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Panic

by Sharon M. Draper (Goodreads Author)

3.29 of 5 stars 3.29 · rating details · 292 ratings · 88 reviews

This gripping and chillingly realistic novel from New York Times bestselling author Sharon Draper shows that all it takes is one bad decision for everything to change.

Diamond knows not to get into a car with a stranger.

But what if the stranger is well-dressed and handsome? On his way to meet his wife and daughter? And casting a movie that very night—a movie in need of a s...more

Hardcover, 272 pages

Published March 12th 2013 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers

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Dec 07, 2012 Tee loves Kyle Jacobson marked it as to-read

Shelves: 2013-new-book-release, around-the-world-arc-tours, nov-2012

Panic was a crazy read for me. I as a mother would completely freak out if my child was to be kidnapped. This story starts out like any other story and what is so shocking is that Diamond would be so trusting. I have taught my children not to talk to strangers but to also go with their own gut feeling and if something is off run and scream and don't stop until you find a police officer.

Diamond is so trusting that when the stranger comes and talks to her she agrees to go with him. Then she wakes...more

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Jan 06, 2013 Hayden Casey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Panic, Sharon Draper's latest novel, was much different than I expected going in. When I started Panic, I expected a creepy, chilling, Lisa McMann-type thriller, but what I got was instead a more subtly creepy thriller with happy subplot distractions. It was almost as if Draper was afraid of being too creepy.

Panic tells a story of a kidnapped girl -- or, at least, that's what it would like you to believe. The main story is of how this decision by Diamond, the girl who was manipulated and taken w...more Panic, Sharon Draper's latest novel, was much different than I expected going in. When I started Panic, I expected a creepy, chilling, Lisa McMann-type thriller, but what I got was instead a more subtly creepy thriller with happy subplot distractions. It was almost as if Draper was afraid of being too creepy.

Panic tells a story of a kidnapped girl -- or, at least, that's what it would like you to believe. The main story is of how this decision by Diamond, the girl who was manipulated and taken willingly from a mall by a handsome stranger -- has startling ramifications on her friends. Most of said ramifications being "omg i hop diamond iz alrite," messages of utterly unimportant concern told through bouts of awful text talk.

Even though Diamond is missing and was taken, it seemed to only be a minor setback to her dancer friends. They still went on and lived their lives, occasionally (once every ten pages) expressing concern about Diamond amongst each other. I don't know about you, but if one of my best friends went missing, I wouldn't be able to get it out of my head, not even through dancing, or whatever my "true passion" is. Also, in the book, there's a scene where after Diamond goes missing, they all just dance for each other and express themselves through it. What was supposed to be a touching scene left me laughing and was cheesy as could be.

The one character of the book who seemed to have some depth was Layla, the girl in the abusive relationship with body confidence issues -- or, at least, had a hint of depth. All of the villains in the book were completely villainous. Layla's boyfriend, Donovan, was conniving and maleficent 100% of the time. He was always playing Layla and trying to get in her pants and when she didn't go through with it, he abused her. He was a one-dimensional, evil piece of human being. All of the characters were like this, really. Justin was one of my favorites because he was relatable to me: hopelessly romantic, called "gay" for having passions that were atypical to how males were supposed to behave. That's really the only reason I liked him.

The one thing about Panic that I really enjoyed was the thriller aspect of it. Diamond's sparse chapters were written really well, almost like they were written transcripts of a Law and Order: SVU episode. I felt creeped out when I read them. The climax of the book was gripping and well-done, also, but everything seemed to resolve too quickly.

2.5/5 stars. Just me being picky.(less)

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Dec 09, 2012 Jennifer added it

Shelves: march-releases, dnf

DNF

I found this boring for a kidnapping book. Diamond makes the mistake of trusting the wrong man. He offers her the chance to audition for the part of her dreams so she lets her logic fly out the window. The parts from Diamonds POV were disturbing but luckily not too many details were given. But it was no Stolen, Held, or The Breakaway. There was like one sentence of Stockholm Syndrome thrown in randomly. Diamond mentions that she looks forward to her captor bringing her clothes and food every...more

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May 16, 2013 Owlcat Mountain added it

I don't use star ratings, so please read my review!

