place all over town. Though officials warn “Now is not the time to panic,” panic does indeed ensue in Coalfield, and things quickly get out of hand. Twenty years later, in present day, a reporter has uncovered Frankie as the mastermind behind the the poster and she has to decide if she’s ready to let her secret, that she has obsessed over for the past twenty years, out into the world.

📚🎁 𝓐𝓡𝓒 𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀 🎁📚
2.5/5 🌟

I was so excited to score an advanced copy of the latest from Kevin Wilson, as I loved 𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑻𝒐 𝑺𝒆𝒆 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒆. It’s made clear by Wilson’s heartfelt opening letter that his new work is an intensely personal story, a fictionalized memoir about a pivotal time in his life.

Frankie (a girl) and Zeke (a boy) are 16 year old outcasts who bond over their desire to create something important, so with a phrase that Frankie pens and a drawing from Zeke, they make posters and set out to leave their mark on the small town of Coalfield by hanging them all around, anonymously. Little did they know, these posters with Frankie’s non-sensical words - “The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers, we are the new fugitives and the law is skinny with hunger for us.” - will create fascination that turns into panic leading to several deaths and nationwide interest. Frankie and Zeke keep their secret, that they are responsible for the artwork, and watch the events unfold. Frankie moves on to live a successful life, not knowing what happened to Zeke, burying the past until a reporter tracks her down.

While I related to being a curious and restless teen looking for fun and acceptance, I just didn’t connect with Frankie and Zeke. I loved the adult figures in the novel - Frankie’s mom’s character development was surprisingly strong, and the mysterious stranger who comes to Frankie’s aid was a sweet addition. But I found the phrase that Frankie made up - which was the centerpiece of the story - disturbing, and was ready to throw my iPad across the room after reading it over and over. Frankie even teaches the line to her young child, which seemed grossly inappropriate.

Beautiful character development, a cohesive story arc, and understated yet impactful describes this one, but all of this was eclipsed by the utter weirdness of the line at its@core. I appreciate Kevin Wilson’s uniqueness and talent as a writer but this was a miss for me. My thanks to @netgalley for the opportunity to read this! This one’s out 11/8.

#bibliophile #stephsalwaysreading #bookstagrammer #bookrecommendations#unpopularopinion

Come on its Kevin Wilson! The reviews write themselves bc its never less than 4 stars. always good writing, plotting structure and characters. I shouldn't have to say anything other than: put it on your TBR list and be happy such a writer like this exists for us..

As always, Kevin Wilson writes a strange but touching story. This one is the story of two awkward teenagers who spend a summer making a project because they are bored. It spins out of control and becomes a whole THING that ends up defining their lives but was kept secret for 20 years. When a journalist thinks she has found out the truth, will it ruin their lives? Or finally bring some closure? I wish there had been a little more about the “after”, but overall I enjoyed this bizarre little story.

I adored Nothing to See Here and still count it as one of my favorite audiobooks. Now Is Not the Time to Panic has the same strange vibe but it took a little longer for me to engage. Just like Frankie’s life, it’s a little boring in the beginning. But once it got going, I was hooked.
Frankie is sixteen, on summer break and without any friends when she meets Zeke. Zeke is the new kid in town. Both are awkward, talented misfits. They craft a poster and start plastering it all over town. Everyone starts trying to find meaning in or the source of the quote that Frankie has made up. And then things get out of hand.
Wilson wisely puts his Author’s Note at the beginning of the book, explaining the quote. And his explanation of the book is so good, I’ll just repeat it:
“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. It’s about the ways in which art is the door that lets us walk into a new life, one that never seemed possible.”
Wilson has a knack for creating characters that seem real, despite their oddities. I came to care for both of them so much and was overcome by the different ways their lives turned out. It’s a reminder how a specific event or time period can have such an oversized importance on our lives.
My thanks to Netgalley and Ecco for an advance copy of this book.

This is my third Kevin Wilson book and every time I finish one, I’m like… what the $&;?! Did I just read??
They are always strange, thought provoking, and unlike anything I have ever read before. I read this one in 48 hours and now all I can think of is the phrase in the book. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because it felt a little draggy in the middle.

Also Frankie eats pop tarts and Mountain Dew for breakfast which makes her my kind of person.

I love Kevin Wilson’s writing. If you have never read one of his books just know that ‘Quirky’ is the best way to describe them. I always find his books perfect to read when I’m either in a reading rut or don’t know what I want to read. When I picked up Now is Not the Time to Panic, I had just finished two gothic reads that didn’t do much for me. I needed something that would fully consume me and of course Wilson delivered once again.

Frankie Budge is an outsider in her small town of Coalfield, Tennessee. Frankie, along with her mom and triple older brothers are what remains of her family, after her dad left them all for another woman. She’s a loner in the most boring town in America, that is until Zeke moves to town for the summer. Zeke and his mom are staying with his grandma, after his violin prodigy mom discovers his Zeke is cheating on her. Zeke and Frankie, both artists in their own right, hit it off immediately and are committed to a summer of creating. Frankie will finish her book while Zeke practices his drawing. With the discovery of a xerox machine in Frankie’s garage, the two decide to make something to share out in the world. Zeke quickly draws a collage of things, which stir up in Frankie’s mind the the phrase: “The edge is shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us.”

With the poster done and copies made, the two set out into Coalfield to post it everywhere in town. As the town starts to take notice of these seemingly random posters, theories of where they came from emerge. While some believe the posters are satanic in nature, others in town find inspiration and being posting their own versions and other replicas around the town, until the phrase and the image can no longer be contained by the town. As theories escalate, the posters influence can be felt around the world and Coalfield becomes more than just a drive by town. Uncertainly begins to run the town as more out of towners flock to Coalfield to be apart of whatever cultural movement the posters signal. As the town fills up, a full out panic emergences, with the incident being known was the Coalfield Panic of 1996.

Two decades later, the creators and true meaning of the poster are still unidentified. That is until New Yorker reporter Mazzy Brower uncovers Frankie’s involvement. Is Frankie ready to take responsibility for starting the Panic and everything that came after?

First off, I love that Frankie’s older brothers are chaotic triplets. They don’t really have a big part of the story, but I could easily imagine them as the Weasley twins, if Fred and George worked at fast food joints and were the size of small tanks. The three of them are consumed more with their relationships with each other than Frankie, but there are constantly small nods to them looking out for Frankie, which I genuinely enjoyed. Older siblings doing small things to take care of their siblings always warm my heart.

Anyways, I love the awkwardness of both Frankie and Zeke. They are really coming into themselves in this story, and I enjoyed their relationship and the way their friendship ebbed and flowed over the summer. Wilson has perfectly captured what it’s like growing up in a small town, especially during the 90’s, on the verse of the internet boom. The depictions of our two main characters cruising around town with no significant place to be, really reminded me of my own summers as a teenager. Though I was a teen in the early 2000s Wilson’s writing gave me all the nostalgic vibes.

Art and how society receives artwork is main topic throughout this story. Wilson did a great job of weaving the importance of art into the story, without you even being aware. I enjoyed that he focused on how art can elicit such a wide range of emotions and how it’s up to the viewer to fully interpret and respond.

Just like most of Wilson’s work, this one is a little offbeat, a tiny bit weird, and a whole lot of quirky. This was a refreshing coming of age story that highlights way our teenage years shape us. It also does a great job of demonstrating how uncertainty and the unknown are the things society tends to react the most to. While I wish the second half of the story had been a bit longer, Wilson’s quirky books always leave me feeling lighter and I can’t recommend his work enough. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.


Now is Not the Time to Panic, comes out November 8, 2022! Huge thank you to Ecco for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof.books.

"Now Is Not the Time to Panic" was a rollercoaster ride of a read through the highs of enjoyment and the lows of disappointment! I'll address the things that didn't work below but there were lots of things I did enjoy! Right off the bat, this novel is a coming of age story and that is a favorite premise of mine, immediate easy points scored. I don't think that that's an easy time to write about and the author does a great job of depicting that particular struggle. There were several quotes that really jumped out at me as encapsulating that time in life,

"But I was sixteen. I lived inside of myself way more than I lived inside of this town."

"And I know in, in that moment, that my life is real, because there's a line from this moment all the way back to that summer when I was sixteen, when the whole world opened up and I walked through."


I love the premise and plot of the book, I think it's a really unique concept and I enjoyed following that story trail. Even though the book is set in the '90s, I feel like the idea of a small thing you did going "viral" is especially relevant now, because of TikTok.

Three star reviews are always the most difficult for me to write in a way that is helpful to other readers, which is the whole point for me of writing reviews *types in frustrated*. If I give a book three stars, something about the book just didn't work for me and that can be difficult to put a finger on. "Now is Not the Time to Panic" has a YA feel to it that I was not expecting, I enjoy reading YA depending on the author, but I don't enjoy adult fiction that reads like YA. Because of that slant, the main characters, Frankie and Zeke, felt very "manic pixie dream girl". In fact, if someone told me that those two were actually high for the entire book, the plot and the character's reactions would make so much more sense. For example, at one point the main character Frankie says,

" I think I would have killed someone if they tried to keep me from putting up the poster."

It gave me a feeling of the "romanticize your life" trend if it were a novel. There is casualness, but also excitement and intrigue wrapped up in her absolutely unhinged thought process. The plot and premise get five stars, but the characters get 1, so we land on 3? Giving star based reviews is tricky for a thousand reasons, but this is definitely a book where I particularly felt that struggle.

