Saturday 8 August 2015

Review: The Uninvited by Cat Winters


Twenty-five year old Ivy Rowan rises from her bed after being struck by the flu, only to discover the world has been torn apart in just a few short days.

But Ivy’s life-long gift—or curse—remains. For she sees the uninvited ones—ghosts of loved ones who appear to her, unasked, unwelcomed, for they always herald impending death. On that October evening in 1918 she sees the spirit of her grandmother, rocking in her mother’s chair. An hour later, she learns her younger brother and father have killed a young German out of retaliation for the death of Ivy’s older brother Billy in the Great War.

Horrified, she leaves home, to discover the flu has caused utter panic and the rules governing society have broken down. Ivy is drawn into this new world of jazz, passion, and freedom, where people live for the day, because they could be stricken by nightfall. But as her ‘uninvited guests’ begin to appear to her more often, she knows her life will be torn apart once more, but Ivy has no inkling of the other-worldly revelations about to unfold.


Paperback, 368 pages
Expected publication: August 11th 2015 by William Morrow
Terri's Thoughts

**I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher William Morrow via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review**

I don't normally peak ahead to any of the reviews as I like to enter in to a read with a completely open mind, however in the case of this book I did take a look once I completed it.  I found this story to be a little bit all over the place and I needed to know what others thought.  It seems for the most part that this story is getting glowing reviews and the majority do not feel the same as I.

I just had a hard time identifying with the characters.  To me Ivy lacked personality and made decisions that really didn't make sense.  In her day and time what she did with Daniel without a second thought just simply wouldn't happen.  Her need to get out and help seemed sudden after he had been a recluse for so long.  I don't know but she just did not make sense nor did I find her likeable,

Sadly I feel like this is a story that took on too many topics at the same time and therefore lacked direction.  Was it a ghost story?  maybe... Was it about the Spanish flu?  perhaps.  Was it about the war?  potentially

I honestly couldnt get in to this story and although I finished it, I doubt it will leave any lasting impressions.




About the Author

Cat Winters’s critically acclaimed debut novel, IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS, was named a 2014 Morris Award Finalist, a School Library Journal Best Book of 2013, a 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults pick, and a 2013 Bram Stoker Award Nominee. Her second novel, THE CURE FOR DREAMING, was named to the American Library Association's 2015 Amelia Bloomer Project, the 2014 Tiptree Award Longlist, and VOYA's Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror of 2014. Her upcoming books include THE UNINVITED (William Morrow/August 2015), THE STEEP AND THORNY WAY (Amulet Books/March 2016), and YESTERNIGHT (William Morrow/Summer 2016), and she's a contributor to the 2015 YA horror anthology SLASHER GIRLS & MONSTER BOYS.

Winters lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and two kids.


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