(Description nicked from B&N.com.)

“Diamond knows not to get into a car with a stranger.

But what if the stranger is well-dressed and handsome? On his way to meet his wife and daughter? And casting a movie that very night—a movie in need of a star dancer? What then?

Then Diamond might make the wrong decision.

It’s a nightmare come true: Diamond Landers has been kidnapped. She was at the mall with a friend, alone for only a few brief minutes—and...more I don't use star ratings, so please read my review!

(Description nicked from B&N.com.)

“Diamond knows not to get into a car with a stranger.

But what if the stranger is well-dressed and handsome? On his way to meet his wife and daughter? And casting a movie that very night—a movie in need of a star dancer? What then?

Then Diamond might make the wrong decision.

It’s a nightmare come true: Diamond Landers has been kidnapped. She was at the mall with a friend, alone for only a few brief minutes—and now she’s being held captive, forced to endure horrors beyond what she ever could have dreamed, while her family and friends experience their own torments and wait desperately for any bit of news.”

A book about an abduction leading to sexual assault is a tough sell. On the one hand, it’s a noteworthy cautionary tale about a predator who is well dressed and charming versus the scruffy stranger in an alleyway. I think that in this era of the Internet and how people can be other than they outwardly seem, a reminder to be vigilant no matter the circumstances is a good one. On the other hand, I’m not sure that I like the way it plays on teenagers’ fears of exposure and ridicule to increase the horror of the abduction. It’s not that it’s completely unrealistic, but I think it turns the focus a bit from where it should be.

Unfortunately, the focus strays more dramatically when following Diamond’s friends. This novel actually has two major plots: Diamond’s abduction and the community’s reactions to it, and the abusive relationship endured by Layla, another girl who practices at Diamond’s dance studio. A side note to Layla’s story is that of Justin, the only male dancer at the same level as the girls, who has a crush on Layla and hangs around hoping to get her attention. There actually seems to be more focus on Layla than on Diamond, which is odd considering that the book is supposed to be about the kidnapping and the reactions to it. There are a few scenes of the other characters dealing with the fear and worry about Diamond, but it gets lost amid all the other things happening.

Hampering the plot further is the fact that the dialogue is often choppy and comes across as forced. The author tries to capture the slang-filled conversations between the teenagers, but it just doesn’t work, partially because the characters don’t speak consistently. Two characters may speak to each other in slang one minute and revert to normal speech patterns the next. The adult characters come across as stilted, for some reason. I didn’t feel that I ever really connected to any of the characters, with the possible exception of Justin, who despite everything appears sweet and low-key compared to the others.

I think that there are two interesting stories that are competing for space in this novel, and forcing them to cohabit didn’t work well. Never having read anything by this author before, I’m willing to hope that this book isn’t indicative of her work. Despite its problems, I went through the book in one day, so it certainly had some redeeming qualities. It’s just that it could have been so much better.

This review originally appeared on Owlcat Mountain on May 16, 2013.(less)

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May 15, 2013 Jade Warwick rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: e-books, pulse-it-books

If you have a free account on pulseit.com, you can read Panic for free until 5/19 here.

Diamond is a teenage ballet dancer with a lot of potential. And when a stranger in the mall named Thane sees that potential and tells her that he can make her a star, she believes him. She follows him to his car and unwittingly traps herself with him. Thane is a registered sex offender with a long list of victims and quite a few ideas on how he can make Diamond a “star.” The story follows Diamond through her o...more If you have a free account on pulseit.com, you can read Panic for free until 5/19 here.

Diamond is a teenage ballet dancer with a lot of potential. And when a stranger in the mall named Thane sees that potential and tells her that he can make her a star, she believes him. She follows him to his car and unwittingly traps herself with him. Thane is a registered sex offender with a long list of victims and quite a few ideas on how he can make Diamond a “star.” The story follows Diamond through her ordeal, as well as three of her close friends, Mercedes, Layla, and Justin, as they grapple with her sudden disappearance as well as their own complicated lives.

