Thursday Night Book Club

Now is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson

In the summer of 1996 in rural Tennessee, 16-year-olds Frankie and Zeke work together to create a poster with the slogan: "The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us." They make hundreds of copies on a photocopier stolen by Frankie’s triplet brothers and put them up around town. Copycats begin doing the same, and before long, local and national newspapers are reporting on the posters and their potential meaning, fashion companies are reproducing the slogan on T-shirts, and tourists start arriving in town to see the posters in person. 22 years later, a journalist discovers Frankie's involvement. A touching time capsule about being a teenager in the ’90s, Now is Not the Time to Panic was one of named one of the best books of 2022 by Barnes & Noble, Time Magazine and USA Today.

Moderated by Readers Advisory Librarian Cindy Haiken. To participate and for details about meeting virtually or in-person, contact Cindy Haiken at chaiken@wallingfordlibrary.org.

This discussion is part of our One Book One Wallingford 2023 celebration! Join us as we come together as a community to read the book Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson. Get more information, sign up for programs, and grab your seat for the author event here: wallingfordlibrary.org/one-book-one-wallingford