ARC Review: Uninvited (Uninvited #1) by Sophie Jordan

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
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.

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Uninvited tells the story of Davy Hamilton and her decline when it’s discovered that she possesses the HTS gene (Homicidal Tendency Syndrome). In this future world that Jordan has created, the discovery that you possess this gene brands you a future killer and your entire life is taken from you. In Davy’s case, she’s uninvited from her private school, loses her acceptance to Julliard, and loses all of her friends. Her once perfect life with its perfect future has disappeared and what’s left is anybody’s guess. 

While I hate characters that are perfect, like Davy’s beginning, I loved reading how Jordan broke her down and over the course of the book Davy realizes that perfection doesn’t exist. Early on, Davy is a fairly easy target – she’s sweet, sensitive and has no idea how the world works outside of her private schools and gated community. And she was alone. She wasn’t exceptional, she didn’t save the world or start a rebellion, but she wasn’t weak and learned in her surroundings which I can get behind. 

Davy had help, in the form of Sean and Gil, two other carriers she meets while in school. I adored both of them instantly. Gil was the male version of Davy- sweet, meek, wouldn’t hurt anyone. And then there’s Sean – dark, quiet with a hint of something always stirring behind his eyes. Thank God she had them because her family, except her brother, pretty much abandoned her when she was revealed a carrier. (Side note: I absolutely loved how her brother wanted to run away with her to protect her.) And let’s not forget about her boyfriend and “best friend”. How quick they were to turn from her, it made me sick, especially the best friend.

This book was a very interesting read for me and I struggled with the ratings. I don’t like people getting hurt when they don’t deserve it, people being victimized by no fault of their own. The people who were branded carriers were instantly outcasts. Doesn’t matter if you’ve never raised your voice, never once showed any signs of hostility – if you have the gene, you’re a killer. The story follows the rise of government testing for the gene and outcome - think concentration camps.

I liked how the book showed different sides of carrying the gene. Since this was from Davy’s point of view, we got to see how someone who was so innocent has to face the harsh reality that she’s been labeled something she believes she’s not. But also throughout, we got to see glimpses of how other people dealt with this, and they went pretty extreme. While it looked like there were some carriers who fit the bill, I felt that most ended up committing crimes only because that’s was what was expected of them. As one boy said, if they were going to brand him a killer and treat him this way, he was going to prove them right. It was very interesting. 

Jordan has sucked me in with Uninvited and I look forward to the next installment to see where this all ends up because, while I have my predictions, I can’t actually figure out how this will end. 

I received an e-copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in return for an honest review.