Panic

=PANIC= =by Lauren Oliver=

I thought that Panic was a very interesting book. It was definitely one of my favorite books i have read. In a way, this book reminded me of the Hunger Games because the center conflict is kids fighting against each other. But throughout the book i realized how different they are. The book had many different themes. Obviously, I large part of the book was drugs and alchol in a teenagers life. It showed me how many people are peer pressured to do things even if they don't want to. I think this was a good way to bring up a very important issue. Another theme is how under pressure a person can find who they really are. For Heather, she uncovered a part of her she had never seen. She found a fearless and daring person when she decided to join Panic. During the challenges there were detailed descriptions of what they person was thinking while they were in the challenge. These moments were some of my favorite parts of the whole book. Obviously, they were the most exciting because you know what the character was thinking while under so much pressure. Towards the beginning of the book, the kids imagined if they got the money, what they would do with it.

“What will you do if you win?”

Heather shook her head. She wanted to say: Run until I burst. Build miles and miles and miles between me and Carp. Leave the old Heather behind, burn her to dust. Instead, she shrugged. “Go somewhere, I guess. Sixty-seven grand buys a lot of gas.”I think this is an interesting quote because it really shows how trapped Heather feels inside carp. She would do anything just to leave.

-Amelia Gaines

Panic is a very interesting and crazy book. It touches down on many realities that most people try to ignore. Some of these realities are teenage drinking, poverty, and bad parents. It also shows us what desperation can turn us into. In someways this book may seam out of this world but in other ways it seams very real. I think this book not only entertains us, but it also teaches us many valuable lessons. These lessons will stick with us through out our entire lives and help us get through tough times. Some questions I have about panic are... Why did he make drugs an alcohol appear in the book as often as it did when it didn't affect the overall plot by that much?

Why did he make tigers part of the book because that doesn't seem very realistic?

What made the author think of the ideas behind this book?

How did he come up with these specific challenges?

the most important line of the book is, "“I did.” Bishop’s voice got louder. He was sweating. “I told her to do it. I told all of them to do it. I started the fire at the Graybill place. I’m the one . . .” His voice broke. He turned to Heather. His eyes were pleading, desperate. “I’m a judge. That’s what I wanted to tell you. That’s what I wanted to explain. What you saw the other day, with Vivian . . .”"

This is the most important line of the story because it is when everything is layer out. Everyone has told their secrets. Even though Bishop hates panic he is judging for heather. He's trying to save heather and her sister from their mom and her friends. This quote unleashes all of the tension, it makes it so that they all understand each other.

The most important characters in this book are Nat, Dodge, Heather, and Bishop. Each of these people are main characters, and each of these characters are essential to the books plot. Nat is one of the final players in panic and is someone who's supports heather. Also she faked loving dodge so that she could win, this played in important part in dodges story. As I said, Dodge was abandoned by Nat and he was also a final player. He had many reasons to ply the panic game but the most important was revenge. In this story dodges heart was broken and he became very violent. Heather, obviously because she is the protagonist. Throughout the story her heart is broken, she loses a home, she loses friends, she loses her mother, she gains a better home and she wins panic. Heather is by far the most important character. Bishop is heathers over although he must hide it to save her. He is the judge and has been protecting heather throughout the game. He was judge so that he could give the money to heather.

-Max Karnik

Panic was a great book that had so many things that others could relate too such as parent troubles, drinking ect. Panic is very entertaining!!! The characters in this book are very interesting, and each one of them has their own description that makes the book so much better. Panic's story line/plot is one of the best I have read with crazy and fun things that keep you reading. I do have some questions about it, though.

Why did the author make the Graybill house "haunted."

Why did the author choose for Bishop to go to collage and why do you think, that before hand, the author made him break up with Avory?

Lastly, why do you think that the author chose to have Derek disqualified and Natalie back on?

The most important line of the book is, “Come here,” Heather said. She drew Nat into a hug and Nat continued crying, drunk, against her chest. She gripped Heather tightly as if she worried she might fall. “Shhh,” Heather murmured, again and again. “Shhh. It’s your birthday.” But she didn’t say it would be okay. How could she? She knew that Nat was right. None of them was safe. No more. Never again."