I loved the alternating points of view in this story—it gives the reader a chance to see inside everyone’s lives and give details that a single narrator wouldn’t have been able to. I liked being able to see everyone else’s reactions to Diamond’s disappearance, but I also liked seeing their own lives. Unfortunately, when people go missing, life does go on. I liked the subplot with Layla and Donovan and Justin; abusive relationships need to be discussed just as much as kidnappings do, and I appreciated that the author brought that in.

I thought that there were many good lessons taught in this story. I think it was a pretty realistic portrayal of how a kidnapping like this occurs, the dangers in the various things these young people did, and the emotional trauma from all of these different events. Personally, I can't say that I would have fallen for Thane's act, but then again, I'm a more cynical, experienced twenty year old. However, if a person saw me writing in a coffee shop and asked about my work and told me they were an agent and were interesting in reading my story but their plane left soon and they wouldn't be back for a long time and there was a deadline on new drafts to be submitted...while I would be intrigued, I still can't say that I would go with them. Give them my personal information, sure. But even that temptation wouldn't win me over, because if it's too good to be true, it probably is. Still, looking at it from that point of view helped me connect with Diamond and understand her actions.

The only drawbacks, in my opinion, were some of the minor characters. A few of them came off as annoying, mostly because they weren’t especially important to the plot, but I didn’t really mind that, seeing as how these are young teenagers. I was also a little put off by some of the vernacular used. The author seemed to write the setting as a stereotypical slum or hood, leaning towards a black community, though many of them were never written that way. So, most of the characters used a lot of slang that didn’t necessarily take away from the story, but didn’t really add to it either. My final and very small complaint is that (view spoiler). I also kind of wished that the story had started off with Diamond, as she was kind of the main character in a cast of pretty large characters. I also might have liked to see more information about what Diamond went through, but I can understand the character’s reluctance to even think about it, and I can respect the omission if it makes the story more accessible to a larger range of people. Again, these are all minor complaints that are just my opinion, and the book shouldn’t be judged on that.

Overall, I think this was an interesting, surprisingly deep read that looks at the harsh realities of kidnapping, all forms of abuse, and parental problems in a relatable way through likable and endearing characters. It firmly deserves my 4 star rating.(less)

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May 02, 2013 Shalonda rated it 2 of 5 stars

I am a huge fan of Sharon Draper; however, Panic was just okay for me.

Panic follows the abduction of Diamond, a teenage dancer. While her group is preparing for their upcoming version of Peter Pan, Diamond meets Thane, a talent director for Hollywood movies. Promising her the opportunity to audition for a movie, Diamond leaves with him and no one hears from her.

Pros: Draper covers a sensitive, but important subject that will appeal to young audiences. The writing is simplistic, yet engaging. St...more

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Apr 26, 2013 T.R. Raven rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: dnf-did-not-finish

This is my first work from this author, and I had high hopes for it, based on the description and the author's best seller status. I was sorely disappointed, I'm sorry to report.

I made it about 75 pages in before I called it a day. Why? While the story itself had great promise, I couldn't stand the characters. The author tried too hard to capture the teen vernacular. The OMGs and LOL stuff is far too prevalent, and it felt forced into the dialogue, instead of natural. It got so bad I found mysel...more

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Mar 25, 2013 Patricia Tilton rated it 5 of 5 stars

“Diamond knows not to talk to strangers. But just once couldn’t hurt. Right?” (Jacket Flap)

Synopsis: The Crystal Pointe Dance Academy is shaken when one of its members, 15-year-old Diamond, goes missing. Diamond and her best friend, Mercedes, make a trip to the mall before a dance performance to purchase tights. While Mercedes is looking around, Diamond heads to the food court to buy food so they won’t be late. A well-dressed stranger approaches Diamond and asks for directions to the food court....more “Diamond knows not to talk to strangers. But just once couldn’t hurt. Right?” (Jacket Flap)

Synopsis: The Crystal Pointe Dance Academy is shaken when one of its members, 15-year-old Diamond, goes missing. Diamond and her best friend, Mercedes, make a trip to the mall before a dance performance to purchase tights. While Mercedes is looking around, Diamond heads to the food court to buy food so they won’t be late. A well-dressed stranger approaches Diamond and asks for directions to the food court. He tells Diamond that he’s supposed to meet his wife and daughter there. Harmless, she thinks. When Mercedes arrives minutes later, Diamond is gone.

