What do you think?
Rate this book
Uninvited
When rejection comes back to bite you...
Jordan's life sucks. Her boyfriend, Michael, dumped her, slept his way through half the student body, and then killed himself. But now, somehow, he appears at her window every night, begging her to let him in.
Jordan can't understand why he wants her, but she feels her resistance wearing down. After all, her life -- once a broken record of boring parties, meaningless hookups, and friends she couldn't relate to -- now consists of her drinking alone in her room as she waits for the sun to go down.
Michael needs to be invited in before he can enter. All Jordan has to do is say the words....
Jordan's life sucks. Her boyfriend, Michael, dumped her, slept his way through half the student body, and then killed himself. But now, somehow, he appears at her window every night, begging her to let him in.
Jordan can't understand why he wants her, but she feels her resistance wearing down. After all, her life -- once a broken record of boring parties, meaningless hookups, and friends she couldn't relate to -- now consists of her drinking alone in her room as she waits for the sun to go down.
Michael needs to be invited in before he can enter. All Jordan has to do is say the words....
204 pages, Paperback
First published October 23, 2007
42 people are currently reading
2537 people want to read
About the author
Amanda Marrone
8 books387 followersAmanda Marrone grew up on Long Island where she spent her time reading, drawing, watching insects, and suffering from an over-active imagination. It didn’t help that her father told bloodcurdling stories, and would take Amanda and her siblings for moon lit walks in the graveyard—the highlight of which involved having them march up to mausoleums and knock on the doors—alone. On more than one occasion, Amanda turned around to find they’d ditched her for laughs. (No, she didn’t find that particularly funny.)
Not surprisingly, she was extremely scared of the dark—living in fear of cats meowing at the door at night (she was sure they were really monsters pretending to be her cats), and things lurking in basements, attics, dark rooms, and closets.
Amanda successfully avoided monster attacks by leaving all the lights on in her house, and convincing other family members to let the cats in—eventually earning a B.A. in Education at SUNY Cortland. She taught fifth and sixth grade in New Hampshire, where she was known for putting on mini-musicals, and dissecting eyeballs and owl pellets with her students.
After taking a very early retirement to raise a family and write novels—some of which have vampires and other creepy creatures, Amanda now lives in Connecticut with her husband, Joe, two kids, two cats, a crayfish, hissing cockroaches, and their newest addition is Griffin, a havanese dog who can say "Hello" and "I love you". Check the links page to see Griffin’s YouTube videos where you can see him in action.
Amanda loves reading, going to Broadway shows, creepy crawly things, hiking, annoying her husband with show tunes, and is thinking about getting another tattoo. She is still scared of the dark.
Amanda’s first two books for teens, Uninvited and Revealers are available now, and her next book Devoured will be out in September of 2009. Her middle grade series The Magic Repair Shop Chronicles: The Multiplying Menace, Kobold Blues and The Shape Shifter’s Curse will be available starting in the summer of 2010.
Read more about Amanda Marrone here: http://authors.simonandschuster.com/A...
Not surprisingly, she was extremely scared of the dark—living in fear of cats meowing at the door at night (she was sure they were really monsters pretending to be her cats), and things lurking in basements, attics, dark rooms, and closets.
Amanda successfully avoided monster attacks by leaving all the lights on in her house, and convincing other family members to let the cats in—eventually earning a B.A. in Education at SUNY Cortland. She taught fifth and sixth grade in New Hampshire, where she was known for putting on mini-musicals, and dissecting eyeballs and owl pellets with her students.
After taking a very early retirement to raise a family and write novels—some of which have vampires and other creepy creatures, Amanda now lives in Connecticut with her husband, Joe, two kids, two cats, a crayfish, hissing cockroaches, and their newest addition is Griffin, a havanese dog who can say "Hello" and "I love you". Check the links page to see Griffin’s YouTube videos where you can see him in action.
Amanda loves reading, going to Broadway shows, creepy crawly things, hiking, annoying her husband with show tunes, and is thinking about getting another tattoo. She is still scared of the dark.
Amanda’s first two books for teens, Uninvited and Revealers are available now, and her next book Devoured will be out in September of 2009. Her middle grade series The Magic Repair Shop Chronicles: The Multiplying Menace, Kobold Blues and The Shape Shifter’s Curse will be available starting in the summer of 2010.
Read more about Amanda Marrone here: http://authors.simonandschuster.com/A...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 441 reviews
October 26, 2014
I don't have a lot of any, really nice things to say about Uninvited, but I'd like to say upfront that I didn't expect to - and at the time I read this book, I was an easy reader to please. Books I cannot force myself to read now, are books I used to love...books that I dislike now, but can still see far outweigh Uninvited in quality. So while I didn't have any expectations for this book, I was still intrigued by the premise; boyfriend kills himself, returns as a member of the undead, haunts protagonist. Maybe it’s not the most inventive start, but I was still interested enough in the potential of the relationship dynamics to come. Alas.
According to Uninvited's summary, Jordan's life sucks. After she (the summary claims it’s the other way around, but it’s not) dumps summer boyfriend Michael, he becomes a walking one-night-stand, and supposedly takes his own life a few weeks later. If that were not enough, Michael, Jordan's dearly departed ex, begins appearing at her window every night – no explanations, begging to be invited in. As Jordan feels her resistance slipping in every aspect of her life, she drifts closer and closer to letting him in.
The little blurb on the inside the book told me that Michael could only come in with Jordan's permission, and what I wanted to know was why he wanted in. Why was that so important to him? Why, after his clear disinterest in her, did he choose her window to haunt? What was so particular about Jordan? While I can forgive my initial interest in finding these answers, I can't quite forgive this book or even myself for my inability to put Uninvited down and just say, No thanks, go get some sun or something. It would have saved me some time and the hot mess that is this book.
