Welcome to Litsy!

I did not enjoy “Nothing to See Here,” and I just cannot fully embrace first-person narrative when it‘s a male author writing from a female perspective. I just can‘t. I can kinda-sorta get good with an observational tone, but it is distracting for me to be expected to see through the eyes of a female teenager as written by someone who was never a female teenager. (I like westerns not written by cowboys, tho, so…🤔) Anyway, soft pick for me. 3.5⭐️

I liked the first part of this book that talked about Frankie, an awkward 16 year old and her relationship with Zeke, another loner who she spends a summer with creating a poster with an enigmatic phrase that ends up causing a satanic panic. I had a hard time relating to Frankie as an adult in the last part of the book, but the author‘s note did help somewhat as Wilson explained how he essentially created this story from his own life experience.

This was great! I could really relate to Frankie and Zeke - teenagehood was so dang hard! Misfits unite 👊🏻 👏🏻 #readyourkindle #tbrtarot #may #maleauthor

You guys. HISTORY is being made over here. I have NEVER read my name in a book. EVER!!
Mind blown 🤯 👏🏻

Two awkward teens create a piece of art that takes on a life of its own. Really fun and interesting listen narrated by Ginnifer Goodwin.

Two bored and awkward teens spend a summer creating art — what could go wrong?

A lot actually, when the art takes on a life of its own.

I really enjoyed this one. A short, easy read that also happened to give me a lot to think about.

Kevin Wilson is brilliant. He makes very personal stories seem easy to tell successfully. This one is about teen friendships, being awkward, finding comfort in art and that friendship and the challenge to let that go as an adult! Glad to read this one.

I enjoyed reading this novel. I liked the quirky characters and the plot. The summer of the “panic,” had me thinking back to a time when I was younger and learning about panic around Orson Wells. I give this a 4/5 star rating.

I chose the tagged book as my free reading reward from ThriftBooks. Although I love a brand new book, there‘s also something special about getting a book that has passed through many way stations before reaching me. This copy has spent time at a library in Illinois and a Goodwill store, and now it has traveled to Texas from Georgia and will sit on my shelf. Since it‘s a new favorite of mine, I plan on keeping this around for a long time.😊

I went into this one not knowing what to expect, and loved it. It was delightful and a little weird, but in a good way! I listened to the audiobook and Gennifer Goodwin did a fabulous job with the narration.

#12booksof2023

I enjoyed this! Loved the characters but strange story!

…it made me feel, for the first time, that maybe it was dumb to be embarrassed about weird things if you were really good at them. Or not good. If they made you happy.

I had no idea what other people thought was good or what was important. And so I almost never told anyone what I liked because I was terrified that they would tell me how stupid it was. Every single thing that you loved became a source of both intense obsession and possible shame. Everything was a secret.

This was offbeat and strange, and I liked it. Two quirky and awkward teens befriend each other one summer in a small town. When they create a cryptic poster and become obsessed with posting copies of it all over town, they inadvertently create a panic that spreads across the country in a mid-90s version of going viral, as everyone reads into their cryptic text everything from crime to rebellion to Satanic practices. ⤵️

Perfect vacation read. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Will I remember it in a year? Probably not. 3⭐️

I really liked this one! It‘s so strange…. I think I really needed that. I‘m not sure why I waited so long to read it, honestly. Makes me think I might need to read his backlist.

It was ok!

I love a young narrator on audio. Sounds so much better than the voices I come up with in my head. This narrator did a great job I enjoyed the book, but I'll be honest that I didn't relate particularly well with the main character. I'm not sure who would and maybe that is the point - to hear her story for a bit. Pretty quirky idea for a novel and it was fun overall. And very short.

I‘m pretty proud of myself for this stack of August‘s #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks! I‘ve got two more I‘m reading right now but I think chances are slim that I‘ll finish them before the end of the month.