Every other chapter is the voice of one of the main dancers, Diamond, Mercedes, Layla and Justin. There are parallel stories told as Draper alternates between Diamond’s abduction, the emotional reaction of the high school dance troupe to the situation and the every day drama of their own personal lives. There are some very important themes of relational and sexual abuse, teen dating abuse, trust, and family issues woven into the story. What holds the troupe together is their concern for Diamond and their love of music and dance. My favorite scene in the book is when the dancers are with their instructor, Miss Ginger. Each student selects a dance that fits their personality and expresses their own fear or desperation for Diamond — a beautiful and powerfully moving cathartic release.

Why I like this story: Sharon Draper has written a gripping and contemporary novel that is very real in today’s world. It is a must read for teens. Even though kids are taught at a young age not to talk to strangers, abductions continue. There is no tidy description for sexual predators. But predators have one thing in common – the ability to artfully lure a child or teenager into a web of lies and manipulations that leads to kidnapping. That is what Draper addresses in her skillfully crafted and suspenseful novel. Draper handles Diamond’s abduction scene realistically but with sensitivity. She also has a gift of getting into the minds of each character. Panic is one book readers will have difficulty putting down because it is a page turner. Hopefully teens will learn through Diamond the results of taking risks with strangers. Panic is an excellent book for school libraries.
(less)

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Mar 25, 2013 Adrienne rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book follows four dancers from Crystal Pointe Dance Academy. Fifteen-year-old Diamond knows better than to get in a car with a stranger, and yet, when a man offers her an unbelievable chance to audition for a movie, she goes with him--only to find herself entering anyone's worst nightmare. Her best friend Mercedes is frantic with worry, wondering if she'll ever see Diamond again. Meanwhile, Layla is worried about her friend but also stuck in her own problems with her boyfriend Donovan, even...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Josephine Moriarty rated it 2 of 5 stars

*SPOILERS*
A lot of things didn't come off clear in the book to me and there wasn't really somewhere the story was going. I would have thought that Layla getting away from her boyfriend and Diamond escaping would be it but after those happened it just went on. It didn't make them stand out in the book. They just happened with as much preamble as if one of them had bought some coffee. Also this book is obviously geared to older audiences (based on the content) but the characters talk like 5th grad...more

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Mar 21, 2013 Reading and Rising With the Sun rated it 4 of 5 stars

Panic is an unforgettable read about a teenager dancer who is kidnapped. No, she isn't snatched or taken against her will. Instead her captor thinks smart, pretending to be someone from a Hollywood casting company, promising her a spot in a movie.

I did find Diamond a little bit gullible, but felt very sad for her. I know I'd never get in a car with a stranger or believe things like what he was telling her, but then yet again I'm so shy I never talk to anyone to get kidnapped by in the first plac...more

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Mar 17, 2013 Mundie Moms & Mundie Kids added it

Shelves: 2013-release, 2013-reading-challenge

Panic is not one of those light and fluffy, enjoyable reads. It's a chilling, horrify, creepy read that tackles realistic issues. Well the realistic part of the book is what makes it so heart pounding. What I first thought to be a mix of something between a Lisa McMann / Holly Black / any other YA author who knows how to make my heart race kind of book, I quickly realized that wasn't quite the case. While I appreciate the author bringing to light the dangers of child predators, online predators,...more Panic is not one of those light and fluffy, enjoyable reads. It's a chilling, horrify, creepy read that tackles realistic issues. Well the realistic part of the book is what makes it so heart pounding. What I first thought to be a mix of something between a Lisa McMann / Holly Black / any other YA author who knows how to make my heart race kind of book, I quickly realized that wasn't quite the case. While I appreciate the author bringing to light the dangers of child predators, online predators, sex abuse, teenage dating abuse, stranger danger and kidnapping, the over all story however, was not one I was a fan of.