Uninvited was so absurdly plotted that I had to repeatedly stop and make sure that I hadn’t drifted off into a daydream or accidentally skipped ahead. Sometimes it was cliché in all the wrong places and all the wrong ways, and other times I just flat wondered how Uninvited even managed to get published. It was, at times, nothing short of painful.
Another of my problems with Uninvited was, among so many things, the lack of explanation. Michael, back from the dead, haunts Jordan’s window – it was the whys of this that hooked me, but the blatant ignorance of answering them that was the greatest pinch on my nerves. Jordan never seemed coherent or present, never seemed to get anywhere with her questions. I get that she lives in a state of depression and self-medication, but not even those issues were ever paid any attention to. Marrone failed, on every level, to draw any conclusions about Michael or Jordan as individuals.
This is really what irked me most about Uninvited, the fact that the reader never learns anything real about Michael or Jordan; nothing real, period. Michael in particular perplexed me. Marrone gave us two sides to him, which never converge in any way – Jordan’s sociable summer love and the self-absorbed jagweed. Ah, which reminds me!
Okay, back to Michael. So we see him sweetly dating her in the summer but then carelessly hooking up with the next girl to come his way after their breakup. Who Michael really is remains Marrone's greatest unanswered question, and she just didn't seem to care all that much. Meh.
Jordan was also definitely a problem. I was pretty certain that I was indifferent to whatever was going to happen to her, and that’s a shame. I understand grief and sadness and despair, but Jordan felt all of these things while being top of her class at TSTL University. Jordan is the girl of horror movie fame. Yes, that girl. Her sense of self-preservation? Nonexistent. Her common sense? Down for the count, leave a message at the beep. It’s almost seems like she wants to meet a grisly end, for all her barefaced stupidity. And you know this, you know. But you still scream at her, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO NOT GO INTO THE BATHROOM. NO. STAY PUT. CALL THE POLICE. NO.
While the more interesting aspects of Jordan and Michael’s post-mortem relationship are pointedly ignored, Jordan almost does the thing.
“Don’t do the thing, Jordan!” the reader pleads.
According to Uninvited's summary, Jordan's life sucks. After she (the summary claims it’s the other way around, but it’s not) dumps summer boyfriend Michael, he becomes a walking one-night-stand, and supposedly takes his own life a few weeks later. If that were not enough, Michael, Jordan's dearly departed ex, begins appearing at her window every night – no explanations, begging to be invited in. As Jordan feels her resistance slipping in every aspect of her life, she drifts closer and closer to letting him in.
The little blurb on the inside the book told me that Michael could only come in with Jordan's permission, and what I wanted to know was why he wanted in. Why was that so important to him? Why, after his clear disinterest in her, did he choose her window to haunt? What was so particular about Jordan? While I can forgive my initial interest in finding these answers, I can't quite forgive this book or even myself for my inability to put Uninvited down and just say, No thanks, go get some sun or something. It would have saved me some time and the hot mess that is this book.
Uninvited was so absurdly plotted that I had to repeatedly stop and make sure that I hadn’t drifted off into a daydream or accidentally skipped ahead. Sometimes it was cliché in all the wrong places and all the wrong ways, and other times I just flat wondered how Uninvited even managed to get published. It was, at times, nothing short of painful.
Another of my problems with Uninvited was, among so many things, the lack of explanation. Michael, back from the dead, haunts Jordan’s window – it was the whys of this that hooked me, but the blatant ignorance of answering them that was the greatest pinch on my nerves. Jordan never seemed coherent or present, never seemed to get anywhere with her questions. I get that she lives in a state of depression and self-medication, but not even those issues were ever paid any attention to. Marrone failed, on every level, to draw any conclusions about Michael or Jordan as individuals.
This is really what irked me most about Uninvited, the fact that the reader never learns anything real about Michael or Jordan; nothing real, period. Michael in particular perplexed me. Marrone gave us two sides to him, which never converge in any way – Jordan’s sociable summer love and the self-absorbed jagweed. Ah, which reminds me!
Okay, back to Michael. So we see him sweetly dating her in the summer but then carelessly hooking up with the next girl to come his way after their breakup. Who Michael really is remains Marrone's greatest unanswered question, and she just didn't seem to care all that much. Meh.
Jordan was also definitely a problem. I was pretty certain that I was indifferent to whatever was going to happen to her, and that’s a shame. I understand grief and sadness and despair, but Jordan felt all of these things while being top of her class at TSTL University. Jordan is the girl of horror movie fame. Yes, that girl. Her sense of self-preservation? Nonexistent. Her common sense? Down for the count, leave a message at the beep. It’s almost seems like she wants to meet a grisly end, for all her barefaced stupidity. And you know this, you know. But you still scream at her, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO NOT GO INTO THE BATHROOM. NO. STAY PUT. CALL THE POLICE. NO.
While the more interesting aspects of Jordan and Michael’s post-mortem relationship are pointedly ignored, Jordan almost does the thing.
“Don’t do the thing, Jordan!” the reader pleads.
“I’m gonna do the thing!”
“Don’t do the thing, are you an idiot?!”
“I’m doing the thing, I–”
And what stops her? Self-preservation, common sense? Close, oh so close. Just as she finally gives into Michael’s pleas, she gets a whiff of his smell and something about it is not quite right. Because he smells like coconut and dirt, the drunken Jordan rescinds her permission. As he retreats angrily into the night, she decides that perhaps he’s not the same Michael. Whoever in the world the “same Michael” is. That’s fifty shades of ridiculous, my friends. It’s not his tantrums, his cryptic behavior or even her own intuition telling her to reject him that finally snaps her back into reality. No, it’s the fact that he smells just a little bit too much like dirt. I can't even.
