The Uninvited

In this immersive debut, Banks sets a familiar premise—a vampire terrorizing unsuspecting teens after dark—against a quaint Parisian backdrop. Arriving from Oregon ahead of her easygoing and devoted father, 17-year-old Tosh Reeves settles into the father-daughter duo’s Paris apartment alone. Upon befriending—and immediately crushing on—fellow American Nick Wallace, Tosh is absorbed into his friend group, which includes incisive street artist Noor Sidi, cigarette-smoking Martine Sardou and her boyfriend Youssef Rachedi, and artist Le Bec, a self-important graffiti painter of pigeons. Though reports of a vampire attacking women circulate the city, the menace remains mostly in the background for Tosh as she busies herself integrating into Parisian life. A group trip to the catacombs—during which Tosh and Noor come into conflict with Le Bec after standing up to his previous bullying—disrupts this idyll, setting off events that threaten to change Tosh forever. As more is revealed about Paris’s unknown assailant, Banks utilizes the novel’s supernatural elements surrounding immortality and vampiric power to deliver an insightful cautionary tale that emphasizes the importance of consent and respecting others’ boundaries. A leisurely start centers Tosh’s developing friendships, with the vampiric components supplying an ominous undercurrent throughout this tidy read for Francophiles who enjoy a paranormal bent to realistic contemporary tales. The cast is racially diverse. Ages 12–up. (Dec.)