The Uninvited: A Novel

by Cat Winters

Overview

Set during the fear and panic of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919, The Uninvited is part gothic ghost-story, part psychological thriller, perfect for those who loved The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield or The Vanishing by Wendy Webb.

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.

The Uninvited is an atmospheric, haunting, and utterly compelling novel. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062347336
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	08/11/2015
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	675,708
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Cat Winters's debut novel, In the Shadow of Blackbirds, was released to widespread critical acclaim. The novel has been named a finalist for the 2014 Morris Award, a School Library Journal Best Book of 2013, and a Booklist 2013 Top 10 Horror Fiction for Youth. Winters lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and two children.

Editorial Reviews

06/29/2015
In Winters’s (author of YA novels including In the Shadow of Blackbirds) dark and romantic adult novel, an act of shocking violence encourages a young woman to flee her rural Illinois home amid the influenza outbreak of 1918. When 25-year-old Ivy Rowan’s brother and father commit a terrible act, Ivy, recovering from the flu, flees her home, takes a room in town, and even begins driving an ambulance for the Red Cross. Ivy’s always been able to see spirits (the “uninvited”), and amid so much death and sickness, it seems she’s seeing them at every turn. However, she soon finds refuge in a passionate, forbidden romance, and in a love for jazz, but she wonders if her newfound freedom can last in a world that seems to be coming apart at the seams. The author effectively captures the dangers of the period, and yet Ivy finds bastions of human kindness and acceptance. Her compelling voice carries this gothic coming-of-age story, at once horrifying and tender, toward a revelatory yet hopeful conclusion. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

THE UNINVITED is an affecting novel, dark in fiction and in fact. Set in 1918 against the parallel epidemics of the Spanish influenza and an equally terrifying strain of “superpatriotism,” Cat Winters’ latest offers resonant characters, a stunning twist, and an emotional, satisfying conclusion.” — Michelle Gable, International Bestseller of A PARIS APARTMENT

“A wonderfully atmospheric and intriguing novel. Cat Winters portrays a fascinating period in American history with clever writing and a delicious plot twist. A novel that is sure to keep readers hooked to the end.” — Hazel Gaynor, New York Times bestselling author

“compulsively readable, beautifully written and populated with characters that will hover in the air around you, long after you’ve set the book on your nightstand. I finished this story and wished very much I had written it.” — Wendy Webb, author of The Vanishing and The Tale of Halcyon Crane

“A mesmerizing story of life and death in one of America’s darkest periods.” — Megan Shepherd, author of THE MADMAN'S DAUGHTER

“Evocative and lushly written, THE UNINVITED also features a twist I never saw coming.” — April Henry, New York Times bestselling author

“Winters’ novel illustrates how the tenacity of the human spirit combines with the audacity born of necessity to triumph over even the most unthinkable challenges. Would that every chapter of history be presented in such captivating, lushly-written prose. — Bestselling author Sophie Littlefield

“dark and romantic [...] The author effectively captures the dangers of the period, and yet Ivy finds bastions of human kindness and acceptance. Her compelling voice carries this gothic coming-of-age story, at one horrifying and tender, toward a revelatory yet hopeful conclusion.” — Publishers Weekly

“a fascinating historical fiction tale with a decidedly supernatural twist. [...] Readers who like getting immersed in a historical setting will relish Cat Winters’ ability to create an almost mesmerizing atmosphere.” — Fresh Fiction

“Read this book. [...] This story is a gem with so many facets that uphold the tenets of the Gothic genre, the sensibilities of a romance, and the illuminative window to the past of a historical piece.” — USA Today, Happy Ever After blog

“an excellent ghost story: the type that is healing and moving rather than scary. Highly, highly recommended.” — Kirkus

“The Uninvited is an eerily haunting, beautifully tragic, dream-like page-turner fueled by passion, fear, and anger.” — San Francisco Book Review

From the Publisher

A mesmerizing story of life and death in one of America’s darkest periods.

Megan Shepherd

compulsively readable, beautifully written and populated with characters that will hover in the air around you, long after you’ve set the book on your nightstand. I finished this story and wished very much I had written it.

Wendy Webb

THE UNINVITED is an affecting novel, dark in fiction and in fact. Set in 1918 against the parallel epidemics of the Spanish influenza and an equally terrifying strain of “superpatriotism,” Cat Winters’ latest offers resonant characters, a stunning twist, and an emotional, satisfying conclusion.

Michelle Gable

A wonderfully atmospheric and intriguing novel. Cat Winters portrays a fascinating period in American history with clever writing and a delicious plot twist. A novel that is sure to keep readers hooked to the end.

Hazel Gaynor

Winters’ novel illustrates how the tenacity of the human spirit combines with the audacity born of necessity to triumph over even the most unthinkable challenges. Would that every chapter of history be presented in such captivating, lushly-written prose.