Uninvited just didn’t get it. It didn’t make sense, and didn’t even try to – I’m not even really sure what Uninvited was really about, or why it warranted the materials and resources used to produce it. Jordan learning to pick up the pieces of her life and move on? Hah. A backwards commentary on change and the absolute worst way to react to it? I can’t even fathom what it was trying to say about Michael, who was little more than a caricature. Maybe I missed something, but I’m going to wager that the current 2.95 average says I’m not the only one.
If I can say one thing in favor of Uninvited, it’s that somewhere past the dirt and the rum and the self-pity, Jordan started to slowly understand that she never loved Michael. She loved the idea of him. And when she let him go, it was because she was afraid. Though a long and really, really, really thankless process, Jordan eventually learned something about herself .
June 22, 2015
I read this book when I was twelve and hated it so much that I started a fire in the woods and burned it.
January 10, 2009
I didn't enjoy this book, as my amazon review will state. I thought it was written like mediocore fanfiction with an overuse of exclamation points and under developed characters. Jordan seemed like she was supposed to be everything all rolled into one. Instead of her being complex, it came off as just a pile of issues...terrible mother, frienemies, drinking, smoking, drugs, highly sexual, drama club, track and field, and anxiety disorder. It's too much for a 200 page book especially when you add in that she's being stalked/haunted by her undead ex. Marrone tried to give this character layers but it just made me roll my eyes. I would have bought into some of the issues, the drinking, smoking, drugs, even the hyper sex if it was a result of the issue with the ex coming back from the "dead" like she was lashing out against it, or even if we were given another reason for it, but we weren't, not anything that really explained it. I just didn't like this book, it wasn't written well and the plot was weak.
November 16, 2012
Reviewed by Lynn Crow for TeensReadToo.com
These days, Jordan's got a lot on her mind. Her social phobias are getting the better of her, she thinks she messed things up with a guy she really connected with... and her ex-boyfriend, popular jock Michael, has been appearing at her bedroom window since the night after his funeral. It seems the rumors that Michael killed himself aren't true -- he was attacked by a vampire, and became one himself. Now he wants Jordan to join him. Every night, he pleads and cajoles and turns on his charm, trying to get her to invite him in, and Jordan's arguments are starting to crumble.
UNINVITED is a tense, scary book that manages to throw in a little humor on the side. Marrone does a superb job of building the suspense about Michael's true intentions and how Jordan will deal with them. Nothing works out quite the way the reader will expect, and Jordan's struggles will have them on the edge of their seats, unable to put the book down. The climax is thrilling and dark, and the ending is hopeful without leaving its heroine unscarred.
It may take readers a little while to warm up to Jordan, whose binge-drinking and pessimistic ways may seem too depressing. But it quickly becomes clear that she has every reason to want to drown out the rest of the world. Her growth as she fights her fears and destructive tendencies is both believable and inspiring. The supporting characters are well-developed as well, from Michael's twisted personality to Jordan's quirky friend, Rachael.
Readers who enjoy books a little out of the ordinary, especially the dark and suspenseful, should run out and grab this one as soon as possible. It takes one of the most familiar creatures of the supernatural genre and manages to tell a story unlike any you've read before.
These days, Jordan's got a lot on her mind. Her social phobias are getting the better of her, she thinks she messed things up with a guy she really connected with... and her ex-boyfriend, popular jock Michael, has been appearing at her bedroom window since the night after his funeral. It seems the rumors that Michael killed himself aren't true -- he was attacked by a vampire, and became one himself. Now he wants Jordan to join him. Every night, he pleads and cajoles and turns on his charm, trying to get her to invite him in, and Jordan's arguments are starting to crumble.
UNINVITED is a tense, scary book that manages to throw in a little humor on the side. Marrone does a superb job of building the suspense about Michael's true intentions and how Jordan will deal with them. Nothing works out quite the way the reader will expect, and Jordan's struggles will have them on the edge of their seats, unable to put the book down. The climax is thrilling and dark, and the ending is hopeful without leaving its heroine unscarred.
It may take readers a little while to warm up to Jordan, whose binge-drinking and pessimistic ways may seem too depressing. But it quickly becomes clear that she has every reason to want to drown out the rest of the world. Her growth as she fights her fears and destructive tendencies is both believable and inspiring. The supporting characters are well-developed as well, from Michael's twisted personality to Jordan's quirky friend, Rachael.
Readers who enjoy books a little out of the ordinary, especially the dark and suspenseful, should run out and grab this one as soon as possible. It takes one of the most familiar creatures of the supernatural genre and manages to tell a story unlike any you've read before.
June 18, 2009
Ok, someone passed this book along to me and I read it thinking it would be just another of the current 'vampire craze' books. Huh - NOT. The premise is good: a high school girl is trapped in her house from sundown to sun up every night because her first love (now dead... no, UNdead) sits in the tree beside her window begging her to let him in - he needs an invitation. I did like that the vampire in this story was actually an evil horrible being, not the current romanticized version that's everywhere. But the story was extremely bogged down in the explanation about how bad the main character's life is right now, complete with very graphic descriptions of all the drugs she's taking, all the alcohol she's liberating from her parents' stash, and how many guys she's 'hooked up' with out of apathy or self-loathing. Billed as a young adult novel, I found it completely inappropriate for young adults. Whatever was good in the story was lost for me because of that. So my suggestion is to skip this book. No, seriously. Don't bother.
