Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. My favorite type of graffiti isn't the

elaborately drawn tag, those can be sick. But at least around my neighborhood, sometimes

you'll see some phrase or sentence that toes the line between pretentious poetry and

like bong hit nonsense. That kind of phrase, written obviously

by a couple teenage friends, is at the center of today's book. It's called Now is Not the Time to

Panic by Kevin Wilson, and he told NPR Scott Simon about how he was inspired by his own friend

from childhood, and how he'd hoped the book would give them a reason to reconnect.

But then his friend died suddenly, and now the book is a reason to remember.

A lot of short daily news podcasts focus on just one story.

But right now, you probably need more.

On Up First from NPR, we bring you three of the world's top headlines

every day in under 15 minutes because no one's story can capture all that's happening in this

big, crazy world of ours on any given morning. Listen now to the Up First podcast from NPR.

I'm going to ask Kevin Wilson to read a line that sets off so much in his new novel.

Now is not the time to panic. Mr. Wilson?

The edge is a shanty town filled with gold seekers.

We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us.

Whatever those words may mean, two teens, Frankie and Zeke, growing up in Coldfield, Tennessee

in the 90s, turned them into an art project, a much-reproduced poster that becomes a national

phenomenon. But its history stays buried and obscure it until Frankie Budge,

all grown up now, and a writer gets a call from a journalist.

Kevin Wilson, author of Nothing to See Here and other novels,

...