Book: Uninvited by Justine Musk

Rating: 4 Stars

Release Date: September 11, 2007

Summary:
Kelly Ruland’s world fell apart when her brother Jasper walked away the sole survivor of a car accident…and kept walking right out of town. She doesn’t want to believe that Jasper was at fault – but then why did he run away? How could he abandon Kelly and her parents? Now, former star student and athlete Kelly struggles to care about anything anymore, sleepwalking through school and experimenting with dangerous behavior as she tries to fill the void inside her.
Then one night, Jaspers returns…but he’s not alone. Someone has followed him home. Someone who hides in the space behind the truth, who hovers in the shadows between the known and the unknown. His name is Archie, and he is the stranger they never asked to know, the guest they never invited . And he’s about to challenge Kelly and Jasper to a game that demands a price they may not be willing to pay…
Overall:
Kelly Ruland’s life could not be any worse. Her pregnant mother is on bed rest for the rest of her labor, her father is always working, and her brother is gone. Ever since Jasper walked out of their lives, Kelly has thought of herself as her parent’s consolation prize. Now that the twins are coming, she isn’t even that anymore. The only time she feels good anymore is when she does ecstasy. All that changes in one night, though.
The night Jasper reappears, things begin to change, for the family and their town. Signs start showing up around town, signs that tell Jasper that he needs to come home. While he was gone, it seems that Jasper got involved with the wrong type of people and they aren’t willing to let him return to his old life.
Will Kelly be able to figure out what is going on, before it’s too late?
Uninvited was a story unlike any I have read before. The characters, the plot, everything about the story was original. Justine Musk did a wonderful job writing an original story that will appeal to pretty much all fans of the paranormal.
My one complaint was the amount of drug use. I don’t like reading about drugs, especially hardcore drugs like ecstasy. The reason I still liked this book, even with the drug use, was because it actually tied into the story. The story wouldn’t really have made sense without it and it wasn’t overdone.
I don’t really want to say anything more about the plot because it would give the story away but it was great. It was just such an unusual story and the characters were unlike any I had read before. Archie was someone you wanted to trust and hate at the same time. Jasper and Kelly were also so great. They had such a great relationship and I only wish I had that kind of closeness with my brother. My other complaint was that you didn’t really find out anything about Kelly’s two friends, Morgan and Amy. They were in the very beginning of the book and they just sort of disappeared in the middle. I would have liked to know more about them.
Overall, I really liked Uninvited. While it isn’t one of my favorites, it was still a great book and I would recommend it to anyone who is not against a little drug use for the purpose of the story.
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