The Outliers

The Outliers by Kimberly McCreight is an intense mystery that doesn't completely unravel. Wylie has lost her mother in an accident and she can't seem to overcome her loss. On top of this stress, her best friend Cassie is missing. Cassie's boyfriend, Jasper, comes to Wylie's house and shows her the texts he's received from Cassie begging him to help her. Wylie and Jasper go on a treasure hunt of sorts looking for Cassie as they receive small clues a little at a time. They finally reach Cassie and the three of them find themselves in a situation comparable to a horror movie setting. Every time I thought I had the mystery figured out, something would change proving me wrong. The suspense and underlying mystery kept me reading to the end where, once again everything changed. I'm anxious to read the sequel, The Scattering. I give The Outliers 4 stars for a story that dropped the floor out from under me!

The Outliers began with such an interesting concept. Kimberly McCreight wrote that she became interested in the highly emotional frequency that her daughter and many of her female friends often operate on. This is often seen as a flaw in character, but the idea that perhaps it's actually a great strength led the author to explore this concept in The Outliers.

I really enjoyed this aspect of the novel. A lot of people would say that I'm far too sensitive and emotional, but I have recently begun to see some of the benefits this can bring. I often look back to times where people or situations made me feel uncomfortable and more often than not hindsight tells me that I should have listened to what my gut instinct was telling me!

The main character, 16 year old Wiley, suffers from extreme anxiety and agoraphobia which has gotten much worse since her mother passed away in a recent car accident. Even though her relationship with her best friend, Cassie, has been on the rocks lately when she goes missing Wiley knows that she has to help her.

Wiley and Cassie's boyfriend, Jasper, decide to drive across the country to rescue Cassie when they start receiving text messages from her asking for help. I have to admit that it is a little bit unbelievable that Wiley was able to leave the house so easily, but you never know how strong you can be until you're in the middle of an emergency.

There are so many plot twists to Wiley and Jasper's trip to rescue Cassie that I probably shouldn't get too much into this part of the novel to avoid spoilers. It's incredibly fast-paced and expect to have everything that you thought was going on turned on its head at least a couple of times. I'm definitely hanging out to read the second installment of the series after the huge plot twist at the end!!

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Wylie is dealing with the death of her mother in a car accident while also dealing with mental issues. The high school junior has been seeing a therapist since she was in elementary school. Wylie has a tendency to throw up or pass out when the situation gets stressful. Since the death of her mother, she has also developed agoraphobia and has not left the house for weeks.

One day she gets a mysterious text from her ex-best friend begging for help. Wylie is mad at her but is also determined to save her friend Cassie if it is at all possible. Cassie has turned self-destructive and now spends too much time partying and drinking. Most of their recent fights have been about Cassie's self-destructive behavior. But when Cassie calls, Wylie goes to her rescue.

Cassie sends her boyfriend Jasper to help Wylie who doesn't drive. Jasper has been having some of the same issues with Cassie that Wylie has. He hasn't been able to save her from her bad decisions either. Wylie doesn't like Jasper because she has formed some opinions about him without really knowing him and she blames him for some of Cassie's problems.

The two get to know each other better as they travel from Boston up into Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine following Cassie's cryptic clues. Along the way they meet people who help them and people who hinder them. When they find Cassie, they learn that all of their problems are just beginning.

This was an entertaining story about the length someone will go for their friends. It also take sort of a science fiction twist before its cliffhanging conclusion.

