The Perfect Outcast

A great dystopia that brought me back to my Hunger Games obsession days! If you're looking for some hope in this dark world, then this is a great read!

The Perfect Outcast is the perfect read fans of Hunger Games, The Dark Winter series and dystopian novels. A well crafted dark and immersive world which pulls you in. Strong characters who all go on journeys and experience huge growth as the story progresses. Great read.

Thank you to the author/publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

//TW: death, murder, kidnapping, sexual assault//

~Quick Statistics~
Overall: 5/5 Stars
Plot: 4/5/5 Stars
Setting: 5/5 Stars
Characters: 5/5 Stars
Writing: 5/5 Stars
Memorability: 5/5 Stars

~Quick Review~
The Perfect Outcast is a wonderful science fiction, an absolute page turner. As I was in a huge reading slump for the past few months, I was truly surprised that I ended up loving The Perfect Outcast, as many of the books I read during reading slumps are typically not my favorite. However, this novel stood its ground and is by far one of my favorite science fiction novels. I cannot wait for the sequel to be released.

~Other Information~
Publisher: Immortal Works Publishing
Page Count: 322 pages

As is stated on the Goodreads page, the sequel, The Perfect Icon, is expected to be released in April 2021.

~Book Description (via Goodreads)~
Seventeen-year-old Alina is the only imperfect person in a perfect world. On the surface, Pria is paradise: no hunger, no pain, not even death. Pria’s all-powerful ruler provides new thrills, constant pleasure, and eternal beauty. Every smile dazzles, every party delivers, and every young adult stops aging.

Except one.

Alina longs to fit in with her beautiful peers and dreams of connecting with the one boy who has been kind to her. But her flaws stand in the way. Fed up with her blunders and blemishes, her absence of friends, and her distant guardian, Alina seeks answers.

But behind Pria’s picture-perfect facade, unrest is growing, and the secrets Alina uncovers about her past are darker—and brighter—than she ever imagined.

A mysterious birth. A corrupt scientist who creates life merely to rule it. A parallel world where dissenters are sent to die. And an innocent Alina at the center of a deadly conspiracy. Now the only imperfect person must discover the courage to free herself and those she loves before she is silenced forever.

~Characters~
The Perfect Outcast follows the story of Alina, a young girl who is living in the perfect and immortal world of Pria. Alina is a teenager who is not like the other immortals, and is trying to find her own way in her mysterious and ‘wonderful’ world. Some other characters that were involved heavily in the story were Rex, Jade, and Baylor.

I definitely felt like the characters were well thought out and well written. I found Alina to be a strong, independent, and brave girl. She faces so much throughout the story, and she could certainly be a role model to younger readers.

~Writing and Setting~
I loved that the writing focused mainly on what’s going on in Alina’s head, especially since she is far different from all of the other characters. Hansen’s writing style is simplistic yet descriptive, which fitted the flow of the story nicely.

I have to give credit to Melissa Hansen, her creation of an entirely new government function than I’ve seen previously in science fiction is fantastic. The relation and interactions between Pria and Carthem are for sure well thought out.

~Plot~
I absolutely loved the idea of this novel. As I’ve said before, it is nothing like any science fiction or dystopian novel that I’ve read before, which I loved. Personally, I often find that dystopian series are repetitive and similar, however The Perfect Outcast was not.

The flow of the story was very well done, the only problem I had was that the story was a little slow at parts. Though, in all fairness, that could have been because I’ve been in a reading slump since September (I know right, that sucks).

~Overall Review~
Overall, I really enjoyed The Perfect Outcast and it’s uniqueness in respect to its genre. I highly recommend that you read this novel if you are a fan of The Hunger Games or the Legend series.

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I was not sure what I would get when I decided to read this book. When I read the description I felt so sorry for Alina and the world that she lived in. I have to admit it did make me pause a moment and look at my life and my life when I was a teenager. She goes through a lot in her journey for she lives in where perfection and immortality is the norm. That is not true for her as she has imperfections that make her stand out from her peers and that puts so much pressure on her. I did not think this book would be as dark as it was, but that made me want to know more with each page. It was an intense read.

Why oh why did I wait so long to read The Perfect Outcast?! I love dystopian novels and this one was no different. To be honest I would hate living in a world like this. Considering I already have low self-esteem I can see things being a lot worse in this world. Being around people who are perfect in every way would literally put you through an identity crisis. But I do like how the main character handled things in the story. Even though she was in a world where everyone was different from her she handled things very well. I can't wait to read more books by Melissa Hansen.

This book is a good mix of dystopian, fantasy, and adventure. I like that it was different and fascinating in its meanings. The author was great in the world building and describing the character development. I was pulled right into the story and found things to be easily pictured. The plot was creative and it was all in all a fun book that I really enjoyed.

I’m not normally a massive fan of science fiction but when I read the blurb I thought this sounded interesting and it was. It was a good mix of sci fi and dystopian and had an intriguing and engaging plot which kept me gripped