This is the most important line of the book because it shows how Heather is finally getting that none of them will ever be safe. Digger dies after this chapter so it REALLY shows how none of them are safe in this "game" that they are playing. Heather is realizing that this is not a fun game that they are playing. It is very dangerous and scary. Also, this is right before Nat gets put back on. You can see how broken down she is when she is not playing and how Heather is comforting her but won't tell her that's ok because she knows its not. That is why it is the most important line of the book. -Kate Hunley

__Panic__ is a book about desire. Be it desire for people, money, or pride, all of the main characters desire something. For example, Dodge wanted judgement on the Hanrahan family for the disablement of his sister. He believed that if the brother (Ray Hanrahan) of the person (Luke Hanrahan) who disabled his sister was killed, the Hanrahan family would have paid for his sister’s disablement. Dodge is consumed with his desire for punishment, which connects to what I believe is the theme of the book: "Desire does not always lead to happiness". In the final challenge of the game Panic, two cars must race to a finish line in order to win a large amount money. Dodge wants 'justice' so much that he rigs his own car to explode, intending to give Ray his car after a single round of racing. Unbeknownst to Dodge, his friends recognize his desire to hurt the Hanrahan family. They bar him from entering the race, but they don’t know about the explosive. Dodge’s friend Heather participates in the race in his car, which explodes. Dodge's desire for revenge led to the injury of one his friends.

I enjoyed __Panic__ for a variety of reasons. Firstly, I thought the characters were interesting, and allowed the reader to experience empathy. Heather, one of the main characters, was especially good at provoking empathy. I felt like I was part of her during the crash at the final challenge of Panic. The author’s imagery conveyed the sense of being in the burning car with her. I also appreciated how Lauren Oliver slowly revealed more about the game of Panic and what it did to people. For example, she allowed Heather to really recognize what Panic meant and how much it could hurt people when 'the old Graybill house' burned down, killing Little Bill Kelly.

Reflecting on the book, I noticed some small holes in the plot of the story. I was not sure how Bishop could hide all of his equipment for judging from his friends. It seemed like he was very close to them, and they would have noticed at least once what was in his garage. I also am not sure how the police did not find out about the game of Panic earlier. There was obviously a lot of people attending, and it was illegal, so I think at least one person would have snitched earlier, even though the motto of the game could have been, "Snitches get stitches." Despite these plot holes, my recollection of the book remains unblemished.

Lucas B.

Panic was a good book, although it brings up many questions like how did the police not know about the game before? How did Bishop hide the fact that he was a judge from his friends, and more. I think that Lauren Oliver purposely made a big deal about Heather feeling trapped in Carp, this is proven by the quote "Heather shook her head. She wanted to say: Run until I burst. Build miles and miles and miles between me and Carp. Leave the old Heather behind, burn her to dust. Instead, she shrugged. “Go somewhere, I guess. Sixty-seven grand buys a lot of gas.”I think this is an interesting quote because it really shows how trapped Heather feels inside carp. She would do anything just to leave." but did not make any of the challenges about claustrophobia or being trapped in a small room. I think that it also was the most important line. I think so because It shows how Heather feels about Carp, this is before the incident with her mother, and why she is playing Panic.

I think that Heather and Bishop are the most important characters and that Nat and Dodge are more like foil characters. While Heather and Bishop are needed to make the story relate to us as the reader Nat and Dodge help make the story more about teenage life and peer drama. It is obvious because of the scene where Nat breaks up with Dodge and then runs to Heather, but Heather's break up is only mentioned as it happened before the events in the book did.

I think the author uses fire a lot to display fear and that something bad will happen. Like in the Graybill house it lights on fire and little Kelly died in it. Or when it was mentioned about cars and Dodge's sister lost her legs and Heather almost died. I think it was a symbol for fear and also anger because of how fear and anger can spread like fire which leads to panic. Also not to mention how fire manly causes panic. I think a thematic issue in this book is extremism. Like when Dodge thinks the only justice for his sister is to kill Ray because Luke caused the wreck. This book was a great read and I think it should be used as a lit book instead so kids have a chance to look into Panic more. ISAAC WALLACK

I thought panic was a very good book and I enjoyed reading it. I think the most important line is,

“I did.” Bishop’s voice got louder. He was sweating. “I told her to do it. I told all of them to do it. I started the fire at the Graybill place. I’m the one. . .” His voice broke. He turned to Heather. His eyes were pleading, desperate. “I’m a judge. That’s what I wanted to tell you. That’s what I wanted to explain. What you saw the other day, with Vivian. . .". I think this was the most important line because it's when everything really starts to come together, and when things start to get resolved. I think that Heather, Bishop, Nat and Dodge are the most important characters, but Heather and Dodge are the most important characters. I think this because most of the plot revolves around their lives and they feel like they have the most troubles. Nat and Dodge were also important, but they were more important to the development of the other characters.

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I also agree with Lucas when he says how he could empathise with the characters and how you really felt a connection to them while reading the book. I think some symbols that the author uses are the title of the game because panic is a state of uncontrollable fear, which is what goes on during these games. I think the main theme is overcoming and learning to face your fears. i think this because each of the characters ultimately face the thing they are most afraid of. Also I think learning to trust friends is another theme, because when Heather was challenged to pull the trigger at her head, Bishop trusts Dogde to take the bullet out. The book is set in a small town, which makes many of the characters feel trapped. This also explains why they started the game, so they could have the ability to leave the town. ANNA CLAIRE SHUMAN