I’m not sure Cassie is what I would call a good friend or a friend at all for that matter. Do friends dump you to become part of the popular group in school? Do friends abandon you in your hour of need, and most importantly do they put you in a dangerous situation to make their own lives easier?
Cassie seems to be quite a selfish young lady, who likes to embrace trouble and the wild side of life. Trying to coerce your friends to join you in the middle of nowhere, not to tell anyone and put themselves in danger. All those choices lack common sense.
Jasper doesn’t appear to live up to all the bad reputation that trails behind him. In fact a lot of the stories seem to be flavoured by the input of others. More specifically by Cassie. Begs the question, why would she want Wylie to think the worst of her boyfriend?
As soon as they reach the camp everything becomes a little far-fetched. Who sent which messages to whom was especially confusing.
The plot goes from a friend in need and possibly mixed up with drugs to a whole different ball game.Wylie and her friends are suddenly a commodity.Then she is part of an elite group of gifted individuals. The goal posts keep changing during the story.
It wasn’t necessarily the change in the storyline that made this seem a bit chaotic. It was as if the author changed her mind about the plot and made the end of it fit in with the rest. With more clarity and direction this could be an interesting series.
*I received a free copy of this book courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley.*

This is more like 3.5 stars.

I was really excited to read this novel as I have previously read Kimberly McCreight's other two novels, Reconstructing Amelia and Where They Found Her, and really enjoyed them.

This story, for me, started off really well, in fact it was positively creepy. The plot was interesting, mysterious, and suspenseful. And all the twists and turns had me on the edge of my seat and totally engrossed.

However, the second half of the book seemed a little less intriguing. The plot lost a little momentum, became a bit disjointed, and felt slightly unrealistic.

Overall, though, I think it's a good story. The writing is strong. And the characters are complex, flawed, and determined.

This book is certainly unique and interesting, and I think it is definitely worth a read.

Really enjoyed The Outliers. Its one of those fast, addictive reads that you just go along for the ride with, yes it has its issues (the main protagonist suddenly finding a way to get over her agrophobia being the main one so if you can gloss over that a bit you are good to go) but if you are looking for a pretty good story with some pretty good characters that will kill an afternoon you'll love this. Perfect comfort reading.

I read it fast - one of those that gripped me - starting off as a sort of a road trip to the rescue and ending up somewhere else entirely it was an imaginative story with a classically cliff hanger ending to make you want more. I will definitely keep reading this series to see what happens next.

This was very much a part one. Kimberly McCreight takes her time setting things up, allows you to get to know the two main characters as they travel the highways in search of their missing friend who appears to be in danger. The whole of the book has a speculative feel, both thriller and a touch of scifi/fantasy - all in all it was a good deal of fun

**Originally reviewed for Liz Loves Books - Copy received via Netgalley UK**

I really thought this was going to be an amazing book, and I was going to fly through it. I even recommended it to a friend thinking it was going to be a 4 or 5 star read. However; in the end I am only giving this 2 stars on Goodreads and 3 stars on the store as it was only ok.

The first 3/4 of this book was so good. It was so suspenseful and I could not put it down. I wanted to know what happened to Cassie. I was sucked in and I had that feeling when you are scared with anticipation about what was going to happen next. Then they get close to finding her and the book took a turn.

I hated the rest of the book. The tone was different, the plot was not exciting to me, and I just was disappointed. Why would someone trust anyone in this situation and take what they say at face value? It was all just so strange and I wish this took a whole different take on what happened.

The end does leave you questioning what happens, but I do not think the plot left me wanting to pick up the next book once it comes out.

Oh that ending! I actually cheered knowing that the story was going to continue. I needed more of this world. Who are the Outliers and what can they do? All things I hope more books will tell me.

I really enjoyed this read. It kept me glued to the pages wanting to understand and while there were more questions than answers I felt it really set up the world the characters inhabited and paved the way for delving into that world in future books. I look forward to more of Wylie and Jasper and Gideon and even Wylie's very strange dad.

I loved the action and adventure, the very terrifying moments were terrific. There was a very real creepy element in a lot of the book. It was just the kind of book I love, a hang on to your seat cause you're in for a wild ride book. This book delivered on that for me and I enjoyed it very much. I will definitely be on pins and needles waiting on the next installment,

The Outliers starts out promising. Wylie reduces a text from her estranged best friend Cassie begging for help, that she is trapped somewhere and needs to be saved. Wylie embarks out with Cassie’s boyfriend Jasper to save her friend from mysterious danger in an unnamed placed that they are racing towards. That’s about 60% of the book.

