Wylie and Cassie have been drifting apart for a while, and their last fight was especially bad. But when Wylie receives a frantic text from her friend, she barely hesitates to jump to her rescue. But as Wylie follows Cassie’s cryptic directions further and further into the New England woods, it becomes clear that both girls are in more trouble than either of them could have imagined.
The Outliers is the debut young adult novel from Edgar nominee Kimberly McCreight (Reconstructing Amelia), and her knack for suspense will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very last page. Though the plot begins to feel a bit far-fetched toward the end, every twist and turn on Wylie’s quest to find Cassie only serves to raise the stakes and heighten the very real sense of danger The Outliers evokes.
That danger feels even more immediate thanks to McCreight’s brilliant protagonist. Wylie is agoraphobic, anxious, weirdly in tune with other people’s emotions and struggling to gain footing in life. But she’s also sharp and driven, and in many ways, the traits that make her unique also make her vividly relatable.
The Outliers is a gripping read—sometimes flat-out scary—and an exciting start to a new YA mystery/thriller series.