September 8, 2010
The book was boring =(. I honestly tried to find something good about this book. It was a waste of time, and a waste of money. If you really want to read this book well, buy a USED books from Amazon.com there are about 1.72 for the used book. Sorry, people but it's the worst book I've ever read.
Its all about the girl going high school getting drunk doing drugs, and doing guys. Although this book sounds intresting to read when I read the reviews and the books description, NOTHING GOOD REALLY HAPPENDS.
At the end of the book, after I fell asleep time and time again, it started to get a little better, 50 pages before the books ended. If you really want to read this book, you should start reading it almost at the END OF THE BOOK, because all the beginning of the book is nonsense. Well, Don't Say I Didn't Warn You. Have a great day eveyone =).
Its all about the girl going high school getting drunk doing drugs, and doing guys. Although this book sounds intresting to read when I read the reviews and the books description, NOTHING GOOD REALLY HAPPENDS.
At the end of the book, after I fell asleep time and time again, it started to get a little better, 50 pages before the books ended. If you really want to read this book, you should start reading it almost at the END OF THE BOOK, because all the beginning of the book is nonsense. Well, Don't Say I Didn't Warn You. Have a great day eveyone =).
January 29, 2010
This is the story of Jordan and her dead ex boyfriend who comes back to her window every night wanting her to let him in and the choices she has to make.
I really enjoyed this book. I got pulled into the story within first few pages and finished the books in a few hours (it is only 204 pages so its a quick read). There wasnt any twists or suspense in this story like most parnormal stories but I liked the main character Jordan and her struggles to deal with her situation. Actually I would say there very little parnormal in this story.
This book is meant for teenagers but I would recommend it for ages 16 up as has references to drugs and sex.
I am definetly interested in reading more from Amanda Marrone.
I really enjoyed this book. I got pulled into the story within first few pages and finished the books in a few hours (it is only 204 pages so its a quick read). There wasnt any twists or suspense in this story like most parnormal stories but I liked the main character Jordan and her struggles to deal with her situation. Actually I would say there very little parnormal in this story.
This book is meant for teenagers but I would recommend it for ages 16 up as has references to drugs and sex.
I am definetly interested in reading more from Amanda Marrone.
June 19, 2010
The world is ending. I know it. If the world is infested with sex crazed, pot smoking, beer drinking teenagers such as the ones in this book then I know for sure this world is doomed.
It simply amazes me that such people exist. Or is the author trying too hard? Does she really think teenagers are like that these days? Because I know for sure I wont sleep with a new guy every week just because I dumped my old asshole of a boyfriend.
Gosh there are just so many things wrong with this book. But mainly the drugs and drinking. I mean I get it..teenagers got problems and sometimes they drown their sorrows in less than appropriate ways.. but I dont need to spend 200 pages reading about that!!
Anyways..getting back on track.
So, there's also Michael, Jordan's dead vampire ex-boyfriend who comes to her window every night asking her to let him in. Problem is... she knows she wants to but luckily what little common sense she has is telling her not to. And we spend maybe 3/4 of the book reading about Jordan's less than intelligent conversations with Michael every night. Unfortunately for us poor readers, that's just about all that happens.
I bet some of us out there were hoping that Michael was really going to steal Jordan away from all her troubles and be her knight in shining armor. That was about the only thing that kept me reading throughout the entire book; the hope that Jordan would find salvation somehow from her hell. But too bad that thought was blasted to hell when it turned out Michael was just a psycho dead guy who really doesnt want the best for Jordan.
It simply amazes me that such people exist. Or is the author trying too hard? Does she really think teenagers are like that these days? Because I know for sure I wont sleep with a new guy every week just because I dumped my old asshole of a boyfriend.
Gosh there are just so many things wrong with this book. But mainly the drugs and drinking. I mean I get it..teenagers got problems and sometimes they drown their sorrows in less than appropriate ways.. but I dont need to spend 200 pages reading about that!!
Anyways..getting back on track.
So, there's also Michael, Jordan's dead vampire ex-boyfriend who comes to her window every night asking her to let him in. Problem is... she knows she wants to but luckily what little common sense she has is telling her not to. And we spend maybe 3/4 of the book reading about Jordan's less than intelligent conversations with Michael every night. Unfortunately for us poor readers, that's just about all that happens.
I bet some of us out there were hoping that Michael was really going to steal Jordan away from all her troubles and be her knight in shining armor. That was about the only thing that kept me reading throughout the entire book; the hope that Jordan would find salvation somehow from her hell. But too bad that thought was blasted to hell when it turned out Michael was just a psycho dead guy who really doesnt want the best for Jordan.
May 13, 2010
I regret spending money on this because A) after about 70 pages nothing happened and B) I am having a hard time liking the main character.
For such a badass pot smoking, drinking, partying girl, Jordan's personality is completely the opposite of all that. Who she is and what she does just doesn't seem to match.
Also I felt like I was thrown in the middle of a book because nothing was explained right, people were mentioned without us being told who they were, and it was just terribly written.
Also there were alot of words in there that made me think, hang on, is she making up words? Or even if they are real words, they're stupid words that aren't used in proper context. This sounds like it was written by a teenager who has nothing better to do than write about her boring life and every little boring detail about boring school without actually explaining why its important to talk about it, or explaining it in the first place. Not to mention the use of seemingly big and important words that just don't fit and make her sound so stupid.
I've never been more frustrated reading a book. Seriously. I didn't finish it, I just skimmed it and honestly I just saw more characters being mentioned that had nothing to do with anything, and no actual plot.
Faaail!
For such a badass pot smoking, drinking, partying girl, Jordan's personality is completely the opposite of all that. Who she is and what she does just doesn't seem to match.
