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The Uninvited
When the Faerae folk flee their world and come to ours, running from the nightmare of war, nobody in the everyday knows what to do. So they are locked away.
Thirteen-year-old Samm Wolfback lives in Glass Forest, a sprawling Faerae refugee camp in England. Life in Glass Forest is hard, poisoned by disease and crime and poverty. But Samm has a unique gift that lines his pockets – he can find lost things.
When Samm is thrust into the centre of a plot to escape Glass Forest and return home, he must use his gifts to unearth two treasures lost in the a relic that will end the war back in Faerae; and the only person with the power to reopen the door between worlds – the Locksmith. The task will take Samm to dark places filled with danger, from a grimly enchanted circus of nightmares to a museum housing a murderous exhibit, and he will have to use all of his skills to stay alive.
Meanwhile, in the human world, a kidnapped boy with a dark secret begins to realise that he might hold the key to the Faerae folks' fate. Before all is said and done, destiny's web will entangle him with Samm and send them spinning towards a showdown with the great evil that lurks in the world beyond the door.
Thirteen-year-old Samm Wolfback lives in Glass Forest, a sprawling Faerae refugee camp in England. Life in Glass Forest is hard, poisoned by disease and crime and poverty. But Samm has a unique gift that lines his pockets – he can find lost things.
When Samm is thrust into the centre of a plot to escape Glass Forest and return home, he must use his gifts to unearth two treasures lost in the a relic that will end the war back in Faerae; and the only person with the power to reopen the door between worlds – the Locksmith. The task will take Samm to dark places filled with danger, from a grimly enchanted circus of nightmares to a museum housing a murderous exhibit, and he will have to use all of his skills to stay alive.
Meanwhile, in the human world, a kidnapped boy with a dark secret begins to realise that he might hold the key to the Faerae folks' fate. Before all is said and done, destiny's web will entangle him with Samm and send them spinning towards a showdown with the great evil that lurks in the world beyond the door.
- GenresFantasy
368 pages, Paperback
Published July 31, 2025
15 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 10, 2025
This is certainly an older kids book, bordering YA I would say, but it is a wonderful fantasy with high stakes and a great adventure at its core. The message at its heart is also timely, though could certainly be polished a little more. My one pain point was how quickly it resolved, feeling quite rushed. It’s almost as if the idea was a duology or even more, but got crammed into a single novel.
October 23, 2025
A small boy is with his mum and big sister the day the strangers came. They’re visiting a circle of stones with many other tourists, when he saw a strange blue light in the air just outside the circle. He follows and reaches out for it…. and something opens in the air. A doorway…
A woman with red hair falls at the boy’s feet.
She is Faerie, and fleeing from a terrible force in her home. 100,000 Faerie folk soon follow her through the portal into our world.
Humankind is horrified at the invasion of these Uninvited guests. They look strange with their pointy ears and weird ways. For human ‘safety’, the Faerie are all locked up together in a camp named Glass Forest after their own home city.
Now, Fairie Samm Wolfback can hardly remember that day or the land he came from. All he has are two items his mum gave him, explaining they belonged to his father. These Faerie tools contain magic, like many of the Faerie folk themselves.
One of these tools helps Samm find things, and he is soon in a dangerous plot to try and get the Faerie folk home again. First, he must find the Faerie woman who opened the portal. A watchful old human, and an eerie circus lead Samm to the truth of the devastating war that his folk fled from.
Can he defeat the evil that caused it all, and save a young human boy who was at the beginning?
This fantasy novel begins in our world with a young boy’s curiosity. Exploring themes of immigration, otherness, and freedom, The Uninvited is a stunning read.
Following two boys in their lives after 100,000 Faerie folk appear in the UK, The Uninvited is cleverly plotted and page turning stuff.
A human boy finds himself mentally changed by their arrival, and a faerie boy is just trying to survive in the terrible camp humans have fenced him and his kind in.
It’s only together the problems can be solved – a powerful message for us all.
The premise might be explored in many children’s books, but The Uninvited takes the reader on a wild ride into fantasy, horror and freedom, all in one novel.
Loved it!
A woman with red hair falls at the boy’s feet.
She is Faerie, and fleeing from a terrible force in her home. 100,000 Faerie folk soon follow her through the portal into our world.
Humankind is horrified at the invasion of these Uninvited guests. They look strange with their pointy ears and weird ways. For human ‘safety’, the Faerie are all locked up together in a camp named Glass Forest after their own home city.
Now, Fairie Samm Wolfback can hardly remember that day or the land he came from. All he has are two items his mum gave him, explaining they belonged to his father. These Faerie tools contain magic, like many of the Faerie folk themselves.
One of these tools helps Samm find things, and he is soon in a dangerous plot to try and get the Faerie folk home again. First, he must find the Faerie woman who opened the portal. A watchful old human, and an eerie circus lead Samm to the truth of the devastating war that his folk fled from.
Can he defeat the evil that caused it all, and save a young human boy who was at the beginning?
This fantasy novel begins in our world with a young boy’s curiosity. Exploring themes of immigration, otherness, and freedom, The Uninvited is a stunning read.
Following two boys in their lives after 100,000 Faerie folk appear in the UK, The Uninvited is cleverly plotted and page turning stuff.
A human boy finds himself mentally changed by their arrival, and a faerie boy is just trying to survive in the terrible camp humans have fenced him and his kind in.