This is a book I had mixed feelings on. I was horrified over some of the events that take place within this story, and at the same time glad the author took the time to tackle very serious, and tough issues that our teens face now a days. But the writing just didn't connect with me. I was under the impression this was a book about a kidnapping. Don't get me wrong, one of the girls is kidnapped and forced into on-line child pronogorphy, the majority of the story however focuses on her friends, and their issues, and not so much the kidnapping and ultimate child online sex slavery the girl, Diamond endures. For a book that touches on realistic situations, I didn't feel the over all storyline or it's characters were all that realistic. Yes, these are serious and dangerous situations that do happen far more often than we'd like to admit. I respect the fact that the author brought them to light, and pointed out the fact that just because our kids are teenagers doesn't mean things that occur in this book won't happen to them, because they do. But story wise, there were things missing for me.

Given the fact this story tackles some serious issues, though not in a graphic way, things felt a little over the top and not all the believable within the story for me. I felt things were missing with the over all execution of the storyline. Maybe that's just me as an adult reader that feels like too many things were missing. I needed more from this story. I felt some things were too polished over, and other things, like the way some of the characters talked, didn't fit for me. For me personally, the teen dialogue is not how teens I've worked with and been around talk like, but that doesn't mean other teens don't talk this way. For me personally that just one of the things that didn't work for me in this story.

BUT, just because I didn't like the book, doesn't mean another reader won't won't. This might be a book that a teen reads and gets, or maybe it's the kind of a book someone else reads and it helps them find their voice. Over all this was a book that was not my cup of tea, but I do commend the author for tackling the scary statistic of teenage abductions and teen dating abuse/sex abuse that happens far more often than many of us want to believe. (less)

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Mar 03, 2013 Suzanne rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-slj

I didn't think much of this latest offering from the renowned author of Tears of a Tiger and Copper Sun. The characters and plot never rang true for me. Everything felt very artificial, very much a device, rather than any sort of organic story unfolding.

The two main teenage female characters share dance classes at Crystal Pointe Academy where they are friendly rivals for parts like Wendy in Peter Pan, working under benign dictator Miss Ginger. On the afternoon of the spring showcase, Diamond is...more

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Dec 22, 2012 Richie Partington rated it 5 of 5 stars

Richie's Picks: PANIC by Sharon M. Draper, Atheneum, April 2013, 272p., ISBN: 978-1-4424-0896-8

From the statistics I've just retrieved, it appears that every day in America a dozen children on average are abducted by strangers. The most vulnerable segment consists of teenage girls.

PANIC is a story that begins quite upbeat, but then the ugliness of the world intrudes upon the young characters' happiness. Told from multiple points of view, this is a music-filled tale of an ensemble cast of teens...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Simon & Schuster Ed/Library rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-realistic-fiction

Panic by Sharon M. Draper

I consider myself very lucky to have had the pleasure of working with the talented author Sharon M. Draper for more than 12 years. I love her books and I have had the opportunity many times over the years to accompany Sharon to events and award ceremonies and witness firsthand the power of her stories and the way they have deeply touched middle school and high school students, their teachers, and librarians. My personal favorites of hers include Copper Sun, Double Dutch...more Panic by Sharon M. Draper

I consider myself very lucky to have had the pleasure of working with the talented author Sharon M. Draper for more than 12 years. I love her books and I have had the opportunity many times over the years to accompany Sharon to events and award ceremonies and witness firsthand the power of her stories and the way they have deeply touched middle school and high school students, their teachers, and librarians. My personal favorites of hers include Copper Sun, Double Dutch and Out of My Mind. The impact Out of My Mind has had on readers of all ages is profound and has been moving to watch.

Now Sharon has written Panic, a novel for teens, and I can honestly say that her writing just gets better with every book. Here’s a sneak peek:

Diamond knows not to get into a car with a stranger.

But what if the stranger is tall and well dressed and handsome? On his way to meet his wife and daughter? And casting a movie that very night--a movie in need of a star dancer? What then?

Then Diamond might make the wrong decision.

It's a nightmare come true--Diamond Landers has been kidnapped. She was at the mall with a friend, alone for only a few brief minutes--and now she's being held captive, forced to endure horrors beyond what she ever could have dreamed, while her family and friends experience their own torments as they wait desperately for any bit of news.

This gripping and chillingly realistic novel shows that all it takes is one bad decision for everything to change.

