A quirky, charming coming-of-age story.

Now Is Not the Time to Panic (2022) is an original and entertaining read.

Sixteen-year-old Frankie Budge—aspiring writer, indifferent student, offbeat loner—is determined to make it through yet another sad summer in Coalfield, Tennessee, when she meets Zeke, a talented artist who has just moved into his grandmother’s unhappy house and who is as lonely and awkward as Frankie.

… when the two jointly make an unsigned poster, shot through with an enigmatic phrase, it becomes unforgettable to anyone who sees it. 

The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us.