Sophie Jordan

From New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan, Uninvited is a chilling and suspenseful story about a girl whose DNA brands her a killer, perfect for fans of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and Confessions of a Murder Suspect. Davy had everything—a terrific boyfriend, the homecoming crown, a bright future at Juilliard—but when her genetic tests come back positive for Homicidal Tendency Syndrome, she loses it all. Uninvited from her prestigious school, avoided by her friends and family, she is placed in a special class with other "carriers" who are treated like the murderers they someday might become. Only Sean, a fellow HTS carrier, can relate to her new life and tells her that she alone controls her actions—not the code embedded into her DNA. But even if she can learn to trust him, can Davy trust herself?

Uninvited

Lacy W

Find this review and others like it at https://aravenclawlibraryx.wordpress.com

tw: inappropriate touching from a teacher to a student, assault (repeated), murder

This was an interesting book for lack of better words. The concept of a killer gene certainly makes for an interesting topic. To be honest, I’m probably just going to keep using the word interesting because I don’t really have a better way to describe this book. It wasn’t that this book was bad; I gave it 3.5 stars which is a good rating. It’s just not what I thought it was going to be, especially with the second half, which I’ll get into later. However, it would be cool to see if there is any actual science about serial killers and if there is a kill gene. I think there has been some studies with John Wayne Gacy’s brain and the likes but I don’t know if they ever found a “kill gene”. 

The book was hard to read though. Not because it was about killer kids. I’ve read many of those and seen many horror movies with killer kids. That doesn’t bother me at all. It was the way the government treated those with this kill gene even if they had never done anything before the testing. Take the main character, Davy. She had a bright future ahead of her. She had good friends, a gift for music, and a promising future. She wouldn’t hurt anyone or at least not intentionally hurt anyone. But because she had the kill gene (I can’t remember what the gene was officially called. Sorry!), all that was taken away simply because she was bound to kill someone. I often had to stop reading because I was so mad at the injustice of it all. I’m pretty sure this is related to how we treat those in prison with minor offenses like possession of marijuana or California’s three strikes rule. But that’s a topic of another day. 

Like I mentioned above, the first half of the book was good. I enjoyed Davy as the main character. My heart truly broke for her. She tried so hard to be strong in the face of so much adversity. Davy truly wanted to prove to everyone she wasn’t the killer they all thought she was going to be. I never faulted her for being defeated at one point in the book because who wouldn’t be defeated after your whole life comes crashing down? I know I would have been. 

What got me was the second half, when Davy went to Mount Haven, which was I believe an institution turned government facility. Having Davy be sent there was just abrupt. It kind ruined the flow of the story but I suppose it had to happen. I don’t know where the story could have gone. But I wish it could have been explained better. Sure, there were news articles, interviews and etc in between the chapters but it didn’t really explain much. 

Overall, I enjoyed the ride as my review might have indicated. I wasn’t blown away by this book but it was good. It certainly had its ups and downs. I think a lot of people would enjoy this book. I think it would be more geared toward a younger audience though. I might have been in the too old category. Regardless, I’m interested to see what the next book in the series has to offer.

Tia Malt 

4 stars
I loved this book; i loved the characters, i loved the character development, i loved how original the plot idea was, i just really loved this book. But do you know what i loved the most? Sean. Man, did i love Sean. He is easily my favourite thing about the book - hes the classic mistaken bad boy, with a hell of a twist, and ive got to admit i fell for it. He seemed very sincere, which is exactly what Davy needed from someone throughout Uninvited. The only fault i can come up with is that their interest in each other, while not completely insta-love, was still a tad too insta-love for my tastes.

Bring on book 2

Kerry Gibbons

Enjoyable book dealing with difficult and interesting subject matter. Wish it had a more satisfying conclusion, but you can't say not enough happened in this book!

Davy - our heroine - is such a massive Mary Sue, but the story and setting was very cool. As a biomedical scientist, the genetics part of the book intrigued me and I could totally see this scenario happening in the future, if not as severe as in this book. The fact that Davy thinks she's better than everyone else annoyed me so much and that is why I give this book 3 stars instead of 4.

ashley hopkins

Ana Ignat

*4.5/5 stars

I’m just going to start off by saying; I need the next book in my life a.s.a.p. This being said, I really really enjoyed this book. The premise of Uninvited was very unique, as I’ve never seen anything like it before. The idea of having a gene that tells you you’re going to kill someone is quite frightening and it brings a new and interesting idea into the dystopian genre. The main character Davy Hamilton is a music prodigy who has always been a perfect A plus student until she is identified as a carrier for the kill gene. Once her test results come back positive, she is uninvited from her prep school, and her friends turn on her. She then meets Sean O’Rourke, a fellow carrier, who has been imprinted with a tattoo on his neck that identifies him as a carrier that has committed some form of violence. As the book goes on, we see their relationship grow and a friendship, possibly more, forming. I think this is a great book to read if you are looking for a unique, dystopian world.

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  kimberlyfaye reads
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With 2013 and early 2014 bringing the end of several of my favorite YA series, I was on the hunt for a couple new favorites when I hit Edelweiss a few months back. The cover for Uninvited drew me in right away. I’d never read any of Sophie Jordan’s books and the synopsis for this one sounded so freaking good, I couldn’t pass it up. I’m so glad I didn’t. I have a new favorite series, y’all.

I love a good dystopian and Uninvited is just that. The world-building was superb, the premise unique and so very interesting, the character development excellent and the writing nothing short of wonderful. It’s difficult to say much about this book without giving anything away and I definitely don’t want to do that, so I’m going to keep this short and sweet. And vague.

  
    “Every once in awhile, the girl I used to be rouses her head and wants all those things she had before. Friends. Freedom. A boy who looks at her and touches her with lingering hands.”
  

Davy made a near-perfect protagonist. Where she started the book much like any normal teenager, her life took a drastic turn when test came back positive for HTS (Homicidal Tendency Syndrome). She quickly found herself in a world she didn’t recognize. Her friends abandoned her. Her boyfriend became a real jackass. Her family is scared of her. She can kiss her future plans goodbye. Everyone is just waiting for her to step across the line and prove she’s exactly what they fear: a killer. The only person who understands her is the mysterious Sean, a fellow HTS carrier. But even that relationship is complicated and she doesn’t know what to make of it. Through it all, I think she handled herself well. She didn’t give in or whine or really feel sorry for herself. She stayed as strong as possible and adapted to her new reality. I think it pretty much goes without saying that I loved Sean. He was mysterious and hot, protective and so complex. I wanted inside his head.

  
    “You can’t let this define you… beat you.”
  

There’s so much that’s good about this book. It was fast-paced; a quick read. I loved the characters, the romance and the action. To say I’m anxiously awaiting the sequel is a giant understatement. I need it in my life, like, now. I have to see what happens next.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review. All quotes come from the review copy and may differ from the final version.

Elad Schulman

Jessica Nottingham

Uninvited skyrocketed up my to-be-read list when I first heard about it. Not only am I fan of Sophie Jordan's writing style, but the whole idea of HTS sounded eerily plausible. I love getting lost in a book with a premise that could actually happen. It adds that extra level of tension to the whole read. What I'm really rambling about is this: I had high expectations. I went into this book intending to love it from cover to cover. It just didn't exactly happen that way.

First off, the story is told from Davy's perspective. This isn't an issue for the most part. Davy's story, what with her life being completely turned upside down by HTS, is actually rather interesting. I was right there with her as she tried to cope time and time again, as more insanity fell onto her head. The problem is that the reader isn't really treated to anything beyond what Davy knows. No description of where the gene was discovered, how it's tested for, or even how it was truly affecting people outside of her hometown. There are snippets here and there that try to make up for this. Newspaper clippings, letters, etc. However I still felt like I was missing some very useful information.

The other problem I had was with the romance. I'm sure we all know that the majority of YA has romance in it. I don't mind that, trust me. I love seeing two people come together under circumstances that would normally break them if they were apart. Still, neither of the two boys who came into Davy's world felt realistic to me. They felt like paper dolls. Boy A with his sweet personality who is, underneath it all, not the boy he seems to. Boy B the exact opposite, someone who looks dangerous and has a warm center. I honestly didn't like either of them. I also couldn't get behind Davy's paranoia at what a guy that she just met thought of her. It was a bit much.

One thing I will say is that Davy was a strong character when it counts, which I appreciated. The second half of the novel gave me a much better appreciation for how tough she truly was. I just wanted a bit more. More explanations, more action, just more of it all. So, yes I'll be back to read whatever comes after Uninvited. The ending left a lot undone, and my book-addled brain won't let that go.

Giulia 

Recensione su Giulia's World

Okay, inizialmente lo ammetto non riponevo molte speranze in questo libro. Mi sono decisamente ricreduta.
La prima parte non è niente di che, solo Davy che si lamenta di essere portatrice del gene, ma verso la fine della prima parte entrando nella seconda tutto diventa più intenso. La seconda parte è allucinante, mi sono trovata col cuore in gola tante di quelle volte che non so descrivervi la pelle d'oca che ho provato in certe scene!
Sean è fantastico, adoro il suo fare freddo e distaccato, il suo cercare di proteggere tutti e di essere un bravo ragazzo nonostante tutto. Il romance in tutto ciò è ben intuibile fin dall'inizio, ma i personaggi sono caratterizzati benissimo e non si può fare a meno di gioire e tremare con loro in base alle esigenze.
Il finale mi è piaciuto, forse un pò prevedibile se si presta attenzione, ma sinceramente io non ci ero arrivata xD.
Voglio il seguito per sapere come si concluderà la storia tipo... ORA!

Uninvited

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