“How will Davy survive?” UNINVITED – reviewed
Reviewed by Elisa (Richview YAG)
Sophie Jordan, author of the captivating and romantic Firelight series, returns with a new dystopian series sure to leave you breathless until the arrival of a sequel. The year is 2021 and crime rates are rising dramatically. Research by the American government indicates that the majority of horrific crimes are committed by persons with “the kill gene” or Homicidal Tendency Syndrome. Mandatory DNA testing can identify HTS carriers and the government has begun to ostracize separate carriers from the general public.
Uninvited is the story of Davy Hamilton, a resident of suburban Texas and a gentle, caring human being. The 17-year-old music prodigy attends an exclusive high school and is surrounded with loving family and friends, until she receives her test results: apparen'tly Davy is a killer. Her charmed life soon morphs into a cursed one as she is uninvited from school and rejected by everyone she knows. How will she manage? And when she is transferred to a public school and literally thrown into a cage with other carriers, how will she survive?
The characters presented in Uninvited seem to fall too neatly into stereotypes: jocks, nerds, popular types, quiet-types, boyfriends, best friends, etc. and there is no evidence to suggest any mental depth or development. On the other hand, Jordan writes and intricate and believable plot as she displays her take on the “Nature vs. Nurture” argument (i.e. are killers born or bred?). More food for thought: though the events of the novel take place in 2021, the book itself was only published in 2014. Is this Sophie Jordan’s way of telling us that we have 7 short years before crime will send society into upheaval? For the sake of the world, I sincerely hope not.
6 thoughts on ““How will Davy survive?” UNINVITED – reviewed”
Every interesting, the testing reminds me of Divergent. It seems like the separation increases the likeliness of the killers actually committing a crime. If Davy just lived on with her perfect life without the exposure to the rest of the predicted criminals, then perhaps she wouldn’t turn into one. I seriously hope crime will not skyrocket enough for this testing to become reality.
Hahaha, I hope not either.
Sounds like a very dramatic, yet relatable book for teens, can’t wait to see it.
If it does, I’ll probably hide in a safe house with water and lots of rations. I won’t be brave enough to take action or trick the system into thinking that I don’t have the “kill gene” if I am found to be positive.
Reminds me of 1984 and Psycho-pass (an anime). I hope the book tries to further explain the ” kill gene” because it sounds really far-fetched at the moment.
This story is similar to Divergent because the government do tests on people to find out if they have the kill gene. They lived in a dystopian society just like in Divergent in the year 2021. I haven’t read this book yet but I don’t think that she is a criminal.