Panic

Panic by Lauren Oliver (2014), narrated by Sarah Drew

In the small town of Carp, high school seniors get themselves through the long, boring summer with a game called Panic. Players must compete in a number of challenges, some of which are dangerous and all of which are terrifying. The stakes are high, but the reward for winning is enough money to change your life.

This summer, we experience Panic through two players, Heather and Dodge. Heather never expected to join, but the promise of a huge pot of money was too much to resist. It would get her - and her little sister- out of the house they share with their irresponsible, train wreck of a mother and into a better life. Dodge is playing for revenge. His sister was permanently injured in Panic a previous summer, and this year Dodge is up against someone who he holds responsible and he is determined to win by any means necessary.

The premise of Panic is intriguing. I like the idea of it, the dares, the way they played off the kids' fears, and how nobody knew who the judges were or what the next challenge would be until the time came. It was pretty intense. During the entire book I thought there is no way in hell I would have done these things, as a teenager or now. Run blindfold across the highway with only the sound of the traffic to guide you? No thanks.

But the challenges were inconsistent. Some were just creepy and would make your skin crawl, but weren't dangerous. Others were potentially deadly. And not all kids did the exact same ones, so you'd think they would protest this unfair disparity but they didn't.

I found it really strange that Heather was totally ok with performing death-defying dares that, quite frankly, were stupid and risky, but was a super goody two-shoes about things like drinking and sex. In fact, early in the book she said she didn't understand the big deal about making out. This makes her sound like she is 12 rather than 18. This is a bit of a tangent, but I'm getting so tired of young adult books propagating the stereotype that only boys are interested in sex, and for girls it's just currency to give or withhold and they aren't actually interested for pleasure's sake. It's maddening.

I was also a little frustrated with certain aspects of the relationships between characters. Some of the tension is based on misunderstandings caused by jumping to conclusions or just not listening. For instance:

Character 1: I need to talk to you
Character 2: No
Character 1: How about now? It's really important
Character 2: No
Character 1 eventually forcibly tells the thing
Character 2: How could you not tell me that????? I hate you!!!

Seriously, Lauren Oliver, you can do better than that.

A few strange interactions didn't ring true to me. For instance, one of the characters gets a text from his mother that just tells him to get to the hospital immediately, so he totally freaks, tries to call her back, she doesn't answer, and he rushes to the hospital to find that it's actually good news and they TOTALLY COULD HAVE MET SOMEWHERE ELSE. And the mother didn't apologize for scaring the kid half to death. It felt so contrived.

The narrator was good enough in general, but I found some of her voices shrill and grating.

Panic wasn't bad, but Oliver's other books are a lot better. If you are really intrigued by the whole idea of the game of panic, it's a decent book but I'd pass on the audio and read the print if I were you.

Delirium

Delirium by Lauren Oliver (2011)

In Lena's world, love is a disease. Everyone is cured through a medical procedure at the age of 18, at which time they are also matched with their spouse. It is a very safe and predictable life inside the closed borders of the United States. But there is a bit of darkness lurking behind Lena's sunny exterior - her mother was uncured though she had the procedure 3 times and in the end her disease killed her. Lena is afraid that whatever was wrong with her mother may affect her, and she cannot wait until she can have her procedure. Then, predictably, she meets a boy named Alex to whom she is immediately drawn. As she gets to know him more, Lena begins to unravel the web of lies she has been taught for her whole life.

A world without love is kind of a fascinating concept. When I began reading I was thinking mainly of romantic love - I hadn't even thought of familial love and what it would mean for that to be lost. But in this world, parents don't have love for their children. Many of the adults find babies to be too much work or a little distasteful, and given the choice most people wouldn't reproduce. Therefore, after being matched with a spouse they are also told how many children to have. As someone who is not interested in reproducing, that was a particularly chilling thought. (Interestingly, I came across a scene mentioning someone's pet dog, and I questioned why in this society anyone would have pets, but that was not explained.) Friendships were also affected, and Lena knew that post-procedure she and her best friend Hana would be in different social circles and no longer be friends. This is one of the most sad parts of the book to me because they were so close and so important to each other.

