PANIC! PANIC!
Contemporary YA
(seeking representation)

An extremely anxious 16-year-old plans to win her prestigious video game summer enrichment program’s pitch war, only to find that her ex-best friend has arrived. Now, she’s got competition. But when she is faced with the choice of working with a group of kids—including the cute coder girl down the bus aisle—on a joint project or going solo on her own, she can’t choose. She decides to do both, working on her own in secret. But to do that, she’s going to need her ex-best friend's help. Panic. Panic.

This is the book for you if you like: video games, flirt alerts, difficult goodbyes, and therapy.

Anxiety representation
Neurodivergence
Bisexual MC

Why I Wrote the Book

Having struggled with anxiety since a young age, I wrote PANIC! PANIC! to address the lack of stories that are specifically about young people living with generalized anxiety disorder as well as to create a well-rounded bisexual character who isn’t solely identified by her sexuality. In short, it’s the book I wish I had read as a teenager.

Excerpt

My palms grow clammy as the obstacles of the quest stack in my mind. Trust falls with strangers. Group selfies. Myopic bus driver. Poorly maintained elevators. Cockroaches. Expired beef jerky. Flesh-eating bacteria. Skull-trotting lice. Presidential ghost sightings. Writer's block. Lazy teammates. Programming errors. Misplaced meds. Stolen notebook. Hurdles I could have handled with Pippa by my side. Even after all these months, my still hand reaches for my phone when I think of her. But there will be no texting Pippa. Not now. Not ever.