"The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us."
The plot of Kevin Wilson's latest novel, Now Is Not the Time to Panic, revolves around this phrase in a huge way. Of course, how and why this phrase is important is not going to make sense to anyone who hasn't read the novel and I actually don't plan on revealing too much of the plot in this review, as the unique nature of this book is that you need to read it for yourself in order to see where the story takes you. All you need to know is that majority of the story takes place in Coalfield, Tennessee in 1996 and the two main characters are sixteen-year-old misfits Frances "Frankie" Budge and Ben "Zeke" Brown. Frankie and Zeke, two lonely teens from broken families, meet for the first time during the summer of 1996 and, largely left to their own devices, work on a "project" together that ends up changing their lives.
With two teenage protagonists at its core, this is no doubt a coming-of-age story, but it's one unlike anything I've ever read. I will admit that, at first, I worried about whether the story would have too much of a YA feel to it, and while there is definitely some "teenage angst" with the characters, the way it is written feels very clearly "adult" to me. Kevin Wilson has a unique way with words and with that, is able to tell a compelling, original, and emotionally nuanced story quite effortlessly. Indeed, there were so many different emotions that went though my mind as I read this one — it was heartwarming, yet also heartbreaking; funny at times, but also sad and serious when it needed to be; weird to the point that, at times, I honestly wasn't too sure what I was reading, but yet some parts were so familiar and relatable, I found myself nodding in recognition; there were moments of sweetness (though not the overly saccharine kind), but also moments that were anger-inducing where I couldn't help but shake my head at how things got that way.
One of the things I loved most about this story was how realistically-rendered the characters were. Wilson didn't shy away from writing about the "messiness" of his characters' lives — which, in doing so, reflected the realities of ordinary life in a universally resonant way that made it easy to connect with the characters despite a reader such as myself having completely different backgrounds and experiences than them.
I definitely recommend this book, but want to also put in a word for the Author's Note, which I feel is just as much of a "must-read" as the book itself. It was of course interesting to read about the inspiration for this story, but more importantly, the insights it provided enhanced my understanding of the story, which I always appreciate. After finishing this book, I immediately put Wilson's other works on my TBR — hopefully I'll be able to get to those soon!
Received ARC from Ecco via NetGalley.
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