Bestselling author Sophie Littlefield

Read this book. [...] This story is a gem with so many facets that uphold the tenets of the Gothic genre, the sensibilities of a romance, and the illuminative window to the past of a historical piece.

USA Today

Evocative and lushly written, THE UNINVITED also features a twist I never saw coming.

April Henry

a fascinating historical fiction tale with a decidedly supernatural twist. [...] Readers who like getting immersed in a historical setting will relish Cat Winters’ ability to create an almost mesmerizing atmosphere.

Fresh Fiction

The Uninvited is an eerily haunting, beautifully tragic, dream-like page-turner fueled by passion, fear, and anger.

San Francisco Book Review

Read this book. [...] This story is a gem with so many facets that uphold the tenets of the Gothic genre, the sensibilities of a romance, and the illuminative window to the past of a historical piece.

USA Today

06/15/2015
Upon recovering from her bout with the Spanish flu in 1918, young Ivy Rowan encounters the ghost of her grandmother. Because the women in her family share a gift of seeing spirits just before hearing news of someone's death, Ivy is somewhat prepared for the knowledge that her father and brother have killed a local German in retaliation for her other brother's death in the war. Appalled by this revelation, she opts to rent a room in town and then divides her time between going to a local jazz club; volunteering to drive a night ambulance for the Red Cross; and visiting Daniel, the brother of the murdered man, in an attempt to make amends. The romance that flowers between Ivy and Daniel forms the arc of much of the narrative, which meanders a little until the surprise ending. Winters's (In the Shadow of Blackbirds) first novel for adults treads similar ground as her earlier books and will likely appeal to the same readers. VERDICT A mild-mannered early 20th-century ghost story with some enthralling historical tidbits; while the characters may not feel fully authentic, this should be popular with gentler readers who like their horror not too scary.—Victoria Caplinger, Durham, NC

Library Journal

02/01/2016
In October 1918, with too many young men dying in the world war and with devastating casualties from the Spanish influenza pandemic, 25-year-old Ivy Rowan encounters the ghost of her older brother Billy—one of the "uninvited" she and her mother have always had the power to see just before someone dies. Barely recovering from the flu and hearing a disturbance in the kitchen, Ivy discovers that her father and younger brother have just murdered a local German immigrant to avenge Billy's death. Driven by the anger and guilt she feels on their behalf, Ivy moves into town and into the arms of the murdered man's brother, Daniel. They rebuild Daniel's home and store, which had been destroyed during the attack. Finding a room to rent with a war widow, Ivy begins driving an ambulance each night to transport influenza-stricken victims from certain death in impoverished areas to better health care. It is only later, upon discovering answers to a mystery that Daniel has been hiding, that Ivy must face up to certain truths about him and herself. This ghost story blurs the line between life and death and leaves readers to wonder just where that line begins. VERDICT There's much to like here for teens: an earnest young woman who wants to do right by those who her family has wronged while participating for the first time in the many opportunities that life can offer.—Connie Williams, Petaluma High School, CA

School Library Journal

2015-05-13
In the last days of Word War I, influenza ravages the town of Buchanan, Illinois. But a more menacing plague endangers the town: hatred of Germans. As her drunken father and younger brother, Peter, crow about the "Kraut" they've just killed with their bare hands, Ivy Rowan staggers from her sickbed. Appalled at their vicious racism, Ivy packs her bags and takes a room in the home of May Dover. Like Ivy, May has recently lost a beloved young man to the war: Ivy's older brother, Billy, and May's husband, Eddie, were both killed in action. May tinkers with a Ouija board, trying to contact her husband. But Ivy dreads seeing the dead, for the women in her family have a history of seeing harbinger spirits. Wracked with guilt, Ivy seeks out the surviving brother of the man they killed. Daniel Schendel tries to push Ivy away, but she keeps coming back, and soon they can no longer ignore the sexual tension tethering them together. Their love affair is scored by the vibrant jazz music drifting through Daniel's windows; across the street, an impromptu jazz club has formed, welcoming everyone, regardless of race, and Ivy can't resist the tempting melodies. Lurking outside, however, is Lucas, a menacing member of the American Protection League, who labels Ivy a German-sympathizing whore. Meanwhile, Ivy helps two women working for the Red Cross, driving their ambulance, which careens around town every night rescuing influenza victims. As the death count rises, Lucas' threats intensify, and Billy's ghostly appearances increase, Ivy struggles to uncover Daniel's secrets. A successful teen author, Winters (The Cure for Dreaming, 2014, etc.) threads her first novel for adults with paranormal elements, manipulating them to build toward a surprising revelation. Yet the tale reads rather simply, missing opportunities to darken the atmosphere or ratchet up the tension. An intriguing yet thin paranormal read.

Kirkus Reviews