Uninvited by Sophie Jordan Review

Uninvited by Sophie Jordan
(Uninvited, #1)
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen; 384 pages

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.

This book was so good. I didn't know what to expect. I've never read any books by Sophie Jordan and I haven't heard a whole lot about this book so I pretty much went into it without expectations. But wow - I couldn't put it down. I literately read this book until my vision was going blurry from sleep deprivation last night. I had to put it down but as soon as I woke up, I started reading again. All I needed was a little break for my eyeballs and I was ready to go.

I was so convinced, at the beginning of this novel, that I was going to love Davy's current boyfriend, Zac, who seems to be one of the hottest guys in the senior class, if not the entire school. He loved her and it showed how much he loved her and I love moments like that. Not when they use words but when they use actions. I was rooting for them, I was - until she was uninvited; marked with HTS-the kill gene-I knew things were about to get ugly. She was no longer allowed to attend her school, had a case worker she had to see on a regular basis and put in a public school. Her world was turned upside down. Here she was, talking about her future - attending Julliard in New York City and being so close to her boyfriend, whose attending New York University to be dished the worst news anyone could possibly receive. What does this mean for her dreams? For her future? Because surely someone had to be wrong. There's no one this perfect, brilliant girl could ever kill someone.

If she thought going to a new school might possibly be okay, she was wrong. Going to this new school was like going to prison. She had to wear a bright orange badge that made her stand out, so everyone would see that she has HTS and to stay away. She was locked in a room, fenced in with other HTS students that were creepy. Well, Nathan and Brian were creepy and seemed pretty dangerous (not murder dangerous just not friendly), Coco was the only other female in the class but she didn't seem like she wanted to be bothered, then there was the scrawny, somewhat nerdy looking guy, Gil, who seemed friendly enough but it was really the mysterious Sean who captured her attention. Not to mention their creepy teacher who more like a babysitter; the way he looked at her made me even feel uncomfortable.

A huge, tragic crime was committed by a group of HTS positive guys who wanted to make a point. They made one, loud and clear - the biggest mass murder ever. This changed the way everyone viewed HTS carriers, even more so than they were before. If you thought people hated you for being unfortunate enough to have the kill gene, you hadn't seen anything yet. It wasn't safe for Davy to leave her house without risking her life and really, what kind of life is that? But then things changed and those with the kill gene's were sent to detention camps and that, my friends, is where things got real interesting. A handful of younger HTS positive kids were sent to a special training facility, even though they weren't really being told what they were training for. 50 kids who were, according to everyone else, bound to kill and hurt people some time in their life all stuck together at the same place - you know that sounds like a good time.

You know what I loved most about the romance in this book? Though it wasn't the most important factor to the story, it was always there, just hiding barely beneath the surface, waiting to make it's appearance. And boy oh boy did it wait. So many times when I thought something might have happened between Davy and Sean, it didn't. While it left me disappointed, it had me looking forward to the next time when hopefully something might happen. He's dangerous but he's not. He's fiercely protective and that's when he gets dangerous. You threaten something he cares about and you face is going to be introduced to his fist. Usually, a slow build up like this would've annoyed me because I'm impatient, it did the opposite. That's when you know I've got a good book in front of me - when I can ignore the fact that there's no kissy scenes but I'm still unable to put the book down.

There are not enough good things I can say about this book without writing a mini book of my own. I was thoroughly surprised and now I cannot wait for the next book. This also makes me want to pick up other books by Sophie Jordan and I think Foreplay is next on my radar by her.

Thank you so much to HarperTeen for allowing me the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.