Friday, January 24, 2014

Review: Uninvited by Sophie Jordan

Uninvited (Uninvited, #1)
Uninvited (Uninvited #1) by Sophie Jordan
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.
”add
Publishes in US: January 28th 2014 by HarperTeen
Genre: YA Sci-fi
Source: Harper Teen
Series? Uninvited #1

Buy it: IndieBound Amazon.com BN.com
Author stalk away: ~site sophie jordan's facebook page  sophie jordan on twitter

 
    I wanted to read Uninvited because the synopsis appealed to me. I can't imagine isolating a gene like that and then all of the sudden being told that you have the killer gene. The ramifications as well as the fallout, friends and possibly family isolating you, jobs, school, and how you're viewed all changed in an instant intrigues me and I like the premise. I've also been wanting to read something by Sophie Jordan because I know her other series was popular but I just haven't had a chance to get caught up, so with a new series, I have a new chance. 
    I connected with Davy, she is smart and good at music, something I admire in others but have no talent for myself. Her reactions to finding out she had the gene was emotional, and lived up to what I was expecting. I can't imagine myself in her shoes, but I imagine that I would react similarly. She is naive at times, but I love how her world view is forced to shift as she fights against being labeled. But she discovers others that she sympathizes, connects with, wonders why they are marked, or are they like her and feel they are there by mistake. She is a rich white female, so she doesn't fit the profile of a violent person, someone capable of murder, and that leaves her with less in common with others in the Cage, the other carriers at her new school. But as she gets to know some of them, they have more in common than she'd once thought, even if only their future has been jerked from them and they have limited options for college, jobs, and the rest of their lives. 
   As for as romance, at the very beginning, I had to keep telling myself not to like Zac, the above mentioned boyfriend in the synopsis, because I knew that regardless of the chemistry they had, that he was going to be a douche. Sure enough, even though he wasn't as bad as her other friends, he still proved himself unworthy. 
    The mystery of Sean was great. He was an enigma in the HTS world, people seemed to fear him, and I wanted to know why. Because each encounter he had with Davy was intense, but he showed kindness to her. There is some incredible tension between the two, and it was easy to start rooting for a romance between them instead of silly old Zac. He showed up at just the right time to help her and get her out of tough situations, or just to help her pick herself up off the floor when she's down. 
   The pacing was great, as well as easing us into the changes in the world, while at the same time providing the details we need to know in a unique format. At the beginning of some chapters, there are short government fyi's or convos between senators and those leading the program in charge of those with HTS, or even between Zac and her friend Tori. It kept my attention at all times, whether its character development and change of Davy, mystery with Sean, building the relationship between Davy and her troublemaker but non-HTS carrier Mitchell, to other action that moved the plot along. 
    Thinking back though, the world building didn't make sense in a few areas, especially New Haven. Their abilities and why they were chosen if they were just to be trained for fighting kinda puzzled me, but this may be revealed in the next book. That aside, that doesn't take away any of my enjoyment of the series, it is one that I didn't want to put down. 
    The ending wrapped up the threads of this book pretty well, and I am excited to get into the next book of the series to see what happened after the exciting ending. 
   
Bottom Line: Action packed with a likable main character who gets tougher as she's trust into a whole new and intriguing to me world.

My question to you, my lovely readers:
Do you think its possible to isolate a gene that predicts a murderer?
Follow on Bloglovin

34 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed Uninvited and felt the same way about Davy and Sean. I was surprised how much tension and emotional depth the story had-which was a great! This is not just a pretty girl on a pretty cover. Great review, Brandi.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oo love her books! I hadn't seen this one yet. Adding it to my list. Thanks Brandi!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am one of the ones who didn't get to previous ones, but will one of these days

      Delete
  3. I've read a few reviews of this one and now I really want to try it! It sounds very cool.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The cover sure does not tell me what it is about

    ReplyDelete
  5. the beginning of chapters remind me of Icons by Margaret Stohl. She had these book snippets at the end of the chapters. Thumbs up to good pacing and yes to the synopsis! It sounds so so so good and everyone seems to like it so far :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I haven't read that one but its been on my tbr for a while

      Delete
  6. The things about this book was how plausible it all seemed. Really chilling. Great review!

    Kate @ Ex Libris

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really is a little creepy how I could see this really happening

      Delete
  7. You have no idea how happy I'm that everyone is enjoying this book. I cannot wait to read it. Great review :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Can't wait to read this one. Glad you loved it.

    ReplyDelete
  9. OOoh nice review! I enjoyed her Firelight trilogy so I am eager to try this one out! Hearing lots of good things on it!

    ReplyDelete
  10. My review goes up on this for Monday. I liked it but thought the wolrd building was a bit shaky especially when it came to the gene. No I don't think it is possible to isolate out a killer gene because the old nature vs. nurture debate comes into play.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great point about nature/nurture.
      I could look past the shakiness, because I did love characters

      Delete
  11. This sounds super interesting and filled with tons of moral questions that I'd love to think about. Definitely adding this to my to-read list! Also, I love me a two book series!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know, it does seem like some series go on for such a long time and a stand alone or twofer is a treat

      Delete
  12. I liked the book blurb but I was hesitant to pick this up as I wasn't sure if this might have a believable type of world setting. Based on what you shared, it seemed like the characters were great. Personally, I'd say it's not fair to treat someone as unsafe just because the result of a genetic test was positive. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It would be unfair, we can have genetic tendencies for a lot of things

      Delete
  13. I'm almost done with this book and So far agree with you on many of the topics. I do agree that I wish there would have been a little more world building I think that would really have pushed the book to the stellar level for me.
    really great review!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am wondering if they will get more of those answers in the next book as they are escapted

      Delete
  14. Everyone seems to be loving this one. I do like Jordan's writing, and loom forward to giving it a try.

    ReplyDelete
  15. you're right, it must be something really difficult.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I enjoyed this book especially the puzzle of Sean-I was pretty sure he was going to have some great tension-filled moments with Davy but I wanted to get more of a sense for him as a character.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am crossing my fingers for more of his back story in the next one

      Delete
  17. The theory of isolating a gene of murder seems really hard to grasp but so intriguing at the same time. I've been waiting to see your review of this one! I'm so glad that you enjoyed it. I've had it on my TBR for ages. I like your 'silly old Zac' comment :D Jaclyn @ JC's Book Haven.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I am so excited for this book! The cover is very nice.
    -Blue Books and Butterflies

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hm, really good point about Zac, that does have to be a lot of pressure. Didn't think about it that way

    ReplyDelete
  20. This book sounds so good! I wish I had some musical talent, too. I tried to learn guitar in high school but I never wanted to practice, so that didn't work out too well. Great review, Brandi!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Great pacing, characters, concept...I'm really excited for this book. Fabulous review! :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. I'm really looking forward to reading this one, it sounds really good.

    Answer to your question: I don't think so. It's possibly to diagnose those with mental illness typically prone to violence, but I don't really know if there is a DNA marker for it. But as with all mental type things 50% of it is nurture and %50 is nature.

    ReplyDelete
  23. One of my favorite moments of the whole book was when Sean came unexpectedly to Davy's house after that very emotional incident. I think that's when I officially started to like him. He had compassion for her but also told her she needed to buck up, which I loved. So glad you loved it this!

    ReplyDelete

I would love to hear from you! (I always try to visit your blog back) I love links, so feel free to link to your blog or a post you like.
Sorry, but I am award and tag free zone, I do not have the time to return. Comments are reward enough :)