Also I felt like I was thrown in the middle of a book because nothing was explained right, people were mentioned without us being told who they were, and it was just terribly written.
Also there were alot of words in there that made me think, hang on, is she making up words? Or even if they are real words, they're stupid words that aren't used in proper context. This sounds like it was written by a teenager who has nothing better to do than write about her boring life and every little boring detail about boring school without actually explaining why its important to talk about it, or explaining it in the first place. Not to mention the use of seemingly big and important words that just don't fit and make her sound so stupid.
I've never been more frustrated reading a book. Seriously. I didn't finish it, I just skimmed it and honestly I just saw more characters being mentioned that had nothing to do with anything, and no actual plot.
Faaail!
April 28, 2025
Read this for a book club prompt that was “A book rated less than 3 stars on Goodreads” and boyyy did it deliver lol. This was just bad all around, not one redeeming attribute
June 11, 2011
To start off, honestly, this book was awful. Characters, plot line, mood, all of it. It is about a girl named Jordan who doesn't exactly do the right things. She drinks, partys, and does drugs. Her best friend Rachael is a lot worse. For the past 3 months Jordan is stalked by her ex boyfriend, who has just died and has come back as a vampire. He is at her window everynight and is just creepy.
All of the characters are one dimensional and are not written well. Jordan just complains and drinks all the time and Micheal, the ex boyfriend, doesn't make a good vampire at all. Most of the time I just want to yell at both Micheal and Jordan. They are both annoying, especially Micheal. Micheal is just plain creepy.
Plus I don't think that this book had a good plot line in the first place. It is very slow and boring for most of the book. There isn't a main focus either. It sort of goes all over the place.
The only kinda good thing about this book is that the last 50 pages are ok. It has a good ending, but that's about it.
Sorry this was sort of a rant about the book, but I have to be honest!
Overall rating
2.5/ 10
My blog
kfactorreads.blogspot.com
September 18, 2008
One of the worst books I've read. I got this from a "bargain book" shelf for $3 and I feel I paid too much.
This book is written in a prose for a 12 year old-- but the main character-- and all of her friends-- are promiscuous, drug taking drunks who have conversations about wanting to "nail" teachers, where they'll get their next weed stash and how their boyfriends "fluids" taste. Not exactly what I'd want my 12 year old to be reading. But-- it's not written for an adult either-- I can't determine who this would be written for.
For even more fun--the girl has pet cockroaches.
Good IDEA for a story-- but honestly-- what a waste.
The good part-- if you are over 12-- it would probably suck only an hour out of your life.
This book is written in a prose for a 12 year old-- but the main character-- and all of her friends-- are promiscuous, drug taking drunks who have conversations about wanting to "nail" teachers, where they'll get their next weed stash and how their boyfriends "fluids" taste. Not exactly what I'd want my 12 year old to be reading. But-- it's not written for an adult either-- I can't determine who this would be written for.
For even more fun--the girl has pet cockroaches.
Good IDEA for a story-- but honestly-- what a waste.
The good part-- if you are over 12-- it would probably suck only an hour out of your life.
November 27, 2010
So one day at the Library I picked up the novel "Uninvited" By Amanda Marrone & thought HEY! this seems interesting since I LOVE vampires & all. But after the first few chapters I got super bored & skimmed through most of it just to save myself from chucking the book across the room (Though I hate damaging books!). The characters were decent but the plot had huge holes and the story was too quick and the subject of teen drinking was overdone and super un-needed and could have survived from my eyes with a stronger storyline. Since this was Amanda's debut I will not hold anything against her because my debut happens to come out soon but it could have been way better.
October 28, 2009
This is an incredibly good book, one that doesn't flinch from portraying the reality of teen's lives and mixing it with a good dose of fantasy.
I did find Jordan annoying several times, but that was part of the point of the book.
I'll try to come back later and write a longer (and hopefully better) review, but I'll settle right now for saying that this was good story told by a solid storyteller.
I did find Jordan annoying several times, but that was part of the point of the book.
I'll try to come back later and write a longer (and hopefully better) review, but I'll settle right now for saying that this was good story told by a solid storyteller.
February 18, 2022
This was a ridiculous.
February 24, 2010
Uninvited is 100% completely and utterly a ‘young adult’ book. Don’t be mislead into thinking that because you’re an adult who enjoyed Twilight you will enjoy this!
I count myself very lucky that my introduction to Amanda Marrone’s work was through Devoured, which I thought to be an original story with some quite thrilling moments. If I’d started with Uninvited I would never have touched another one of her books.
I’m guessing that if you’re a teenager in the 14-19yr old bracket (which is the target market) you’ll enjoy it. Covers the world of teen age binge drinking, excessive sex, school, peer issues, all the sorts of things you can relate to. Not to mention the group of friends who really are only friends because they all snort coke and wallow in self pity because their parents suck. Yes, yes, I’m sure I was just as bad when I was that age, but you know what – I now understand my mother’s eye-roll when I ‘told’ her that she just didn’t understand.
The basic story is Rose dated a guy over the summer break over a year ago. Turns out he was popular, so she had a panic attack and dumped him. Many months later he is killed, becomes a vampire and starts stalking her. Interesting concept right? Sadly, it took most of the book to be told that she’d dumped him. We weren’t actually told he was a vampire for ages (although not hard to work out). What we got was lots of ‘what about me’.
One thing I didn’t like about Devoured was the very, very ,first person way of writing, unfortunately it’s even worse in this. Until we get near the end of the book and there is a bit of action we’re pretty much in Roses head. “I think, I said, I thought... I ,I, I”.
