Author: Adrienne Kress
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Fantasy
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Goodreads | Amazon
After six years of “angels” coming out of the sky and taking people from her town, 16-year-old Riley Carver has just about had it living with the constant fear. When one decides to terrorize her in her own backyard, it’s the final straw. She takes her mother’s shotgun and shoots the thing. So it’s dead. Or … not? In place of the creature she shot, is a guy. A really hot guy. A really hot alive and breathing guy. Oh, and he’s totally naked.Review by Nara
Not sure what to do, she drags his unconscious body to the tool shed and ties him up. After all, he’s an angel and they have tricks. When he regains consciousness she’s all set to interrogate him about why the angels come to her town, and how to get back her best friend (and almost boyfriend) Chris, who was taken the year before. But it turns out the naked guy in her shed is just as confused about everything as she is.
He thinks it’s 1956.
Set in the deep south, OUTCAST is a story of love, trust, and coming of age. It’s also a story about the supernatural, a girl with a strange sense of humor who’s got wicked aim, a greaser from the 50’s, and an army of misfits coming together for one purpose: To kick some serious angel ass.
Outcast started off on a really weird note- what with the tying up of the naked guy in the shed and hand feeding him cereal and all- but after that initial bump, the story was actually quite good. I do find it interesting when the author portrays the angels as the bad guys. It's definitely a lot rarer than the classic angel vs. demon/fallen angel thing.
The relationship between Gabe and Riley is pretty interesting. For at least half the book she doesn't trust him at all- which is pretty reasonable considering he was previously this angel thing that abducted people in the night. There is then a tipping point quite late in the story, and from then on, their relationship becomes steadier and stronger. I have to admit, Gabe seemed a bit sleazy at first- but he grew on me. There's this one speech (which I won't quote because it's pretty long + spoilers) that really showed his awesomeness. One weird thing though- if Gabe is from 50 years in the past, shouldn't he speak differently to the teens of today?? I mean, apart from the occasional "swell" and "neat-o", there really wasn't much of a difference that I could pick up.
Also the whole thing with this one character Lacy was honestly very strange. At times she'd seem really friendly, like when she's helping Riley prepare for a date, and at other times she'd be really quite arrogant and downright annoying. I lay down a diagnosis of split personality disorder. Also, what happened to Amber? She just disappears for half the book after having played her role as a superficial supporting character. I mean, is she a friend or not? There was this one party where Amber specifically asks Riley "not to let her get drunk" (what a weird request...) and instead of watching over her, or getting someone else to keep an eye on her or whatever, Riley gets sick of the party and decides to go home. What a compassionate friend!
Seriously, what is up with all these cruel, cruel authors leaving us with gut wrenching cliffhangers?? I will definitely be eagerly awaiting the release of the next book. I really want to see what the author is going to do about the return of a certain character...(which, by the way, was ridiculously predictable- I saw it coming from the very start of the book). I also want to see the lore explored a bit further- especially this Circle of Seven....
Liked it
Overall: 7/10
Plot: 3/5
Writing: 4/5
Characters: 3/5
Cover: 4/5
Other books where the angels are the bad guys:
1. Angellfall by Susan Ee
2. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
