--- description: Find out why "Now Is Not the Time to Panic" by Kevin Wilson is on TIME's list of the must-read books of the year. title: 'Now Is Not the Time to Panic' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2022 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76eb9a5faaad3aeb/698a37bcd075330983e6d791/NowisNottheTimetoPanic.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Nov 14, 2022 # Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Frankie and Zeke are lonely teenage misfits who become friends during a mid-1990s summer—and because this is a [Kevin Wilson](https://time.com/5712486/parenting-with-anxiety/ "undefined") novel, you know things are going to get weird. The two make art to pass the time, creating a poster with Zeke’s drawing and a provocative phrase Frankie comes up with on the fly. On a whim, they hang up hundreds of copies of the poster around town and leave it unsigned. Soon, it spreads panic among the public with deadly consequences. The mysterious poster becomes a national news story—and Frankie and Zeke vow to never reveal that they made it. Until, that is, a journalist calls Frankie years later, claiming to know the truth. _Now Is Not the Time to Panic_ is a quirky, complicated story about the power of words and art, and the importance of adolescent friendships. _—Angela Haupt_ **Buy Now**: _Now Is Not the Time to Panic_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780062913500 "undefined") | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3UFKitH "undefined") **Contact us at** [letters@time.com](mailto:letters@time.com?subject=%28READER%20FEEDBACK%29%20Stay%20True&body=https%3A%2F%2Ftime.com%2Fcollection-post%2F6228627%2Fstay-true%2F "undefined")**.** ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228599/now-is-not-the-time-to-panic/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228599/now-is-not-the-time-to-panic/"},"headline":"Now Is Not the Time to Panic","datePublished":"2022-11-14T12:53:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:10:54.359Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228599/now-is-not-the-time-to-panic/","keywords":["Books","list","best books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76eb9a5faaad3aeb/698a37bcd075330983e6d791/NowisNottheTimetoPanic.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76eb9a5faaad3aeb/698a37bcd075330983e6d791/NowisNottheTimetoPanic.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228599/now-is-not-the-time-to-panic/","name":"Now Is Not the Time to Panic"}}]}] ```