I would dearly like to see a review of this written from a younger perspective as other than my issue with the overuse of first person dialogue, the story is actually well written. It really is the subject matter and delivery of said subject matter that is causing me to rate this story so low. I still have Revealers, Amanda Marrones 2nd book sitting on my bookcase waiting to be read, so I am looking forward to seeing how that goes, whether there is a gradual growth, or if Devoured is just an exception.
I do have to point out – these are not part of a series. Amanda Marrone has (to date) published three books: Uninvited, Revealers and Devoured. These are all individual, stand alone books.
I count myself very lucky that my introduction to Amanda Marrone’s work was through Devoured, which I thought to be an original story with some quite thrilling moments. If I’d started with Uninvited I would never have touched another one of her books.
I’m guessing that if you’re a teenager in the 14-19yr old bracket (which is the target market) you’ll enjoy it. Covers the world of teen age binge drinking, excessive sex, school, peer issues, all the sorts of things you can relate to. Not to mention the group of friends who really are only friends because they all snort coke and wallow in self pity because their parents suck. Yes, yes, I’m sure I was just as bad when I was that age, but you know what – I now understand my mother’s eye-roll when I ‘told’ her that she just didn’t understand.
The basic story is Rose dated a guy over the summer break over a year ago. Turns out he was popular, so she had a panic attack and dumped him. Many months later he is killed, becomes a vampire and starts stalking her. Interesting concept right? Sadly, it took most of the book to be told that she’d dumped him. We weren’t actually told he was a vampire for ages (although not hard to work out). What we got was lots of ‘what about me’.
One thing I didn’t like about Devoured was the very, very ,first person way of writing, unfortunately it’s even worse in this. Until we get near the end of the book and there is a bit of action we’re pretty much in Roses head. “I think, I said, I thought... I ,I, I”.
I would dearly like to see a review of this written from a younger perspective as other than my issue with the overuse of first person dialogue, the story is actually well written. It really is the subject matter and delivery of said subject matter that is causing me to rate this story so low. I still have Revealers, Amanda Marrones 2nd book sitting on my bookcase waiting to be read, so I am looking forward to seeing how that goes, whether there is a gradual growth, or if Devoured is just an exception.
I do have to point out – these are not part of a series. Amanda Marrone has (to date) published three books: Uninvited, Revealers and Devoured. These are all individual, stand alone books.
January 6, 2019
2.5 Stars.
Meh. The plot wasn’t terrible, but it was very thin-veiled and I feel like not a whole lot happened in a long amount of time. There were a few things that didn’t add up, and Michael made a poor vampire character. Not, like, Edward Cullen bad, but just... not very interesting. A lot of the vampire lore stayed true to classic vampire tales (I didn’t know vampires were repelled to water until reading this book), but, as with the rest of the plot, it was very thinly veiled.
Also, I’m not usually a snob when it comes to sex and drugs in books, but it seemed to be all the main character talked about (when she wasn’t worrying over being stalked by a vampire, that is).
You do drugs. We get it. You do alcohol. We get it. You have sex. We get it. That doesn’t make you any more of an interesting character — it just makes you a cringey, underage developing alcoholic who happens to like dick.
Meh. The plot wasn’t terrible, but it was very thin-veiled and I feel like not a whole lot happened in a long amount of time. There were a few things that didn’t add up, and Michael made a poor vampire character. Not, like, Edward Cullen bad, but just... not very interesting. A lot of the vampire lore stayed true to classic vampire tales (I didn’t know vampires were repelled to water until reading this book), but, as with the rest of the plot, it was very thinly veiled.
Also, I’m not usually a snob when it comes to sex and drugs in books, but it seemed to be all the main character talked about (when she wasn’t worrying over being stalked by a vampire, that is).
You do drugs. We get it. You do alcohol. We get it. You have sex. We get it. That doesn’t make you any more of an interesting character — it just makes you a cringey, underage developing alcoholic who happens to like dick.
April 11, 2009
This was a conglomeration of almost every vampire myth from the old school vampire stories. With so many books around that romanticize vampires and makes them sexy, this had the opportunity to be a really good book about an evil, no-good vampire. That said, it failed miserably. The characters were bland and unlikable, save for maybe Lisa at the end, and Michael was comical. Our main character is supposed to have social anxiety disorder so bad that she can befriends people she doesn't even like so she can walk through the halls of her high school, and yet she has no problem going to parties full of drunk people? She whines a lot, the world is against her, "oh woe is me" seems to be her regular state of being. I didn't care enough about her to care one way or another what happened to her.
Good idea, poorly executed.
Good idea, poorly executed.
September 12, 2018
I was in Middle School when I read this book and at the time I was obsessed with anything paranormal ghost,vampires, and witches you name it I liked it.
Like many of those in my youth we made mistakes we decide to read books that we thought we're good even amazing and we come back now and realize they were stupid.
When I first read this book I did really enjoy it but now as I look back I don't know why. The main character just annoyed me I understand she was going through a traumatic experience in her life but it just made her look week she seem to not be healing in anyway. By the end of this book you really don't find out all or any of the answers you want. This book fails in all ways and makes me feel ashamed for reading this.
No I would not recommend this book to anybody else.
No I would not read more books by this author.
Like many of those in my youth we made mistakes we decide to read books that we thought we're good even amazing and we come back now and realize they were stupid.
When I first read this book I did really enjoy it but now as I look back I don't know why. The main character just annoyed me I understand she was going through a traumatic experience in her life but it just made her look week she seem to not be healing in anyway. By the end of this book you really don't find out all or any of the answers you want. This book fails in all ways and makes me feel ashamed for reading this.
