Tuesday, April 1, 2014

PANIC by Lauren Oliver


It’s a town where not much happens, where few people have jobs and even fewer people have the ability to get out of Carp. Boredom, drugs and drinking rule not just the adult world, but the adolescent world as well. That was what started it, the boredom and wanting to get out of the town, that is was fueled Panic. Panic was simple, in theory at least. Everyday for the entirety of everyone's senior year they had to give a dollar, and then whoever won Panic would get the money, usually around 50,000 dollars. That was more that enough to get out of Carp and never look back. The day after graduation, any graduating senior who wished to declare their entrance into the games would go to the top of the cliffs near the lake and jump. That, would be the easiest part of Panic. From there, every activity would get harder and harder, scarier and scarier. Every year, people died and ended up in the hospital, but the hope and possibilities that the money of winning Panic offered was more than enough to entice even the most chicken of 18 year olds to try. This year, the stakes were higher, and the money pot was greater with nearly 67,000 dollars going to this years winner. Heather had no real interest in the game, she thought it was stupid, but after her two best friends announce that they are getting out of Carp, heading to college and the possibility of a modeling career ahead of them, not to mention her boyfriend cheating on her in front of the entire Panic party kickoff, Heather jumps of the cliffs without thinking, hoping to escape her mundane future of waitressing in Carp. But things in the game of Panic are never as they seem. Her best friends start to lie and betray her in order to get ahead, the strange and mysterious Dodge is suddenly hanging around and "helping" when things get crazy, and someone is squealing to the cops about the game. People are being arrested, thrown in jail, hospitalized, and after one crazy and terrifying event... dead. Heather knows she should just withdraw, but her anger is fueling her more than she ever could have imagined, and she’s starting to think she just might win it, if she doesn’t end up dead. ''

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