I really wanted to like this book. Unfortunately, there were many deal breakers. The biggest deal breaker was how mental illness, specifically schizophrenia, was portrayed. I wonder if Alexandra Sokoloff has ever even been to a mental hospital. I was in hospitalized for depression and it was nothing like what Dorothea Dix. