WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
This month I have been not been reading as much because I have been busy with school - but finally- I have sat down with a book and it is- Panic by Lauren Oliver.
I know probably a lot of you guys have read this book, and most of the reviews I read on Goodreads said that this book was okay, acceptable, but not amazing.
I for one thought this book was absolutely brilliant.
It seems to be a constant occurrence now- books that I find boring are well-liked and vice versa. Gives me another reason not to judge a book based solely on reviews.
Anyway, getting to the part where I talk about this book. Panic is going to make me stay up all night typing this review and I don't care. I just have to talk about this book.
For me, this book was slow in the beginning. My first impression of Heather was: "another story of a girl who wants to show her ex-boyfriend that she's not useless? Boring."
But no, Matt wasn't even a significant character in the book. He was just someone Lauren Oliver had to create for Heather to enter the game, someone to bother Heather from time to time. It was Heather herself that found a real meaning to enter the game that pushed herself to win.
To be honest, in the beginning I didn't think Heather would be the one to win Panic. I thought she was this girl who was broken-hearted and only wanted some distraction, which originally, she was. I felt for this character though, I kind of connected to her. Heather had this friend, best friend, Natalie, who I also thought was a bitch at the start of the book. Obviously, she didn't care much about Heather's feelings and I thought Heather was so stupid for trusting her.
Let's talk about the judges. Bishop and Vivian.
Did you consider them as a possibility at the beginning? I certainly didn't. Heather had mentioned Vivian showing up at the challenges, but I didn't even stop and think about why she was there. I mean, maybe it was true that Panic was a big event and even she'd want to be there. I started suspecting her when she was at Bishop's house, when Heather went to get her phone. I was like, wait. Yes. Bishop and Vivian. YES.
I started getting suspicious of Bishop at the challenge where the remaining contestants had to cross the road blindfolded.
This month I have been not been reading as much because I have been busy with school - but finally- I have sat down with a book and it is- Panic by Lauren Oliver.
I know probably a lot of you guys have read this book, and most of the reviews I read on Goodreads said that this book was okay, acceptable, but not amazing.
I for one thought this book was absolutely brilliant.
It seems to be a constant occurrence now- books that I find boring are well-liked and vice versa. Gives me another reason not to judge a book based solely on reviews.
Anyway, getting to the part where I talk about this book. Panic is going to make me stay up all night typing this review and I don't care. I just have to talk about this book.
For me, this book was slow in the beginning. My first impression of Heather was: "another story of a girl who wants to show her ex-boyfriend that she's not useless? Boring."
But no, Matt wasn't even a significant character in the book. He was just someone Lauren Oliver had to create for Heather to enter the game, someone to bother Heather from time to time. It was Heather herself that found a real meaning to enter the game that pushed herself to win.
To be honest, in the beginning I didn't think Heather would be the one to win Panic. I thought she was this girl who was broken-hearted and only wanted some distraction, which originally, she was. I felt for this character though, I kind of connected to her. Heather had this friend, best friend, Natalie, who I also thought was a bitch at the start of the book. Obviously, she didn't care much about Heather's feelings and I thought Heather was so stupid for trusting her.
Let's talk about the judges. Bishop and Vivian.
Did you consider them as a possibility at the beginning? I certainly didn't. Heather had mentioned Vivian showing up at the challenges, but I didn't even stop and think about why she was there. I mean, maybe it was true that Panic was a big event and even she'd want to be there. I started suspecting her when she was at Bishop's house, when Heather went to get her phone. I was like, wait. Yes. Bishop and Vivian. YES.
I started getting suspicious of Bishop at the challenge where the remaining contestants had to cross the road blindfolded.
"There's no one watching us," Dodge said. "No one but the judges, anyway."
His eyes met Bishop's across the lot. And again, just for a minute, he wondered.
His eyes met Bishop's across the lot. And again, just for a minute, he wondered.
After reading these two lines, I had my own predictions of who would be the judges. I never gave the judges much thought until then. My first guess was Bishop, but I couldn't remember any other characters that would be relevant enough to be one of the judges.
But when Heather found Vivian at Bishop's house, everything clicked into place. It was right there, smack in the face. Vivian showing up at the challenges but since she kept a low-profile, no one would suspect it was her.
Being sneaky eh, Lauren Oliver?
I want to talk about Anne. Anne was like a kind-hearted angel and I liked her to the very end of the book. I even liked her house and her "farm", the way Heather spoke about it almost made me want to live there with her. Almost.
I mean, what about the WiFi?
But when Heather found Vivian at Bishop's house, everything clicked into place. It was right there, smack in the face. Vivian showing up at the challenges but since she kept a low-profile, no one would suspect it was her.
Being sneaky eh, Lauren Oliver?
I want to talk about Anne. Anne was like a kind-hearted angel and I liked her to the very end of the book. I even liked her house and her "farm", the way Heather spoke about it almost made me want to live there with her. Almost.
I mean, what about the WiFi?
Everyone in this book was broken in their own way -what made them enter Panic, how they dealt with their problems.