No I would not recommend this book to anybody else.
No I would not read more books by this author.
October 6, 2014
SIGH! I so wanted to find something, anything, good about this book. The only part of the book I could stand to read was the last section with the "encounter". The book was just so boring. It was a short read but seemed like it took forever to finish. The writing was not very well done and seemed to be bogged down with teen speak. This would have been better as a short story with just the last section and the beginning all condensed. The action scene was easy to read. The rest was just repeat after repeat. The days were all the same and just boring. I wouldn't waste your time with this one, there are much better vampire books out there!
July 20, 2022
Funny, easy read. Just had to break up the long, engrossing books I’ve been reading and it did the job. It was odd with her thoughts and how it played into the timeline but overall not bad! Reminded me of 2012 vampire books a bit.
September 20, 2009
Jordan is a smart kid, she makes good grades even though her school attendance is sporadic at best. Her attendance problems and social anxiety were bad and are now terrible, because her ex-boyfriend, Michael, is a vampire whose haunting her every night. The vampire in this book follows very Dracula/folkloric traditional rules. Crosses and holy water, stakes through the heart are all going to hurt, he can turn into mist and bats. And he has to be invited in order to enter a building. Gorgeous Michael, despite telling Jordan that he still loves her and begging her to let him come in, is no Edward Cullen. He's a monster, and Jordan determines that quite likely he always was. The day she broke up with him because of her social anxiety he hooked up with a cheerleader later that day. He hung out with jerks, he thought he was th This book, as much as it seems like it might about paranormal love paradoxes is really and truly about issues. Jordan has social anxiety, a completely unstructured life with parents so laid-back it is hard to tell if they even care, and to top it off she self-medicates with any substance she can get ahold of...booze, coke, etc. Her friends Jordan's life has gotten so bad that she's starting to wonder if maybe she shouldn't just let Michael in. One of her three friends in the world is actually someone she truly likes, but they all feed her dysfunctions. I like the way Jordan goes from letting her issues get the best of her to getting the best of them, and her blood-sucking ex-boyfriend. I love the way that the creepy manipulations of Michael and his overuse of the word "Love" actually comes off as creepy and horrible, instead of Twilight-esque sparkly vampire love manipulations. Really I was a little pleased and surprised by the directions this book took, and even though it was slow in parts (how many examples of vomiting from excessive substance abuse do you really need?), I'm glad I stuck it through.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 14, 2010
You know Michael is a vampire and Jordan knows Michael is a vampire, but that's pretty much the end of my expectations. Uninvited doesn't dwell on Michael's death and how it affects Jordan - Michael's harassment/stalking actually forces her to reflect on her life. Jordan is basically a shy girl with some odd anxieties, but it all relates to the fact that her shyness has limited her social skills. She started dating Michael the summer he moved to town, and their relationship went faster than she wanted it to, but she was too happy to have Michael in her life, so she let it go. She actually breaks up with him because she so afraid of the attention the relationship brings her once school starts.
Her mother basically ignores her, when she isn't unknowingly implying that Jordan isn't pretty or good enough. Jordan feels she has no one to turn to when Michal starts showing up outside her window. He alternately tells her he loves her and threatens her in order to gain access to her room. Jordan's life starts to unravel and she sinks further into unhealthy behaviors. She goes to parties, drinks too much, smokes pot, and has started having sex with the occasional stranger. When an old childhood friend finds out about Michael, she forces Jordan into accepting her help and actually doing something about the vampire, as opposed to remaining a victim.
Oh my goodness, I totally loved this book. It was so very unexpected! I got so frustrated with Jordan, who seemed to accept this inevitable road to self destruction and eventual death or eternal life with Michael. When Lisa, the old friend, forces Jordan to accept her help, Jordan starts to understand that there is more to people than gossip or social expectation. when she starts to edge away from her current group of friends, who aren't a good influence, she finds that one of them really is a strong and good friend. And the reason for Michael visits... loved it! I definitely recommend this books - such a fun read.
Her mother basically ignores her, when she isn't unknowingly implying that Jordan isn't pretty or good enough. Jordan feels she has no one to turn to when Michal starts showing up outside her window. He alternately tells her he loves her and threatens her in order to gain access to her room. Jordan's life starts to unravel and she sinks further into unhealthy behaviors. She goes to parties, drinks too much, smokes pot, and has started having sex with the occasional stranger. When an old childhood friend finds out about Michael, she forces Jordan into accepting her help and actually doing something about the vampire, as opposed to remaining a victim.
Oh my goodness, I totally loved this book. It was so very unexpected! I got so frustrated with Jordan, who seemed to accept this inevitable road to self destruction and eventual death or eternal life with Michael. When Lisa, the old friend, forces Jordan to accept her help, Jordan starts to understand that there is more to people than gossip or social expectation. when she starts to edge away from her current group of friends, who aren't a good influence, she finds that one of them really is a strong and good friend. And the reason for Michael visits... loved it! I definitely recommend this books - such a fun read.
April 23, 2009
Too much drug abuse and alcoholism, but the characters were likable--except for Michael, of course...
It was nice to see shy little Jordan go from a wasted alcoholic druggie to a clean and sober, strong young woman. Who totally killed a vampire.
Which, oops, makes this review a spoiler. Darn. Well, in that case, I can go more into detail.
Gabby and Janine sound like typical B-class losers who think they're all that and a slice of cheese (I have no clue if that's a real saying. But I like it. So deal.) They seem to care about Jordan, but are completely tactless, dramatic, and just a bit on the slow side. Blah.
