Nerdette Book Club: ‘Now Is Not the Time to Panic,’ discussed! The book sits on a crowded bookshelf.
Greta Johnsen / WBEZ
Nerdette Book Club: ‘Now Is Not the Time to Panic,’ discussed! The book sits on a crowded bookshelf.
Greta Johnsen / WBEZ

Nerdette Book Club is back to discuss Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson! The novel is told by Frankie, an adult who is reflecting on the summer that changed her life as a teenager in Tennessee. She’s bored and lonely until she meets Zeke, another misfit teen. They decide to make art together and create a strange yet beautiful poster. They make hundreds of copies and paste it all over town. Unexpectedly, the poster ends up turning their community and then the world upside down. The phrase on the poster is used in SNL skits, Pulitzer-Prize winning reporting and even social uprisings. Frankie is still grappling with the meaning of the poster decades later. 

Angie Kim, author of the novel Miracle Creek, and Gwen Kirby, author of the short story collection S*** Cassandra Saw, joined us to discuss the magic and “analog vibes” in this touching book.

Be warned! We do not hold back on spoilers in this episode! If you would like to listen to a spoiler-free conversation about the book, you can listen to our interview with Kevin Wilson from earlier this month, then come back once you finish the book.

Nerdette Book Club: ‘Now Is Not the Time to Panic,’ discussed! The book sits on a crowded bookshelf.
Greta Johnsen / WBEZ
Nerdette Book Club: ‘Now Is Not the Time to Panic,’ discussed! The book sits on a crowded bookshelf.
Greta Johnsen / WBEZ

Nerdette Book Club is back to discuss Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson! The novel is told by Frankie, an adult who is reflecting on the summer that changed her life as a teenager in Tennessee. She’s bored and lonely until she meets Zeke, another misfit teen. They decide to make art together and create a strange yet beautiful poster. They make hundreds of copies and paste it all over town. Unexpectedly, the poster ends up turning their community and then the world upside down. The phrase on the poster is used in SNL skits, Pulitzer-Prize winning reporting and even social uprisings. Frankie is still grappling with the meaning of the poster decades later. 

Angie Kim, author of the novel Miracle Creek, and Gwen Kirby, author of the short story collection S*** Cassandra Saw, joined us to discuss the magic and “analog vibes” in this touching book.

Be warned! We do not hold back on spoilers in this episode! If you would like to listen to a spoiler-free conversation about the book, you can listen to our interview with Kevin Wilson from earlier this month, then come back once you finish the book.