Then the writing takes a turn for the worst and takes on a sort of sci-fi twist. The twist is so bad that I could barely read the pages since I was rolling my eyes constantly. It was nonsensical and just awful.

Two starts only because initially I was hooked, but I still wouldn’t recommend reading this because the ending is such an amazing let down. No. Just no.

I was asked to review this by Net Gallery

YA book beginning with an urgent Text for help. – The author has written a fast paced thriller with twists and turns. Quite crazy at times the main character is grieving for the loss of her mother and her friend has gone missing so she goes on the run to find her.
Modern with cryptic texts which add to the mystery.
As this is the first you do have to wait for the next. With books as well as TV series I prefer to devour at once and not wait.

An author with lots of talents.

I did read this in one sitting. An enjoyable read and has now been published.

Wylie and Cassie have been on the outs, but that did not stop Wylie from coming to her best friend's aid. A text, asking for help, in enough to get Wylie to leave the house, although fear has kept her inside almost exclusively since her mother's car accident. Jasper, Cassie's boyfriend, helps Wylie along on her dangerous journey. When Wylie starts to think that there is something else going on, will she and Jasper make it to Cassie in time?

Some of the plot was a bit see-through, but the suspenseful feeling kept me interested most of the time. The Outliers felt a little familiar to me, from the plot to the character reactions in certain situations. The book had a cliffhanger ending, prompting me to anticipate the next book in this series. Readers who like science fiction and paranormal may find The Outliers to be interesting.

The book suffered from pacing issues, lots of lag through the first half of the book.

The biggest issue, though, was the level of suspension of disbelief this story required from me. It was so inexplicably left field for so long I felt my eyes rolling as each new impossible to believe scenario came up. They all stacked up to an over-complicated, unbelievable whole. Characters would suddenly segue into out-of-character technical explanations. The prologue is never satisfactorily explained...

I wanted to like this, but the main character and her best friend both made me want to reach out and smack someone.

***Disclaimer*** I received a free copy of this book from Harper Teen as part of a reader survey.

This book started out strong. It immediately jumped into the action with Cassie's mother coming to Wylie's house to say that Cassie is missing. I liked Wylie's character and the fact that she was unstable due to dealing with anxiety. Even though she and Cassie were on the outs as friends, Wylie felt the need to overcome her own anxiety issues in order to go and find her old friend. She was accompanied by Cassie's boyfriend on this adventure.

For 3/4ths of the book, I was into all of the twists and turns. When it was revealed, however, that this whole danger they were in was because of Wylie's dad's research on intuition, that's when I felt disappointed. That didn't feel like a strong enough motive for the "bad guys" to go through all of this trouble to kidnap the kids, or for a government agency to be coming to kill anyone.

I also thought it was kind of silly the way the dad was just sitting at home the whole time at the end of the book. It felt anti-climatic, and like I didn't get a payoff for making it through the book. When the men came to the door at the end, that felt predictable.

I closed the back flap of the book with a sigh. The book was good, but not good enough.

I was so excited to see Kimberley McCreight had written another book as her others are among my favorites. I didn't see the same captivating writing skills in this book. It fell short. The dialogue and character development were shallow at best. Certain cliche phrases were repeatedly littered throughout. "I knew X would be ok. He/she had to be." I understand this series is written for a younger crowd, but she grossly underestimated the intelligence of her audience.

3.7 stars for me

The premise of the book was very intriguing and it's what kept me reading. I just wish there was more time spent exploring the powers of the Outliers as opposed to so much time spent on the dreadfully boring scientific explanations about said powers. Hopefully book two in the series gets more into this and there is more action!

New from bestselling author Kimberly McCreight comes THE OUTLIERS, the start of a new series full of mystery, thrills and danger.