At one point in the story I felt so sorry for Dodge. Dodge did a lot of things for his sister and cared for his sister so much. He was entering Panic because of her, and that's a very good quality in a brother. When his heart was broken by Natalie I wanted to take her head and bang it against the wall.
Heather also had her own problems. She's strong though, and I admire her. She doesn't break down when she leaves her house, and holds herself together for the sake of her sister. That's definitely something that I have to learn myself.
At the final challenge, Joust, I was so scared for Heather and Dodge. Since it was the last challenge, something big has to happen, right?
It was all good when Nat kidnapped Dodge. As much as I hated Ray, I didn't want him to die. Heck, I didn't want anyone dying.
But when Natalie said Heather could use Dodge's car for the race, I was horrified.
My first thought was: HEATHER CAN'T DIE. NONONONONONONONONONO
SHE WAS JUST STARTING TO GET AWESOME AND NOW SHE'S GONNA DIE????
Thankfully, she didn't. BECAUSE IF SHE DIES SOMEONE GETS HURT
(Presumably the sofa, because I was sitting on it. No one was near me when I was reading this part so the sofa'll have to do.)
Panic was a great book. It gave me a lot of suspense and the characters were interesting - definitely not what I expected. I finished it in a few sittings since it was thrilling and a nice read. I'd definitely recommend this book to you guys.
I got my hands on a signed copy of Panic at my local bookstore! SO exciting as I have never gotten signed books before. Yes, you heard that right. This is my first signed book!
Getting books that are signed is very hard for me as I live very, very far away, authors don't come to where I live, and I'm not big enough to travel by myself. Books are expensive if I order them online because of the exchange rates.
My local bookstore -we don't have a Barnes & Noble here- don't even sell signed copied of books so I don't know what this signed copy of Panic is doing at my bookstore but I'm not complaining. There was just one signed copy, and I found it while I was going through copies of Panic on the bookshelf. If I'd just taken the first one I saw I wouldn't have found this baby.
At one point in the story I felt so sorry for Dodge. Dodge did a lot of things for his sister and cared for his sister so much. He was entering Panic because of her, and that's a very good quality in a brother. When his heart was broken by Natalie I wanted to take her head and bang it against the wall.
Heather also had her own problems. She's strong though, and I admire her. She doesn't break down when she leaves her house, and holds herself together for the sake of her sister. That's definitely something that I have to learn myself.
At the final challenge, Joust, I was so scared for Heather and Dodge. Since it was the last challenge, something big has to happen, right?
It was all good when Nat kidnapped Dodge. As much as I hated Ray, I didn't want him to die. Heck, I didn't want anyone dying.
But when Natalie said Heather could use Dodge's car for the race, I was horrified.
My first thought was: HEATHER CAN'T DIE. NONONONONONONONONONO
SHE WAS JUST STARTING TO GET AWESOME AND NOW SHE'S GONNA DIE????
Thankfully, she didn't. BECAUSE IF SHE DIES SOMEONE GETS HURT
(Presumably the sofa, because I was sitting on it. No one was near me when I was reading this part so the sofa'll have to do.)
Panic was a great book. It gave me a lot of suspense and the characters were interesting - definitely not what I expected. I finished it in a few sittings since it was thrilling and a nice read. I'd definitely recommend this book to you guys.
I got my hands on a signed copy of Panic at my local bookstore! SO exciting as I have never gotten signed books before. Yes, you heard that right. This is my first signed book!
Getting books that are signed is very hard for me as I live very, very far away, authors don't come to where I live, and I'm not big enough to travel by myself. Books are expensive if I order them online because of the exchange rates.
My local bookstore -we don't have a Barnes & Noble here- don't even sell signed copied of books so I don't know what this signed copy of Panic is doing at my bookstore but I'm not complaining. There was just one signed copy, and I found it while I was going through copies of Panic on the bookshelf. If I'd just taken the first one I saw I wouldn't have found this baby.
A signed copy of Panic for you to feast your eyes on
Look at it. So. Beautiful.
Ignore my hand.
I still kind of want to know whether Nat really did become Dodge's girlfriend, and did she change for the better. I'm guessing so. I'm not asking for a second book, but sometimes books just end so suddenly that I never really get satisfied. I'm happy that the book ended, but at the same time, I want to know what their lives are like afterward.
I'm going to change my rating system for books. I'm not using stars anymore because they don't accurately represent my feelings for a book, so I'm going to do it Christine's (from polandbananasBOOKS) way.
My rating for this book: 93%
Thank you for reading my book talk, I hope you have a nice day, and happy reading!
Be my friend on Goodreads!
I still kind of want to know whether Nat really did become Dodge's girlfriend, and did she change for the better. I'm guessing so. I'm not asking for a second book, but sometimes books just end so suddenly that I never really get satisfied. I'm happy that the book ended, but at the same time, I want to know what their lives are like afterward.
I'm going to change my rating system for books. I'm not using stars anymore because they don't accurately represent my feelings for a book, so I'm going to do it Christine's (from polandbananasBOOKS) way.
My rating for this book: 93%
Thank you for reading my book talk, I hope you have a nice day, and happy reading!
Be my friend on Goodreads!