It's also about the secrets that haunt us-and, ultimately, what the truth will set free. Might Frances know something about that?Ī bold coming-of-age story, written with Kevin Wilson's trademark wit and blazing prose, Now Is Not the Time to Panic is a nuanced exploration of young love, identity, and the power of art. Twenty years later, Frances Eleanor Budge gets a call that threatens to upend her carefully built life: a journalist named Mazzy Brower is writing a story about the Coalfield Panic of 1996. Satanists? Kidnappers? The rumors won't stop, and soon the mystery has dangerous repercussions that spread far beyond the town. When the posters begin appearing everywhere, people wonder who is behind them and start to panic. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us. Now Is Not the Time to Panic is a quirky, complicated story about the power of words and art, and the importance of adolescent friendships. The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. Romantic and creative sparks begin to fly, and when the two jointly make an unsigned poster, shot through with an enigmatic phrase, it becomes unforgettable to anyone who sees it. Sixteen-year-old Frankie Budge-aspiring writer, indifferent student, offbeat loner-is determined to make it through yet another summer in Coalfield, Tennessee, when she meets Zeke, a talented artist who has just moved into his grandmother's house and who is as awkward as Frankie is.

Louis Post-Dispatch * Sunset Magazine * Time * Town & Country * The Millions * USA Today * Vogue * Vulture * The WeekĪn exuberant, bighearted novel about two teenage misfits who spectacularly collide one fateful summer, and the art they make that changes their lives forever It’s also about the secrets that haunt usand, ultimately, what the truth will set free. Named a Best Book of the Year by: Time * Kirkus Reviews * USA Today * Entertainment Weekly * Garden & Gun * Vox * Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionĪ Most Anticipated Book of Fall from: Associated Press * Atlanta Journal-Constitution * BookPage * Book Riot * The Boston Globe * Entertainment Weekly * Esquire * Garden & Gun * LitHub * St. A bold coming-of-age story, written with Kevin Wilson’s trademark wit and blazing prose, N ow Is Not the Time to Panic is a nuanced exploration of young love, identity, and the power of art.

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