Wylie is struggling to make it through the days, as her anxiety is at an all time high after "the accident,” where her mom tragically died in a car crash. Her dad and brother aren't quite affected by it like she is, and she finds herself on a downward spiral. Meanwhile, her friend Cassie has disappeared. This isn't entirely surprising news --- the distance between Wylie and Cassie has grown immensely after Cassie has taken up drinking. The worse her drinking becomes, the worse it affects her relationships with the people who care for her. Even though they aren't exactly on good terms, Wylie feels determined to find Cassie when her distressed mother comes over to their house begging for help. Although she only wants to prove that she can be a good friend, Wylie soon finds herself in more trouble than she ever imagined.

Cassie texts Wylie telling her she needs her help --- her help specifically --- and sends over her boyfriend Jasper to drive and assist her. Wylie and Jasper haven't met but they've both heard some not-so appealing rumors about each other and start off on bad terms. However, They know they must work together, however, in order to follow Cassie's specific instructions combined with vague information on her situation. Soon, what begins as a wild goose chase quickly turns dangerous and mysterious. Problems begin to unfold quickly as they realize there are a lot more layers to the situation than even Cassie herself is aware of. They never know who to trust, or where to go. Their expedition to find their friend soon turns into a life threatening situation for all three of them.

THE OUTLIERS by Kimberly McCreight is a novel full of mystery, excitement, and danger. The story picks up speed quickly, getting you hooked from the very start of the book, and never loses momentum. The characters all have their own backstories and personality traits --- some of which are hidden so that you're always on the edge of your seat to discover more about them. Just when you think you have this book figured out, it will turn out to be the opposite of what you expected, providing a thrilling reading experience. THE OUTLIERS combines many appealing concepts while also creating some new ones, making it a unique and enjoyable read. The story is told in a way that mixes present events with flashbacks so as to uncover more of the plot as you go along to help you figure things out. This novel creates such vivid visualizations that make it an exciting and extremely enjoyable read.

Reviewed by Maggie L.

I read her other 2 which were amazing! This one was okay. The first half I enjoyed and then it started just getting unrealistic. I didn't realize it was YA book when I first got it and once I realized it I thought what the heck?! I guess I can read it. I is definitely for younger readers but nonetheless I enjoyed it.

I’ve had this book hanging around in my TBR pile for awhile now. There aren’t any excuses for that, so I won’t give you any. I haven’t read any books by Kimberly McCreight before, but if this book is any indication, I may have to give some of her other books a try.

This book was a lot better than I expected. I really liked Wylie, and related to all her anxieties, being an anxiety-ridden person myself. When we meet Wylie, she’s mere months into grieving for her mothers’ passing. Her *brother is kind of a jerk and her father is just not very interested in being involved, which I guess is somewhat to be expected after losing his wife. So, basically, there’s a lot going on in Wylie’s life that exceeds her already anxious existence. She’s basically living day by day, just hoping to get through it.

That all changes when she receives a mysterious text from her estranged best friend, Cassie, asking for help. And then said best friend’s egomaniac of a **boyfriend, Jasper, shows up at Wylie’s house, having received a similar text from Cassie. They both leave on a journey to save Cassie from some unknown threat, or maybe just from herself.

And this is where the book gets weird. Good weird. Some twists and turns that really make this a fun, edge-of-your-seat kinda read! Although, I have to say, I did predict early on some of the things that happened. There was even a bit of eye-rolling at some of the obvious twists that the characters didn’t see coming. But, overall, it was a solid, fun read and I’ll definitely read the next book in the series.

*Her brother stayed a jerk throughout the whole book!

**Jasper redeemed himself and I ended up really liking him.

I definitely didn't expect what I read. Maybe that's the reason I couldn't get into it. The blurb did little to prepare me for the outrageousness of this book. If I had known, been mentally ready to suspend some logic, I think I would've enjoyed this book. It just didn't work for me.

I also highly disliked the ending.

