The Uninvited by Tim Wynne-Jones

Reviewed by Lori
Uninvited (eBook)
Title: The Uninvited

Author: Tim Wynne-Jones

***Canadian Author***

Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 34459

Description: Mimi arrives at her father's vacation cottage and is surprised to find someone living there. She's even more surprised when the someone accuses her of leaving strange and threatening tokens inside. Now she must figure out who's responsible and, more importantly, what they want?

Rubric Rating: Level 2 - Like It

Why I Read It: I had already read a couple of titles by Wynne-Jones and picked this up as part of an author study.

Lori's Notes: This book was not what I was expecting from the cover.  I was expecting more of a supernatural story, perhaps a haunted house, but this novel was nothing like that at all.  After a bad break up, Mimi travels to Canada to spend time at her estranged father's cabin but finds someone else living there.  Turns out she isn't an only child and has a stepbrother. They are plagued by break-ins and strange messages.  Turns out they aren't the only ones with a connection to the cabin.  The women in this novel are key characters, Mimi of course as the protagonist, but also all of the mothers.  The relationships between mothers/parents/siblings/ and children are an overarching theme to this novel.  I found the mothers a particularly interesting character study.  Each mother in this novel deals with their children and situation differently.  Some fair well and others not so well and this affects each of the children differently.  I was hoping for more from this novel and it's probably my least favourite of all the Wynne-Jones novels I have read.

Recommended Readers: Grade 9 and Up

Themes: Family, Siblings, Abandonment, Single Parents, Role of Women, Mental Illness, Broken Relationships.

Cross-Genre Links: 
Music: He Ain't Heavy, He's my Brother performed by the Hollies
TV Series: Brothers and Sisters

Post Reading Discussion Questions and Activities: 

  • How do the mothers in this book influence their children?
  • Why doesn't the father let his children know about one another?  
  • How does economic status affect how each of the children is raised?  Does it make a difference at all?
  • How does the mother's attitude toward their situation affect their children?  Bitterness vs. Acceptance.
  • What is the significance of the book's title?


Other Titles by Tim Wynne-Jones:
Blink and Caution
A Thief in the House of Memory


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