So many great books in this bunch! My fave is The Overstory, but I also loved Now Is Not the Time to Panic, Demon Copperhead, Dragon Haven, and Cassiel‘s Servant. Really there isn‘t one bad book in the lot though. 📚🙂🩵

This is a very different kind of book. I kept thinking that it reminded me of Stanger Things in certain parts. Makes you question what is real, what isn't real. Is there some kind of dark power at play here? Is it all made up in the minds of two teenagers? Some kind of overactive imagination? Interesting and unique story. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Kevin Wilson is a favorite of mine, for his quirky characters and stories. This one didn‘t disappoint!

Two artsy 16 year olds meet at the town pool and make a piece of art that will change their lives and their little town forever.

I love the social awkwardness and neurodivergence of the characters. I will forever have the words etched in my mind.

Looking forward to Wilson‘s B&N event online next Thursday!

#MMD ModernMrsDarcy 2022 Fall Book Preview

Now Is Not the Time to Panic is a coming-of-age novel that follows the story of two teenagers, Frances “Frankie” Budge and Zeke Brown. The novel is concerned with the heightened feelings of adolescence and a work of art growing out of control of its creator. The plot centers around a work of art they made when they were teenagers that became a global phenomenon, both for good and bad.

Another weirdly endearing story from this author and while it didn‘t hit quite the way Nothing To Say Here did…and the first half was a tad monotonous, it was still noteworthy. At its center this story is about two kids who find a copy machine in one of their basements and make copies of some random art they put together on the fly. They put it out into the world where it affected the lives of so many, the least of which is how it affected them.

I was looking for the perfect summer read. This was it. Not only does Wilson explore coming of age here, it's done in a way that's both wistfully nostalgic, yet lingers with the pain of adolescence like the best ice cream headache. If you grew up in a small town and always felt like an outsider, you‘ll love this. I enjoyed this one more than Nothing To See Here, which I didn‘t think was possible.

I loved this little, short book! It was hilarious and sentimental. Kevin Wilson captured 1997 so well, and the behavior of the townspeople was on point. It was a coming of age story. It could be considered YA or adult. It really works for either group. I gave it five stars. I could not put it down.

Mr. Wilson is a friend of a friend - they are colleagues at The University of the South in Sewanee, TN, about one hour from my home, yet I'd never read him! Ridiculously creative ploting, & I'm looking forward to reading more!

This also checks my first box for 12 Books in 12 Months Recommended by 12 Friends. Late start to this challenge, but I still have six months!

⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The story was interesting. The characters felt a little flat to me and the writing was a bit monotone. I‘m likely a little too old now to read this much teenaged angst.

I don‘t know if that‘s love, to need the sensations produced by the body more than the body itself. Not the kiss, but the taste of celery that came after. Not his hands, but the sound of his hands making art. Not the fact that he was here for only this summer, but the fact that I might find reminders of him in surprising places for the rest of my life 🩶

Library hold finally came in. Binge listening to it while meal prepping for the week. Enjoying the book, but so far - I preferred Wilson‘s Nothing to See Here. Now I need to find another book to listen to while cleaning up.

While I was reading this I kept thinking, Kevin Wilson sure thinks in interesting ways. The author‘s note at the end relates to that idea. He always takes a somewhat simple story and gives it a twist. I didn‘t like this as much as Nothing to See Here, but I did enjoy it.

I love how this story combines a coming-of-age tale with themes of mental illness, the meaning of art and literature and their significance, and how keeping secrets impacts a person's life over time.

I feel like I missed something. Or apparently I have no heart. 😳 Everyone else seems to have loved it. It was nothing like any of Wilson‘s other books and I was so removed from the outcome. The first half was interesting..second half not so much. I feel badly as Wilson offers a personal reason for writing the book and normally that would add to the experience of the story. Maybe I was expecting too much.