How could a book with so much premise at the start fail so miserably? The first two thirds were good. The last third of the book turned into something different. It became weird and confusing. It's too bad because I was liking it until about 70%. And Cassie? Seriously, WTF. Great premise, poor execution. At least I finished it though. I will not be continuing with the series.

This book seems to be written more for YA (young adult) audiences. The central characters are all teens and the storyline just seems to cater to this age group. That being said, the story itself seems a little unbelievable. I've read books by this author in the past that were much better. Three stars for ok, but not her best.

my only issue with this book is that I have to wait for the next one.

I finished this book in a day mainly because I was so desperate to find out what was going on. what happened to Cassie? where is Wylie's dad? who and what is an outlier?

was there a lot going on? yeah. was it a bit clichéd? just a bit. did I keep reading until I finished? I really couldn't put the book down.

suspenseful, mysterious and a touch of sci fi will turn this book I to your next read.

are you an outlier?

Could not put this book down! Was on the edge of my seat page after page. Kimberly McCreight deftly captures the anxiety-ridden reality of our youth and weaves it into an intense and powerful psychologically thriller! Not only is this novel filled with endless suspense, it also examines the possibility of anxiety and intuition being linked. One of my favorite lines: “This is not how I die. It’s a memory and a wish.”

An epic read!

I heard such great things about this book. So, I went in with the idea of reading a book and not being able to put it down. Well into Chapter 5, I can't bring myself to continue on with the book. It hasn't grabbed me by now, it's not going to happen. I am a bit disappointed after all the reviews I heard.

I just finished this yesterday and I want more!!I The ending was such a cliff hanger, I kept flipping the last few pages to see if there is a next one and where I can find it. If this is a taste of Kimberly's writing i want more.

I bought this book at Walmart but came here for reviews. I don't think the reviews were helpful because I still bought the book and loved it. Deffinetely reccomend, even my ten year old found it interesting.

I loved this book. Once started, it was almost impossible to put down. I was blindsided by pretty well all the plot's twists and turns, and constantly found myself asking "what exactly is going on here?" The writing flows very smoothly, providing a growing sense of danger as the plot develops. This is a fast-paced read which will deliver a huge impact to any reader!

I had high hopes for this book, it sounded compelling. It had a good beginning and the middle of the story wasn't too rediculous, but the story completely lost me in the end. Nonsensical. The story completely fell apart. I won't bother with the rest of the series. Don't bother!

The Outliers is a dark, haunting and fast paced psychological thriller. The novel chronicle’s Wylie, a struggling teen coping with death her family. This journey begins with a single decision to help a friend—and ends with an expected twist. Kimberly McCreight best novel to date!

The Outliers is a riveting, thrilling page-turner, and I found myself hooked from the get-go. It was the perfect combination of suspense, which kept the pages flying and made me unable to stop reading, and well-drawn characters with rich inner lives, who moved me and kept me invested in the narrative. The book had me gasping at several points, and it brought me to tears too. I can't wait for the next one to come out!

I had high hopes for this book, it sounded compelling. It had a good beginning and the middle of the story wasn't too rediculous, but the story completely lost me in the end. Nonsensical. The story completely fell apart. I won't bother with the rest of the series. Don't bother!

The Outliers is a dark, haunting and fast paced psychological thriller. The novel chronicle’s Wylie, a struggling teen coping with death her family. This journey begins with a single decision to help a friend—and ends with an expected twist. Kimberly McCreight best novel to date!

The Outliers is a riveting, thrilling page-turner, and I found myself hooked from the get-go. It was the perfect combination of suspense, which kept the pages flying and made me unable to stop reading, and well-drawn characters with rich inner lives, who moved me and kept me invested in the narrative. The book had me gasping at several points, and it brought me to tears too. I can't wait for the next one to come out!

The only thing not to love about McCreight's new thriller is that you have to wait for the next book to see what happens to Wylie. But you may need that time to slow your heart rate. Total page-turner...