Now Is Not the Time to Panic is a unique little coming of age story about friendship, obsession, the repercussions of art, and the ways in which we evolve even as we cling to the past.

16-year-old Frankie's life is forever changed one summer when Zeke moves to her small town of Coalfield, Tennessee, and the two misfit teenagers bond over art. Together they create a strange poster that they decide to secretly post all over Coalfield, and the words on it become a kind of mantra for Frankie: "The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us." What follows is a series of lies and misunderstandings that ultimately leads to some dangerous consequences and the dissolution of Frankie and Zeke's friendship. Years later, Frankie is forced to confront the past when a reporter approaches her about the famous "Coalfield Panic" with evidence that she was involved.

I liked, but didn't love, this book. I enjoyed Wilson’s quirky and engaging writing style, and Frankie and Zeke are vividly written. Their friendship is the heart of this story, and Wilson really excels at portraying the awkwardness of the teenage years and that persistent longing to be seen and understood. But I had a hard time relating to Frankie's obsession with the poster and its phrasing. I found it difficult at times to really understand her motivations. I was also underwhelmed by the ending, which felt unfinished to me and left me wondering whether there was a point to the story.

I think Kevin Wilson is talented and unique, and he'll definitely have an audience for this book. It just didn’t quite hit the mark for me, but I’d be interested in checking out some of his other work.

"Everyone thinks the South is, like, Flannery O'Connor. They think it's haunted. And maybe it is, deep down, in the soil, but I never saw it that way. We had a McDonald's. I don't know how else to say it. There were no bookstores, okay, fine. The museums we had were of the Old Jail Museum or Military Vehicle Museum or Railroad Museum variety. We had a Wal-Mart. I wore normal clothes."

Frankie is a teenager in a small Tennessee town in the nineties. She has three older brothers, triplets, who run wild, and an exhausted, hard-working mother. Her father left and now has a new wife and a new daughter who he has given Frankie's name. And she doesn't have any friends. Then she meets Zeke, in Coalfield for the summer. He's her age and just as artistic and dissatisfied. They quickly become friends and together make art together, she writing and he drawing. They make art together, combining her words and his sketches, and a little blood for effect, into a piece they then photocopy and post around the town as something to do in a quiet town during the summer. They expect some consternation, maybe annoyance on the part of some, but when there art project explodes in ways they never intended or dreamed of, they both have to grapple with the consequences.

This is, at heart, a book longing for those teenage years, after one learned to drive and gained some independence, but before the end of high school heralded in adult responsibilities. Frankie is an engaging narrator, sarcastic and incisive, as she looks back on those years as the ones that formed her, the ones she still thinks about every day. Her relationship with Zeke is lovely; two lonely young artists finding each other and finding in each other a way to belong that they hadn't found before. And that friendship is viewed through a veil of nostalgia, a combination of adult assessment and rose-colored glasses, so that she hesitates to recount that time to anyone else. Wilson has a talent at finding the weird in ordinary places and this novel is both wild and utterly believable, or at least, Wilson makes us believe it.

Frankie Budge is not your typical teenager. She's the younger sister of triple teenage boys, being raised by a single mom who is doing her best to hold on while the sleeper town around them is quietly seething. Along comes Zeke and their worlds collide into art, hysteria and young love. Who knew?

Kevin Wilson has so much talent for writing incredibly raw, emotional characters. His depiction of teenager Frankie Budge is perfection. She's smart and quirky, but painfully awkward and socially stunted because her twin brothers are next-level 90s bros. The summer she's 16, Sally meets Zeke, and together they create a piece of artwork that throws their small town into a panic.

Much like his characters, Wilson's storytelling is offbeat and irreverent. Frankie is a writer both as a teen and in her career as an adult, but she wonders if the one line she wrote that summer with Zeke was the best thing she's ever done. I've felt that way before.- have you? I was no teen genius like Frankie - one look at my freshman year poetry chapbook will tell you that.

As an adult, Frankie has tried to bury her past, but that summer with Zeke is never far from surfacing. When what they did that summer finally comes out, Frankie has to confront who she's been and who she's become. I didn't think I was going to like this one at first, but as I continued to read, I kind of fell in love with this awkward girl and her awkward life. Go figure.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Now is Not the Time to Panic is out Nov. 8.

