Davy is smart, popular, and has a boyfriend to be envied. Everything changes when Davy's required DNA test shows that she is a carrier of the "murder gene." Her whole life falls apart. She loses everything, including all her personal freedom.
That's pretty much all I'm going to say about the plot. The pace moved quickly and I really couldn't wait to get finished. Most of that was because the situation Davy is in just pissed me off. I liked the premise, don't get me wrong, but I found it somewhat far-fetched. I know. It's dystopian and all of those require suspension of disbelief. I think Uninvited went a bit too far for me.
First of all, I can't believe we would get to a point in what appears to be the "near future" where a group of people lost their rights to due process. It's a pretty big thing about our country. I would have liked Uninvited if there had been some way for Davy and her family to get help from the law. Even if it was unsuccessful, it would have been more believable. The sense of helplessness was frustrating.
Secondly, I wish the government was the bad guy. I can't believe that the government would just pawn this situation off on some huge corporation with seemingly no requirement to be monitored. I'm not buying it.
I liked Davy, for the most part, although I thought she was a little slow on the uptake. I didn't think she was careful enough. It took her too long to realize how people would react to her. I guess this naivety was necessary to add excitement to the plot. I thought her eventual reliance on (and romance with) other carriers was realistic in her situation.
I liked the ending...they are "moving on" and I'm glad. I was kind of meh about the second part of the book.
Oh, by the way, I LOVE this cover. I didn't see the double helix right away, but when I did, I fell in love. Also, I don't really understand the title. I mean, I guess it makes sense, but I don't find it that clever.
Uninvited is exciting. It's a page turner. It kept my interest, and I think teens will enjoy this addition to the genre.
Published by HarperTeen, January 28, 2014
eBook obtained from Edelweiss
384 pages
Rating: 3.5/5
I really liked this book and I could see something like this happening- it reminded me of what the Japanese Americans went through during WW2. But I also emotionally connected with the overwhelming sense of injustice.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm 100% with you on the title, I still don't get it!
Glad there were things that you enjoyed even if you found the due process hard to believe that it was lost so quickly and the second part of the story wasn't as good for you.
ReplyDeleteReally loved this book and you are right there are not many books that manage to make us so uncomfortable like this one! I agree with that Davy should have realised earlier how bad her friend would react, but I think that was just her personality... poor girl!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked this for the most part Annette. I've been excited about it since last May when I first heard of it. :)
ReplyDeleteI agree this is a beautiful cover. I've been seeing so many positive reviews lately that I've added it to my TBR pile. It seems like there are a few believability issues in terms of world building, but I"m glad you still enjoyed it. Great review!
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