Review: The Outliers

Title: The Outliers
Author: Kimberly McCreight
Publication Date: May 3, 2016
Genre: Young Adult/Suspense/Thriller
Recommended If You Like: lots of suspense, surprises, realistic depictions of anxiety, twists and turns

The Book:

Already struggling with deep anxiety, Wylie is unable to leave her house after her mother's death. She hasn't spoken to her best friend, Cassie, since their last big fight. But when she receives a text from Cassie, begging for help, Wylie knows she has to go and save her. Along with Cassie's boyfriend, Jasper, Wylie follows the clues Cassie keeps texting to her. But soon Wylie begins to realize there might be much more going on than she could ever have predicted.

What I Liked:

This is a book that never let up on the suspense and thrills once it got going. I got completely sucked in and could not put the book down. I really liked how McCreight managed to take her usual fantastic psychological suspense and mystery style, and mix it into a young adult book that ended up going off on an entirely different track (I don't want to say too much because I don't want to spoil anything).

I also thought McCreight did an excellent job of realistically portraying anxiety. As someone with an anxiety disorder myself, it's so important to me to read a book that not only has a main character with anxiety, but one who is relatable and strong.

Anything I Didn't Like?

The book did start out pretty slow for me. This didn't last long, but it did take a bit for me to get into it.

So...?

I know this book really split McCreight fans-a lot didn't like it, and I can see where they are coming from, because it is so different from her previous works. But I really liked it, and can't wait to read the next book in the series.