It’s only together the problems can be solved – a powerful message for us all.
The premise might be explored in many children’s books, but The Uninvited takes the reader on a wild ride into fantasy, horror and freedom, all in one novel.
Loved it!
November 20, 2025
4.5 stars and a very dramatic side-eye at whoever approved that title and cover because honestly… this book deserved better.
Right. Let’s talk about how much fun this was. I picked it up expecting a decent middle-grade fantasy and instead got a full cinematic romp with heart, danger, grit, and one of the most engaging casts I’ve seen in a while. Fast paced? Absolutely. Great characters? Yes. Interesting premise? Refugees from the fae lands arriving through a portal in Scotland? Inject it directly.
MacKenzie walks a very tricky line here and he nails it. Books with political undercurrents for kids often fall into two traps: preachy or patronising. This one avoids both. It’s clever without shouting. It trusts young readers to keep up. And it never sacrifices story for message.
Samm Wolfback is such a brilliant protagonist. Scrappy, smart, a little bit feral, and navigating life in a camp that feels painfully real without being despairing. The “lost things finder” angle is chef’s kiss. Then you’ve got the parallel storyline with Alistair, the human boy marked by that first fae arrival. Two boys, two worlds colliding, both carrying trauma in different shapes. It works beautifully.
I also loved how weird this book let itself be. We’ve got an eerie nightmare circus. A museum exhibit that should definitely be locked up. A terrifying enemy waiting back in Faerae. All described with that perfect blend of spooky and thrilling. I kept thinking “yes, THIS is what I wanted from fae fiction when I was 12”.
And honestly? Compared to the brilliance inside, the title and cover look like they were generated after someone skimmed half a paragraph. They do not match the energy of the story at all. This book is bigger, darker, stranger, and far more imaginative than its packaging suggests.
Perfect for fans of Northern Lights, Artemis Fowl, and any student who wants adventure without babysitting. Loved it. Already pushing it into kids’ hands at the library.
Right. Let’s talk about how much fun this was. I picked it up expecting a decent middle-grade fantasy and instead got a full cinematic romp with heart, danger, grit, and one of the most engaging casts I’ve seen in a while. Fast paced? Absolutely. Great characters? Yes. Interesting premise? Refugees from the fae lands arriving through a portal in Scotland? Inject it directly.
MacKenzie walks a very tricky line here and he nails it. Books with political undercurrents for kids often fall into two traps: preachy or patronising. This one avoids both. It’s clever without shouting. It trusts young readers to keep up. And it never sacrifices story for message.
Samm Wolfback is such a brilliant protagonist. Scrappy, smart, a little bit feral, and navigating life in a camp that feels painfully real without being despairing. The “lost things finder” angle is chef’s kiss. Then you’ve got the parallel storyline with Alistair, the human boy marked by that first fae arrival. Two boys, two worlds colliding, both carrying trauma in different shapes. It works beautifully.
I also loved how weird this book let itself be. We’ve got an eerie nightmare circus. A museum exhibit that should definitely be locked up. A terrifying enemy waiting back in Faerae. All described with that perfect blend of spooky and thrilling. I kept thinking “yes, THIS is what I wanted from fae fiction when I was 12”.
And honestly? Compared to the brilliance inside, the title and cover look like they were generated after someone skimmed half a paragraph. They do not match the energy of the story at all. This book is bigger, darker, stranger, and far more imaginative than its packaging suggests.
Perfect for fans of Northern Lights, Artemis Fowl, and any student who wants adventure without babysitting. Loved it. Already pushing it into kids’ hands at the library.
November 14, 2025
When Alistair was five, he witnessed a historic event - the arrival of the Faeraes, fleeing from war, through a portal in a standing stone circle on the Isle of Lewis. Now eight years later he is still dealing with the aftermath - the remnants of magical power transferred to him on that day.
13-year-old orphan Samm Wolfback lives in a faerae refugee camp in the Lake District. His greatest treasure is a magic compass and it's all that he has left of his father - killed by the terrifying Scourge monsters who drove them from Faerae. But now a powerful man wants Samm to use his compass to help them all to find their way home.
'The Uninvited' has a simple but brilliant concept, faerae refugees trying to get home, and in the context of epic multi-book fantasy series, this standalone story definitely fills a gap. This is a thrilling, action-packed narrative with high stakes, perfect for fans of 'Artemis Fowl' and 'The Northern Lights' trilogy. I couldn't put this one down!
13-year-old orphan Samm Wolfback lives in a faerae refugee camp in the Lake District. His greatest treasure is a magic compass and it's all that he has left of his father - killed by the terrifying Scourge monsters who drove them from Faerae. But now a powerful man wants Samm to use his compass to help them all to find their way home.
'The Uninvited' has a simple but brilliant concept, faerae refugees trying to get home, and in the context of epic multi-book fantasy series, this standalone story definitely fills a gap. This is a thrilling, action-packed narrative with high stakes, perfect for fans of 'Artemis Fowl' and 'The Northern Lights' trilogy. I couldn't put this one down!
August 6, 2025
Magical realism is not my favourite genre, but this story quickly drew me in. Echoes of his Dark Materials, this fast-paced, exciting adventure is a real page turner. Subtly explores issues around refugees and racism from both sides. I do think it is an unimaginative title though which certainly didn't draw me to it at first. Glad I read it though.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews