Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Review: Uninvited by Sophie Jordan

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13645645-uninvited
Uninvited
(Uninvited #1)
by Sophie Jordan
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Publication Date: January 28th 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 384
ISBN: 9780062233653
Genre: Young Adult / Dystopian
Source: Edelweiss

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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. (Goodreads)
Imagine living in a world where your DNA could tell if you would be a killer or not. That is the world in which Davy Hamilton lives.  Davy is a smart, talented, and privileged young lady with a very bright future ahead of her. But when she tests positive for Homicidal Tendency Syndrome, otherwise known as the killing gene, she loses everything she has ever know and loved, including her friends, her boyfriend, and the promising future that was waiting on her.

When we first meet Davy in the beginning of the novel, she is very young and naïve. Throughout the novel we see her become more hardened to the world. What other choice does she have, really? I felt so bad for Davy’s whole situation, and for everything that she was being put through. With some of the ‘carriers’, you could tell that they were bad people. But Davy wasn’t a bad person at all, and it was a bit heartbreaking to see her lose everything that she loved so quickly. She was treated like a monster, instead of just a girl. I found her reactions to everything that happened to be very realistic. I think I would have reacted the very same way. It just wasn’t right!

Some of the things that happened to Davy throughout the book were insanely frustrating to me. Some of the reasons that the Agency did some of the things that they did were completely ridiculous. However, the way that the people reacted to the ‘carriers’ of the gene was very realistic. I was surprised to see just how quickly all of Davy’s friends turned on her. I could see this happening in real life and see people reacting in the ridiculous ways that they did in the story. Granted, some reactions were appropriate, but others where just people being overly paranoid of people that are different in the world.

There were a few secondary characters in the story that I really enjoyed. There was Sean, who was the big bad guy, and also the love interest in the story. There was also Gil, computer nerd extraordinaire, and Sabine, who Davy meets later in the book. All of these characters are carriers of the kill gene, which is what ended up throwing them all together, but none of them seemed like a monster to me at all. I really enjoyed all of these characters.

The relationship between Davy and Sean started off slowly and built into something more.  It seems that Davy felt a bit more for Sean in the beginning that he did for her.  The only thing that bothered me about the relationship was that Sean was always doing something to protect her; he didn’t really let her fight her battles herself. That did get a bit annoying after a while, to me and to Davy, it seems, as well. The romance didn’t really seem to be a huge part of the book, but maybe that’s because it really didn’t start to grow until the second half of the book.

I really loved the whole plot for the book. Imagine if this happened in real life? Oh goodness, it would be a nightmare! But it made for an extremely fascinating topic for this book, one that I would love to read more on. The book is filled with so much tension. A couple of times I was actually tensed up, holding my breath, waiting to see what was going to happen. Because of this, I sort of expected a big cliffhanger type ending.  I found the ending a bit anticlimactic; I definitely expected a bit more.

Overall; while I did have a few issues with this book, I did find it to be a very enjoyable read. I’m really interested in reading the next book in the series just to see what’s going to happen next.

3 comments:

  1. I've heard so much about this book, and now that I get the chance to get a "closer look", I'll definitely have to put it on my TBR pile, thanks to your review!
    However, I can definitely agree with disappointing cliffhangers. One builds themselves up with anticipation of a big shock, only to be left... empty. At least that's how I feel when something like this happens to me.

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  2. People are stupid and can be so easily scared, especially by something like a "killer gene". Playing off that in this story is a great idea -- can't wait to read it!

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  3. OOh nice review! Reading all sorts of good reviews for this one! I have to admit, I am curious now myself! Normally I go the paranormal way, but a few dystopians get thrown in every now and then and this one sounds awesome!

    Sean definitely sounds peculiar. It's both endearing to hear that he protects Davy, but then a bit annoying and overprotective of him that he seems to be constantly doing so! Can't wait to read this one soon either!

    Again, great review!

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