The idea for this book came from a discussion Sharon had with some teens during one of her school visits. I was eager to read it when she first told me she was working on it, but when I finished reading the manuscript this summer, I was blown away.

I absolutely loved this book. I was so impressed by how Sharon managed to make Diamond's experience creepy, horrific, suspenseful, threatening, heartbreaking, and more without describing anything. There is nothing graphic about this book. Everything occurs off the pages. Sharon also devotes so many chapters to the other characters (Diamond’s friends and family and her dance studio buddies) which really balances out the story. There are so many wonderful lessons, discussion points, and situations to ponder. This is a book that teens and their parents and teachers should and will be talking about. In my opinion, if you read only one teen book in Spring 2013, this should be it.

—Michelle Fadlalla, Director of Simon & Schuster Education and Library Marketing(less)

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May 13, 2013 Sally Kruger added it

Don't talk to strangers! Everyone knows the rule. When a stranger talks to Diamond and tells her he can introduce her to movie stars and even get her a movie audition, all common sense leaves her mind. She follows him out of the mall and into a nightmare.

It was an innocent trip to the mall to buy new tights before their performance, but Mercedes can't forgive herself for letting Diamond go off to the food court alone. If she hadn't stayed back in the dance store to try on the red leotard, Diamon...more

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Apr 30, 2013 PickyReader rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: action-adventure, mystery, older-teenage-books, real-life, did-not-finish, alternating-view-povs

Actual rating: 2.8

On first observation, I thought this would be a dull, cheesy book. In the first 18 pages of the book, I was already annoyed. The dialogue was TERRIBLE. It sounded like it all was taken from "The Older Person's Guide to Hip Teen Jive Talk". It was very fake and unnatural sounding to me. I couldn't get a grip on it; were we in Funkytown or the hood with this lingo??
The characters were flat and unmemorable, but I guess that's because the author probably wanted the reader to focus...more

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Apr 12, 2013 Mari Anne rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: mg-ya

I absolutely loved Draper's "Out of My Mind" and couldn't wait to read this new one. Well... thankfully I got it out of the library. First of all the book wasn't entirely as advertised.... probably thankfully so! This was supposed to be the story of Diamond, who with one catastophically bad decision, lands herself in the hands of a pedophile. Mostly though this is the story of her friends at the dance academy and how this, and their own personal drama, affects their lives.

The main thing that bu...more

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Mar 10, 2013 Kelly rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-fiction, read-in-2013

Let me preface this by saying I know the exact readership of this one. There are going to be reluctant readers taken in by the problems brought up in the novel and they will be satisfied with the swift pacing and the resolution.

That said, from the writing and plotting standpoint, this was a flop.

Diamond and her best friend go to the mall and while her best friend tries on a leotard at the dance store, Diamond finds herself engaging in a conversation with an older man who promises to get her a ro...more Let me preface this by saying I know the exact readership of this one. There are going to be reluctant readers taken in by the problems brought up in the novel and they will be satisfied with the swift pacing and the resolution.

That said, from the writing and plotting standpoint, this was a flop.

Diamond and her best friend go to the mall and while her best friend tries on a leotard at the dance store, Diamond finds herself engaging in a conversation with an older man who promises to get her a role in a movie. Diamond is a dancer, you see, and she's just learned she's gotten a small part in their group's performance of Peter Pan. This could be a great break for her.

So she goes with the man, sending a text to her friend saying she had a chance and she had to take it.

But when the man takes her to a house and she wakes up after being drugged in her drink, Diamond realizes this is a lot more sinister than she originally imagined.

The problems don't stop there -- and frankly, that's not the problematic element of the book. Diamond makes a stupid decision but it's rational in her own mind and to her own character. The problems emerge when the other characters in this story are suddenly tools for Messages. There's the character who is in an abusive relationship. Who has pictures taken of her and passed around the school. There's the character who is a male dancer and who isn't gay but has to fight against it. But worse than the messages driving the characters here is the stilted writing, unbelievable dialog, and the happily-ever-after ending (where the character themselves become cardboard stiff and poorly rendered in their willingness to accept they made mistakes and that they should all be better at supporting one another so these things don't happen again). Teens don't talk or act that way.

