Review: Uninvited by Sophie Jordan

Uninvited

(Uninvited # 1)

By: Sophie Jordan

Pub. Date: January 28, 2014

Publisher: Harper Teen

Pages: 384

Source: Edelweiss

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.

I received this galley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Edelweiss and Harper Teen.

I have been excited to read Uninvited since I first heard about it. Then I saw the cover and I was even more excited. At first glance you just see a girl. Is she floating? I'm not really sure. Then you notice her hair and how it turns into DNA. So cool! I was already a huge fan of Sophie Jordan. I love her Firelight series and her NA story, Foreplay. When I saw this on edelweiss, I jumped at the chance to read it.

Davy is a normal teenage girl. She loves her boyfriend, she is going to Julliard in the fall, and she's a good student. Then she learns the results of her HTS test, which everyone has to get tested for. Turns out she has the killer gene, and in one second her life is changed forever. She gets expelled from school, her boyfriend dumps her, her friends want nothing to do with her, and Julliard takes back her acceptance. She is forced to go to public school where she is locked in a room with five other teens who also carry the gene and do her work, never having any interaction with anyone else. I felt so bad for her! It is such a horrible thing that Davy had to go through.

The premise of this story is very interesting and makes you think about nature vs. nurture. I believe that everyone has the ability to either be good or evil. And it is your experiences, your past, and your DNA that makes you go either way. Davy might have this gene, but will she ever kill someone? I think what ends up happening is very ironic.

In the classroom, labeled "the cage" she meets others with this gene. Some of them are horrible, and you know they are going to grow up to be rapists and/or murderers. Then there are others who don't seem to have a mean bone in their body. It is here that we meet Sean, a carrier of the gene and also someone who has a thick tattoo on his neck labeling him extremely dangerous. Poor Sean. Sean has been in foster care most of his life and was "diagnosed" as a child. While he is this huge guy with tattoos, he really is one of the sweetest boys ever. Always wanting to protect those who are weak, and always trying to do the right thing. He was never given the chance for anyone to see that, and it broke my heart.

I really enjoyed Uninvited and I am excited to read the next book in the series.