Who Are The Main Characters In 'Now Is Not The Time To Panic'?

Frankie Budge and Zeke Lerner are the heart of 'Now Is Not the Time to Panic,' but the novel cleverly uses side characters to mirror their growth. Frankie’s desperation to escape her mundane life is palpable—she scribbles stories in notebooks and dreams of something bigger. Zeke, meanwhile, hides his trauma behind sarcasm and a leather jacket. Their collaboration on a cryptic poster (“The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers”) sparks a town-wide panic, blurring the line between art and vandalism.

The adults around them amplify the tension. Frankie’s mom, a pragmatic nurse, dismisses her daughter’s artistic ambitions as phase. Zeke’s estranged dad lurks in the background, a ghost haunting his son’s choices. Even minor characters, like the local sheriff obsessed with the poster’s meaning, highlight how easily fear spreads. The beauty of the story lies in how Frankie and Zeke’s bond evolves—from co-conspirators to near-strangers, then back to something fragile but real. The ending doesn’t tie everything neatly, but that’s the point: panic fades, but art lingers.

If you love messy, authentic teenagers, Frankie and Zeke in 'Now Is Not the Time to Panic' won’t disappoint. Frankie’s the kind of girl who wears her heart on her sleeve—her poetry is raw, her laughter too loud, her mistakes bigger than she is. Zeke’s more reserved, but his loyalty runs deep. Their friendship starts as a summer fluke: two outsiders drawn together by boredom and a shared love of weird music. The poster they make—a cryptic phrase paired with eerie artwork—becomes a cultural touchstone, but the novel focuses on what it costs them.

Secondary characters shine too. There’s Frankie’s younger brother, who idolizes Zeke in a way that stings, and the town’s overzealous journalist who turns their art into a moral panic. What makes the book special is how it captures that teenage feeling of being simultaneously invisible and exposed. Frankie and Zeke aren’t heroes or villains—just kids who accidentally set their world on fire, then have to decide whether to stamp it out or let it burn.

The main characters in 'Now Is Not the Time to Panic' are two teenage misfits, Frankie and Zeke, who stumble into an unexpected summer adventure. Frankie is the creative force—a restless, artistic girl who feels trapped in her small town. Zeke is her polar opposite, a quiet, brooding boy with a sharp wit and hidden depths. Their dynamic drives the story: Frankie’s impulsiveness clashes with Zeke’s caution, but their shared loneliness bonds them. When they accidentally create a mysterious art project that goes viral, their lives spiral into chaos. The novel explores how their friendship fractures under pressure, and whether they can salvage it before summer ends. The supporting cast—like Frankie’s skeptical mom and Zeke’s absent father—add layers to their struggles. It’s a coming-of-age story where art becomes both salvation and sabotage.