Rachael gets offended to easily, but is someone who everyone loves to hate--so of course they love her. (I mean, come on. If her hair's not a mohawk, it's purple. Which rocks.) She seems to be the one friend Jordan can count on at the end, after her oldest friend, Lisa, bails out on her.
But Lisa was desperate, so you can't even hate her. Poor girl.
I liked it except for the frequent partying...and I love Danny. Super sweet. The end.
It was nice to see shy little Jordan go from a wasted alcoholic druggie to a clean and sober, strong young woman. Who totally killed a vampire.
Which, oops, makes this review a spoiler. Darn. Well, in that case, I can go more into detail.
Gabby and Janine sound like typical B-class losers who think they're all that and a slice of cheese (I have no clue if that's a real saying. But I like it. So deal.) They seem to care about Jordan, but are completely tactless, dramatic, and just a bit on the slow side. Blah.
Rachael gets offended to easily, but is someone who everyone loves to hate--so of course they love her. (I mean, come on. If her hair's not a mohawk, it's purple. Which rocks.) She seems to be the one friend Jordan can count on at the end, after her oldest friend, Lisa, bails out on her.
But Lisa was desperate, so you can't even hate her. Poor girl.
I liked it except for the frequent partying...and I love Danny. Super sweet. The end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 16, 2011
This one is between 2 and 3 stars for me. It's a bit of a tough one. On the one hand, the parents are horrific - they are even more absent and self-absorbed than you usually find in these books (for how else can their child be numbing themselves with drugs, alcohol and random sex with near strangers without some kind of intervention). The main character has a lot of problems (see previous sentence), but also a dead ex-boyfriend who has become a vampire and stalks her every night. It was hard to read about and to root for a teenage character that was so self-destructive. I felt sorry for her, and you saw moments where she was thinking of her friends, but those were few, although I can imagine that being stalked by your vampire ex-boyfriend would make you fairly self-absorbed.
I have to say that I did like that the vampire was not a nice, sparkly one. I also like that the nice guy isn't given the shaft. It's unique in teen romance, where the nice boy is usually relegated to just being the friend, the one who is a constant source of support, while the bad boy gets the girl.
I have to say that I did like that the vampire was not a nice, sparkly one. I also like that the nice guy isn't given the shaft. It's unique in teen romance, where the nice boy is usually relegated to just being the friend, the one who is a constant source of support, while the bad boy gets the girl.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 20, 2016
I thought the plot sounded interesting, but the book turned out to be very disappointing. I almost gave up in the early stages but managed to push through to the end. I don’t think it was very well written and the opening was weird, making me feel like I had missed something important to the story. And nothing interesting really seemed to happen throughout the whole book. I didn’t like the main character at all, in fact, none of the characters were likeable. A couple of the characters supposedly had mental health issues, but this was glossed over and treated, I felt, inappropriately. The whole book was full of high school teens taking part in constant underage drinking, drug use, promiscuous behaviour, and didn’t seem to have any genuine friends and all came from dysfunctional families. This book was a terrible read and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
February 14, 2010
I read someone's review about this one saying it felt like a long fanfiction, I agree. While reading it I had a fanfiction vibe from it, it was as if the author had the intention to write a story about vampires and then decided to extend it to a book.
It wasn't a bad read, it was a bit dark at times since it also included some teen angst, sex and use of drugs and alcohol, but still it was ok. The dialogues, especially coming from teens, seemed a bit long to be true at times, although I can't really remember how I talked when I was a teenager, and the story unfolded a bit too quickly. The reactions to the realisation of the existence of a vampire seemed a bit too rushed too, hence not very believable, so overall, it was an ok book. 2, maybe even 1.5 stars, but I went with 2.
It wasn't a bad read, it was a bit dark at times since it also included some teen angst, sex and use of drugs and alcohol, but still it was ok. The dialogues, especially coming from teens, seemed a bit long to be true at times, although I can't really remember how I talked when I was a teenager, and the story unfolded a bit too quickly. The reactions to the realisation of the existence of a vampire seemed a bit too rushed too, hence not very believable, so overall, it was an ok book. 2, maybe even 1.5 stars, but I went with 2.
August 20, 2010
When I bought this book at the store I thought, "Gee, this looks interesting." I was wrong. I still cry a little inside when I think about the money that I spent on Uninvited.
This book was a waste of time, money, and space on my bookshelf. At the end of the book, I still didn't feel a connection with any of the characters. The vampire still felt as foreign as a minor character, the novel moved way too slow., and fifty pages into the book nothing happened. The only thing that kept me reading this book were my friends (and at points I was pretty sure they weren't going to be able to convince me to finish it).Overall the story had an interesting concept (over used but still interesting) but was executed in a poor manner.
March 15, 2009
If you want a YA book in the vampire fiction line, this one is clearly superior. The vampire-human relationship is an abusive one; this stalker hates and would kill Jordan, the protagonist, and is certainly affecting her psyche and behavior the way an actual stalker would. There's no Bella thinking Edward is so adorable when she discovers he's been watching her sleep for months. No. This relationship is dangerous and destructive, and can only be resolved by Jordan taking action. Melodramatic and not well-written, but a far healthier read than Twilight.
May 14, 2010
Jordan has serious problems. Her mom goes out and shops the days away, and she is at parites putting drugs and alcohol into her system. Jordan is known at her high school as a slut and a no one, but her biggest regret is not answering the phone when her team-mate, Danny, called. Jordans family and few friends can't ever know about her biggest of her problems: That ever since Michael Greenwood died, night life has lost its appeal.
A wonderfully bloodcurdling tale will keep you fliping through page numbers until the astonishing end.
A wonderfully bloodcurdling tale will keep you fliping through page numbers until the astonishing end.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 441 reviews