Uninvited, written by Sophie Jordan, reviewed by Carrie Conner

Summary: Davy is a gorgeous, musical genius about to graduate from high school and go to Julliard when she is diagnosed by the government as positive for “Homicidal Tendency Syndrome” based on genetic testing. Suddenly, her perfect life is in disarray as she is “Uninvited” from her private school and forced into a special program for a handful of HTS+ students in the basement of a public school. Her former friends and eventually her perfect boyfriend reject her as damaged and violent. Among her new classmates, Davy discovers an even more beautiful (and dangerous?) boy named Sean who is already marked with the “H” tattoo of a violent offender. As government internment begins for select members of her kind, Davy must decide who she is and if she really is a killer at heart. Despite an uneven start with a picture-perfect and unrealistic protagonist, the plot deepens as the book introduces competition among the interred students and reveals government conspiracies that introduce the inevitable sequel. Give this book to students who loved Veronica Roth’s Divergent series, but be aware there are suggestions of sexual coercion, attempted rape, and violence.

Straight Talk for Librarians: This is a recommended or additional title for a high school collection. While some teens will overlook the uneven writing and idealized lifestyle, others may be turned off by how perfect the main character is portrayed at the beginning. This book features a boyfriend pressuring his girlfriend for sex, underage drinking, sexual coercion by a faculty member towards a student, and attempted rape. The new love interest, Sean, also has a protective streak that teen girls could swoon over, but with a level of violence that is disturbing to see touted as “sexy” in this modern era. The themes of internment and genetic screening offer interesting discussion points, but without the depth needed to hit a curricular level. Perhaps the sequel will allow for greater depth as the government’s motivation is left largely unanswered.