Review: Uninvited (Uninvited, #1)

Author: Sophie Jordan
Series: Uninvited, #1
Published: January 28th 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Format: Hardcover, 384 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: The Book Depository

The Scarlet Letter meets Minority Report in bestselling author Sophie Jordan's chilling new novel about a teenage girl who is ostracized when her genetic test proves she's destined to become a murderer.

When Davy Hamilton's tests come back positive for Homicidal Tendency Syndrome (HTS)-aka the kill gene-she loses everything. Her boyfriend ditches her, her parents are scared of her, and she can forget about her bright future at Juilliard. Davy doesn't feel any different, but genes don't lie. One day she will kill someone.

Only Sean, a fellow HTS carrier, can relate to her new life. Davy wants to trust him; maybe he's not as dangerous as he seems. Or maybe Davy is just as deadly.

The first in a two-book series, Uninvited tackles intriguing questions about free will, identity, and human nature. Steeped in New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan's trademark mix of gripping action and breathless romance, this suspenseful tale is perfect for fans of James Patterson, Michelle Hodkin, and Lisa McMann.

Considering my horrid experience with Firelight, Sophie Jordan’s YA paranormal project, I started Uninvited a bit wearily, honestly not expecting much. And yet, not even 50 pages in, I found myself wound so tightly I could barely breathe.

Jordan did an excellent job of building this mistrustful, terrified society. Parents turning on their children, boyfriends turning on their girlfriends, best friends turning on each other, for no reason other than two recessive genes combined. Fear and mass hysteria are worst enemies of mankind, and combined with the financial interests of some huge company, they make the most dangerous thing in the world.

The horrible injustice of it all burned my throat as I struggled to understand how an entire nation could become so close-minded and prejudiced in such a short period of time. How does one go from ‘innocent until proven guilty’ to ‘guilty simply for having the so called kill gene’? Are we really that easily manipulated? I’m afraid the answer to that question came to me just a bit too quickly, and it wasn’t one I wanted to believe.

Ostracized by her friends and completely abandoned by her formerly loving family, Davy suddenly finds herself completely alone in a world unknown. The rules she lived by for the first 17 years of her life no longer apply. One minute she is a former child prodigy, a well-loved and well-cared for girl, already accepted to Julliard, girlfriend of the most desirable boy in school, with her life all planned out – the next, she is no one, a person with no friends, no family, no name and no rights. She is fair game to every bully and predator out there, and the law is never on her side.

At the beginning, the author took a great risk by making Davy just as prejudiced as her peers, just as ready to judge and turn her back on someone without bothering to find out the first thing about them. She discriminated even while being discriminated against. However, the worse her situation got, the more she realized how unimportant outward signs of violence – forced upon those like her by the government – really are. Little by little, Davy changed the frame through which she viewed the world, and built herself into the person she needed to be to survive.

The strong philosophical undertones, the never-ending nature vs. nurture discussion, make Uninvited a much better book. This isn’t a story you’ll breeze through. If you pay enough attention, it will force you to consider things you’d rather not think about.

Thought-provoking and deeply disturbing, Uninvited is a perfect read for those who enjoy their dystopias with a slightly more realistic edge.

A copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher for review purposes. No considerations, monetary or otherwise, have influenced the opinions expressed in this review.