This novel has the humor and the mildly absurd juxtaposed with emotional depth that I love in Wilson's writing, and I very much enjoyed reading/listening to it. I'm pretty sure I like Nothing to See Here better, but this one is also enjoyable. I'm a little contrary, so I kind of liked it less after the author's note about the story's origin. I prefer the wizard to the man behind the curtain, I guess.

The hook on the left needs to attach to the ring on the right (times 4), but I'm about three inches too short to get it done myself. Looks like my only option is to listen to the tagged audiobook, internalize the title's advice, and wait for someone taller or less nervous about climbing one more rung up the ladder to help me out.

I loved this book about two lonely teenagers, finding eachother one summer in the 90s, over the arts. They value what the other adds to what they themselves do and the result is a poster with a strange text, going viral before going viral even existed.
A highly original book, it might very well be my favorite Wilson!

(Pic: Chefchaouen, Morocco)

#BirthdayPixieReadathon #Booked2023 #weird
#52books #ScriptFontOnSpine

Two lonely and bored teens befriend each other for a summer and accidentally cause one of the country‘s biggest panics.

Nostalgia ✨ Domino Effect ✨ Summer

For fans of That 90s Show

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Zeke and Frankie are “alone in the same way.” It‘s the mid-90s. As artists, and out of summer boredom, they collaborated on an odd, but catchy poster, putting it up all over town. Two friends bonding over a needed distraction. I prefer to think as poster as metaphorical. It can be anything that creates passion. Folks around town start speculating and panicking. All hell breaks loose. Didn‘t quite meet my expectations, but still solid.

Such an unexpected, beautiful, raw, novel. Strange posters begin to show up all over a small Tennessee town one summer and they mean something different to everyone who sees them. Especially the teen artists who are just trying to get through a boring, lonely summer. The writing is exquisite and the story so unique! I‘ll be thinking of this one for awhile. Great on #audio, read by Ginnifer Goodwin. #BookspinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

The author‘s reasons for writing this were deeply personal. It was such a great exploration of the meaning of art, its impact, an artist‘s control over it, & its ripple effect. It was also the story of awkward teenagers trying to figure out who they are.

“The chaos of our daughter, so lovely and beautiful, I would always be grateful for it. How she required us to keep living, to keep moving forward just so she didn‘t leave us in her dust.”

I was irritated at times by this book, but then understood it better when eating the author‘s note about the autobiographical nature of the story. The protagonist‘s obsession, not as a teen, but as an adult was annoying and juvenile- like she couldn‘t grow up. The story does have closure however, but satisfying would be too strong. The myopic views of teenage life are very vivid. My favourite character was the mother

Spot thief! 🐾

#Champ #dogsoflitsy

This book received glowing reviews on Goodreads, but I don‘t get it. Two teenagers make a poster, Xerox a bunch of copies, hang them all over town and then people flip out. This is the plot of the book, and it‘s boring and not nearly as good as NOTHING TO SEE HERE, which I really enjoyed. However, I did enjoy my reading view

Reading spot 🏝️🌊🍍

This story had the perfect author to tell it. I think I will try some of Wilson‘s short stories next. I‘ll bet he comes up with some interesting stuff.

I have blogged ALL my books so far 🙌
And just posted my review at Care‘s Books & Pie…
I have changed my initial rating of 4 to the Big Ol‘ Five slicer because, why not? I think I will read and enjoy all of Kevin Wilson‘s books. I‘m adding him to my list of faves. #ListofFaveAuthors #5slices #CaresPieShow #OatmealCremePie #ifitisrounditcouldbepie #cakeisnotpie #doNOTpanic #ReadICT category Time #time #panic

I can just repeat my photos and decided to be boring today, right?! #ReadICT Time category (could also be friendship category?) #DueatLibrary !

🎧started this at work today… so far👏🏽👏🏽

This is my first book by this author. It was a good coming of age story with a quirky cast of characters. I think I‘ll read more from Wilson.
#52BookClub2023 #typographiccover
#BookSpinBingo #FabulousFebruary #Pantone2023