The Outliers
By Sandie Angulo Chen,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Page-turner thriller is full of twists, violence.
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What you will—and won't—find in this book.
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What's the Story?
THE OUTLIERS follows Wylie Lang, a Boston-area teen who doesn't leave her house and has acute anxiety and agoraphobia. Four months after her mother died in an accident, she remains unable even to go to school, and neither her twin brother nor her researcher father understands. Everything changes the moment her best (and only) friend Cassie turns up missing. Cassie's boyfriend, Jasper -- whom Wylie temporarily suspects is responsible -- shows up at Wylie's house to tell her that he got unsettling texts from Cassie commanding him to go to Wylie's and not tell anyone they heard from her. The texts compel Wylie out of the house, and she and Jasper (both of whom have had issues with Cassie recently) drive north on an action-packed road trip to find her. What they find instead is a mysterious, dangerous group rounding up people who possess extraordinary emotional intelligence. Lies, betrayal, and violence ensue.
Is It Any Good?
Despite the occasionally convoluted plot, this psychological thriller will keep readers engaged until they figure out what's going on and how the main character can survive various obstacles. The Outliers doesn't always make a lot of sense, but if readers are willing to suspend their disbelief, they will find themselves rooting for Wylie and Jasper. The two aren't even really friends when they first set off together (as is fairly common between the best friend and the boyfriend), but they develop a hesitant alliance that eventually turns into a trust and an openness they don't share with anyone else. Their slow burn of a friendship (with hints of romance to come) is one of the strongest parts of the story.
The weakest parts are the multiple conspiracy theories and competing groups trying to control the titular "Outliers" with almost superpower-like instinctive and perceptive abilities. It's best not to get bogged down in the plot holes and muddled aspects of what the Outliers are capable of and what various government and nefarious forces want with them. The author must be saving the clarity (and romance) for the next installment of the trilogy, but in the meantime at least this one is a quick read.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the violence in The Outliers. How does realistic violence affect readers differently from stylized or fantasy violence?
What do you think about how the main character's mental health issues are handled? What did you learn about agoraphobia and anxiety?
What do you see going forward in the story? How about the romance?
Book Details
- Author: Kimberly McCreight
- Genre: Mystery
- Topics: Brothers and Sisters, Friendship, High School
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
- Publication date: May 3, 2016
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 14 - 18
- Number of pages: 336
- Available on: Paperback, Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: July 13, 2017
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