I received this book for free from ARC in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Uninvited by Sophie Jordan Series: Uninvited #1
Published by HarperTeen on January 28th, 2014
Genres: YA
Goodreads
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.
Ms. Sophie Jordan, I am going to take a moment to be über creepy and say, you are the most evil, twisted, brilliant, amazing and absolutely FABULOUS woman ever. I think…you may be a genius and I sort of love hate you right now, in the best way possible…..
Erm….sorry about that guys but it needed to be said!
If you follow me on twitter you already know I’m going to gush and rant about how completely phenomenal this book is. You know I’m going to squeal and go gif happy and I’m going to start disowning you and damming your cows if you don’t pre-order it NOW. But I don’t care about what you know. I have to get all this off my chest and you bookish folks are the perfect audience!
I went into Uninvited with average expectations. It had a pretty cover, an intriguing blurb and a new (to me) author. It was only logical for me to go in expecting “oh that’s pretty nifty”. Who knew I would finish this book and be a babbling idiot?! That it would be so amazing that I literally had a mid-day dance party where I squealed and yelped at the piece of greatness sitting on my computer? Uninvited was so amazeballs that I took the term “read it in one sitting” and made it literal. I did not move, did not stretch, did not pause, did not snack or take a bathroom break while I read Uninvited. Somehow I managed to devour it in 3 hours and even though I genuinely wanted to savor every word on every page I couldn’t bring myself to slow down. I needed to know what was going to happen next. How it was going to happen. To whom it would happen to! I wanted needed to know all of the things and Jordan did a magnificent job of not only answering any questions that popped up, but of keeping me engaged. Not once did I even think “hmm I should take a break from this“. Jordan had her claws in me so deep, and as she yanked my feels out of my chest and danced on them I blissfully floated away. I’m telling you guys, she has major skills.
The entire concept of Uninvited is one that was original but also somewhat plausible. Scientist have discovered a gene within people that can tell if they will become a murderer. A simple, test that supposedly can tell you if little Sally down the street will grow up and some day kill everyone in her house. A test that has the power to strip you of you identity, your future and any hope of surviving. Soon the entire country was making this testing mandatory, they were treating these people as though they had already killed a slew of people. They panicked.
When I was earning my license to carry a firearm my instructor asked “If you are alone and someone attacks you what will you do.” My reply came hesitantly but I said “I would do my best to protect myself” and his reply has never left me. He said “Wrong. You will be afraid, and you will forget your common sense and panic. There is nothing wrong with fear, but I have to teach you how to see around that fear and not do something stupid.”
I felt like this held extremely true for Uninvited. America, was afraid. Afraid of the fact that some “test” could potentially tell who would be a murderer. Who, had the potential to swiftly and without any remorse end them, their families, their friends. And because of that fear America panicked in the worst possible way and did something so stupid that I actually lost a little bit of respect for my country.
After this mind fuck of a concept, Jordan introduced us to characters that made you stop and appreciate their individuality. From Davy’s determination and occasional naivety, to Sean’s confidence and loyalty, to Gil’s completely adorable geek vibe yet brave tendencies! I loved these three so much, and to watch their worlds crumble, no matter how different their backgrounds, it just broke my heart. I wasn’t joking when I tweeted that I teared up. In fact, to be completely honest, I found myself whipping away tears on two occasion. Something that I’ve never done. There was just something so raw, so tangible, about that lack of humanity portrayed in Uninvited and it pissed me off that people could and would do such things to their own. To human beings with rights and dreams and feelings! But it just goes to show how thin that precious veil of humanity, that we all cling to so tightly, is.
Seeing how truly fragile our “humanity” is kind of rubbed me raw. To see someone who has been working so hard, is an A+ student, a music prodigy on her way to Juilliard with not a violent bone in her body be physically branded a killer, just destroyed my heart and pissed me off. Everything she had, her friends, her family, her very future was taken away from her because some crackpot in a white jacket said she has a gene (HTS) that increases the likelihood of her becoming a killer. It was this grouping, this completely ridiculous conclusion that made me tear up by how weak fear can make a country and how one person can gain so much power from that fear. It was just too real, too believable (not the kill gene that was banana’s!), too much.
Uninvited has the characters, the plot, the pace and the balls to be one of my favorite books I’ve read in 2013. It was gritty in places but tried to make light of the bleak world contained within the pages. The writing was captivating but appropriate for the characters ages, and above all it ended in a way that satisfied me but still made me yearn for the next in the series. Now go pre-order it!