This story is told in alternating points of view from the third person. It's completely unnecessary -- when the story is told through Justin's eyes, it sounds and looks exactly the same as it does when it's told through Mercedes's eyes and Layla's. The only person who ever sounds different is Diamond, and that's because she's at the heart of the story. Likewise, by choosing third person to tell the story, the immediacy of it is removed and it does read much more like an after school special on not making poor choices than it does a story about characters who have a lot at stake.

I applaud Draper for not making this lurid, since I don't think the writing as it stood could have carried it. More than that, though, I think that in and of itself is why there is reader appeal here.

Mostly, though, other books have done these things better and offered deeper and more memorable characters. (less)

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Feb 22, 2013 Debbie rated it 3 of 5 stars

I just finished reading my galley copy of Panic and I think the reluctant readers will be captivated by the story. The main story surrounds 15 year old Diamond's disappearance from the mall while there with her dance friend Mercedes. Diamond makes a really dumb move and is lured away into a strange man's car in hopes of starring in a movie. Mercedes is devastated and feels guilty for not staying right with her friend. The other storyline involves the concern and worry shared by her friends and f...more

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Oct 18, 2012 Latoya rated it 4 of 5 stars

Diamond just made the worst decision of her life but she doesn't realize it at first until she wakes up in a dark room with her arms restrained. Disoriented, confused and scared, her attempts to call for help go unanswered. She discovers that no one knows where she is and the man that promised to make her a star has sinister plans and dirty deeds that no fifteen year old girl should ever experience. Will she make it home with her spirit intact or will her world be forever shattered by the horro...more

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Dec 01, 2012 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

The way Sharon Draper set up Panic is completely different from what I expected. Instead of a novel focusing on the victim, Diamond, and her experiences or a story that follows what all of the people in Diamond’s life do when she is taken, Panic combines those ideas and shows both Diamond and her loved ones through her ordeal.

Basically, Diamond has low self-esteem and is approached by someone who says all the right things to get her in a car with him. The story doesn’t get too graphic when showi...more

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May 15, 2013 Jenn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Gah, this is a hard one for me, I gave it 2.5 stars.

(view spoiler)...more

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Mar 18, 2013 Katie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Reading Sharon Draper’s "Panic" while following the Steubenville rape case was a chilling experience. Although the details of the Steubenville case were more graphic than anything in Draper’s novel, the themes of social media and nudity/sexual behavior, men exploiting women, and how a girl’s sex life (whether it be perceived, forced, or consented to) can affect a girl’s reputation. These important themes are somewhat diluted by Draper’s attempt to make the book “PG-13,” despite the “R-rated” con...more

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Jan 19, 2013 Sarah rated it 1 of 5 stars

I'm having a hard time choosing between one and two stars, but since Goodreads says one star is "didn't like it," that's what I'm going with. I had to read this for a book group I'm part of, and as soon as I started it I knew I was going to struggle. It was written with slang that sounded really inauthentic, which was it's first problem. It went downhill from there. The book was suspenseful, but I still don't understand the point of the terrible things that happened to two of the female characte...more

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May 14, 2013 Lectus rated it 3 of 5 stars

Via http://onlectus.blogspot.com/2013/05/...

Panic was a nice read that didn’t focus just on Diamond' story. We have Diamond, who is kidnapped; Justin, in love with a girl how has a boyfriend; Layla, abused (or kind of) by her boyfriend; and Mercedes, who’s problem I forgot what it was.

Panic wraps around the lives of all these friends and their reactions to Diamond's disappearance while dealing with their own issues.

I liked that Draper spared the morbid details of Diamond kidnapping; although I...more

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Apr 12, 2013 Penelope rated it 1 of 5 stars