Another aspect of this society is that until cured, there is segregation of the sexes. When Lena sneaks into an illegal party, the presence of boys makes her uneasy. She notes: "No wonder the regulators decided on the segregation of boys and girls: Otherwise, it would have been a nightmare, this feeling angry and self-conscious and confused and annoyed all the time." That pretty much sums it up, doesn't it? 

Post-cure life was bland, predictable, and devoid of joy. You'd think more people would resist the cure, but it is so ingrained in them that it's necessary, that everyone goes along with it and the few who resist are quickly reprimanded and frequently forced to undergo the procedure earlier than planned. And of course afterwards they don't really recall why it felt so important to resist and they claim they are happier and that the procedure is the right thing to do. Much has been invested in creating this worldview, from strict internet censorship to completely rewriting the Bible. It's pretty fascinating.

Just as with Before I Fall, Lauren Oliver has sucked me into her character's lives and drawn me into a story I just didn't want to put down. Honestly, I am a little burnt on dystopias, but even though it seemed familiar and some parts were predictable, I didn't even care. I just wanted to learn more about this world and see Lena come through everything ok. Plus the story takes in Portland, Maine - one of my favorite places! I'm really looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Pandemonium, which was just released last month.

Before I Fall

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (2010)
 

What would you do if you knew you were about to die? Would your entire life flash before your eyes, or just a "greatest hits" of your favorite moments? If you are Samantha Kingston you would apparently live your last day over and over until you got it right.

Samantha is living the life every teenager wants. She's friends with the most popular girls in school, she's dating her dream boyfriend, goes to lots of parties, even gets along well with her parents and little sister. But when she is involved in a fatal accident, she has the opportunity to learn just how much she had going for her and, hopefully, a chance to save her own life.

Lauren Oliver took a big risk with the Groundhog Day-like theme (and indeed referenced that movie early on), and she pulls it off amazingly well. It's not repetitive at all since Samantha is making changes every day; the focus is on those changes and how it affects the outcome and what Samantha learns from that.

Before I Fall contains one of the best examples of character development I've read in young adult lit. Usually a novel contains one major event or problem from which the character learns and grows, but here Samantha has the opportunity to go through SO many changes. One day she does all kinds of crazy things without regard for the consequences (like trying to seduce her math teacher), and other day she skips school entirely and hangs out with her little sister. She learns a great deal about herself and her friends each day, and watching the resulting metamorphosis is what this book is all about.

I liked the complexity of the supporting cast as well. Samantha, Lindsay, Ally, and Elody are popular girls, they pick on the less popular kids, they are pretty much bitches, but at the same time you can totally see why they are all friends - you see their good qualities, their loyalty, their humor and sense of fun. As the novel progresses, we learn more about Samantha's friends and realize that although it's tempting to think they're bad people, it's not that simple. They are plagued by fears and insecurities and practicing the only sort of self-preservation they know. (Ok, I still think Lindsay is a bitch, but she's a complicated bitch.)

Also, Kent! He is the dorky, but really adorable, boy who has had a crush on Sam for years but who she always thought was a loser until she got to know him a little more, and matured enough to stop being so judgmental. (And realized what a jerk her boyfriend was.) Their budding romance was very swoonworthy.

My only qualm at all was with the ending. Samantha relives the day over and over because there is a way that it is SUPPOSED to go, and she had to do everything right to get this day to stop repeating. But I don't understand why that way is the right away. I don't believe in fate or destiny at all though, so I'm probably the wrong person to complain about that.

Although it was 470 pages, this novel is fast-paced and easy to just sink into. Written in a very conversational tone, it feels light even though there's a great deal of personal change, self-discovery, and tragedy. Highly recommended!