Something about Kevin Wilson’s books just feel special and this one is no different. I started it having no idea where is was going to go and enjoyed being along for the ride. The author captures the feeling of high school when something can be so important it is all consuming in a way I haven’t read. I really enjoyed this book and hope others do as well. Thank you to net galley and Ecco for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

You know that feeling when you start a book and you're like, I don't really know what this is about yet or where this is going, but I know I love it...that's the feeling I got when I started Now is Not the Time to Panic. And I'm happy to report that I enjoyed it the whole way through. I think most readers that loved Nothing to See Here (five stars for me) will find a lot to love here too, though the stories are different.

To quickly summarize the plot, this book is about two teenagers that make a piece of art that has lasting and expected consequences. Underneath, it is about the power and beauty of art in any form, growing up, young love, and how our past affects our present. Just like in Nothing to See Here, Wilson's writing draws you in from the first page and doesn't let you go. It is witty, relatable, and the story is truly unique. I've never read anything like it.

This might be a strange comp, but if you read and loved Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow like I did, I got similar vibes here in that it didn't seem like something I should care about, and yet I cared SO MUCH. The only reason this is 4.5 stars instead of 5 is because for my personal rating system, I need an ending to really wow me, and while there was nothing wrong with this ending, it didn't leave me in the same way my five star books do. I hope many readers consider reading this when it publishes on November 15th.

Kevin Wilson's Nothing to See Here is one of my favorite novels to hand to library patrons and give as a gift., so I had high hopes for Now Is Not the Time to Panic. I'm thrilled to say that he has delivered. It's a coming-of-age novel about two lonely 16-year-olds who have a compulsion to make art and anonymously share it with their small town one summer. These characters felt real and my heart ached for them. I am eager to get this novel into the hands of readers and discuss it with them! Thank you NetGalley for giving me access to an advance copy.

I was excited to read a new story by Kevin Wilson, having greatly enjoyed “Nothing to See Here”, who’s premise was whimsical and unexpected, but this story seemed to miss that mark. “Now is Not the Time to Panic”, is a story of two teenagers coming of age one summer, exploring boundaries, and discovering themselves. An odd pairing, Frankie (Francis) and Zeke (Ben) are both misfits and loners, drawn to each other given their mutual dysfunctional home situations where both of their fathers had deserted them. It’s the summer, and they are bored, looking to fill time. Frankie wants to be a writer and Zeke, an artist. Together they created a poster, drawn by Zeke and then Frankie writes a poetic phrase. Printing multiple copies on a pirated Xerox machine that Frankie’s brothers stole, they decide to share their “art” all over town. People are at first perplexed, then obsessed when this “art” takes on a life of its own which is out of their control. Some unfortunate events occur as a result, a couple people die, yet they continue to put out their poster until things implode and that summer ends. It is evident that both teens had issues, and certainly not a whole lot of positive parental guidance. Now, twenty years later, a reporter is digging into an expose of the origin of this poster and the phenomena of the Coalfield Panic of ‘96. Frankie, who has lived with this secret for twenty years, is in a panic as she is now happily married with a child, and has not talked with Zeke since. As the story unfolds, her invented life seems to unravel. I felt the ending was rushed and pretty bland. Overall, the concept wasn’t much and pretty shallow, making it hard to connect with the characters and care about their plight. With so much anticipation, I was disappointed.
Many thanks to #netgalley #kevinwilson #nowisnotthetimetopanic for the opportunity to read and review this book.

“I wondered if that was kind of the purpose of art, maybe, to make you see things that you knew but couldn’t say out loud.”

NOTHING TO SEE HERE is one of my favorite books of all time. I’m obsessed with it and recommending it to people and buying it as a gift for friends, etc. So when @eccobooks offered me an ARC of Wilson’s newest book I SQUEALED! And then I worried because my expectations were SO high that I was sure it couldn’t live up to them. Well…

It was fantastic. I absolutely loved it. I devoured it in one sitting and ugh my heart. In NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO PANIC we have Frankie and Zeke, two awkward teens in a small town who have nothing to do for the summer. Frankie wants to be a writer and Zeke an artist. Together they make a poster with a nonsensical phrase on it and some art that could be considered dark. They hang up copies of their poster all over town and suddenly it takes off in a way they never could’ve predicted. Twenty years later Frankie gets a call from a journalist who says she knows it was Frankie that started the Coalfield panic of 1996, would she like to comment?

This was one of the most original books I’ve ever read and I can’t recommend it enough. It’s got mental health struggles, art, small town life, secrets, and characters you can’t help but want to take care of. “The Coalfield Panic” reminds me so much of today’s world with online challenges or the killer clowns of 2016, where people might take something they don’t understand or just want to seem like they’re doing the newest “cool” thing and just run with it, regardless of the consequences.

Obviously this gets 5⭐️s from me! I loved the setting, the characters, the messaging, and especially the authors note. While I did like NOTHING TO SEE HERE more this is still an exceptional novel (and short too!) and Wilson’s way of telling a story just WORKS for me.