Panic really just didn't sit well with me for many different reasons, none of which having to do with the fact of what Diamond had to go through. To me the book was rushed and in a way it was artificial. This would have been good for a beginner book and if the girls in the book were of a completely different age, and not how it was set.
Having gone to the mall with her best friend, Mercedes, Diamond separates from her friend in search of food in the mall only to run into, literally , her pre...more Panic really just didn't sit well with me for many different reasons, none of which having to do with the fact of what Diamond had to go through. To me the book was rushed and in a way it was artificial. This would have been good for a beginner book and if the girls in the book were of a completely different age, and not how it was set.
Having gone to the mall with her best friend, Mercedes, Diamond separates from her friend in search of food in the mall only to run into, literally , her predator who smooth talks his way into her head and steals her away from reality. I, for one, found this really foolish of Diamond, because of what the man spoke of saying he was hosting dance auditions, and honestly, it would not have taken a genius to see through all his lies. Also, the flap spoke of Diamond never speaking to strangers until then, but it seemed to me that she spoke willingly and easily to the man as if he were an old friend. I would have liked to read a bit more on her background of not talking to strangers as proof if that were the case.
Throughout this book we see four different points of views, all teens from the same dance academy dealing with their own issues. Justin suffers from unrequited love, Layla has an abusive boyfriend, Diamond the obvious, and Mercedes suffers from the guilt of thinking it was her fault her friend had been taken. Having so many different P.O.V's ruined it for me. If a book was going to talk about how a young girl was stolen, you would want the readers to be more connected and in tuned with the victim. With four different backgrounds to read, I felt as if I were plugged and then unplugged from the story so many times, and that stopped any type of deep connection I could have had with Diamond and her situation.
Also, I see Draper could have been explaining that even when a girl is taken, life still goes on, but in this story only one girl, Mercedes, seemed to not be able to move along with their life as well as the others did. Mercedes would pray and talk about her guilt at church and with her family, but then her life would move along just as well as the other. They seemed just as plugged and unplugged as I. As if every few pages they would think, 'Oh, yeah, Diamond was stolen and how rude would it be not to give her a few moments of my time?' As if Diamond getting stolen happened every day or she were just a pebble they happened to step on, that would hurt them occasionally if they thought hard enough about it, but it didn't ruin their day or dampen their mood. And if your friend meant to you so much as you say then shouldn't they have dominated your thoughts? I felt as if the children in the book were too easily able to move on with their lives, and that threw off my love for this book as well.
Lastly, the dialoge in this book could have been represented better. The children in this book as well as the adults talked as if they were in elementary school . It was as if they had no clue how to talk, or more importantly, as if the Author had no clue how to properly portray dialoge in her book.
This was a far cry from Copper Sun and the emotional breakdown in Tigers of a Tiger . Even Out of my Mind 's dialoge seemed much better than this. I love Draper's books, but this one utterly disapointed me.(less)

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Oct 29, 2012 Carrie Ardoin rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-tour, couldn-t-finish-it

I gave it my best attempt, I swear, I really did.

But I had to quit reading around page 95 when a character's name made me laugh out loud--and not in a good way. This book was not a satire, so when I came across the name Magnificent Significant Jones, I knew I couldn't take the book seriously any more.

I should have stopped after the first chapter. The part I read was full of slang and it made reading very awkward for me. Maybe I'm not the core demographic for the book...but just because a teenage...more

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Apr 02, 2013 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was just okay for me. It was suspenseful, but not in an "I'm on the edge of my seat and can't stop turning pages" way. Just in an "I wonder if Diamond will be okay" way. The names the author chose kind of irritated me. Why? I don't really know. It just made the book way less believable. For example, Mercedes Ford (get it? Two cars: Mercedes and Ford?), Diamond, Diva Dawson, California Clover, Thane, and my personal (least) favorite Magnificant Significant. Yes. Seriously. See what I me...more

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Apr 21, 2013 Kristen Unger rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: classroom-library

This one got a ton of buzz from my students as soon as I put it on the shelves, and now I unfortunately know why.

I say unfortunately because this book - clearly targeted at reluctant readers with its simple diction and excess of drama - fails to be any more than the sum of its parts - two sensational, cautionary tales that trivialize the characters she creates.

Plot contains dating violence, abduction, child pornography, physical and emotional abuse, rape, sexting, which is a dense array of hot...more

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About Sharon M. Draper

Sharon M. Draper is a professional educator as well as an accomplished writer. She has been honored as the National Teacher of the Year, is a five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Literary Award, and is a New York Times bestselling author. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

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“She's, like, really, really beautiful, but I don't think she sees that when she looks in the mirror.” — 1 person liked it

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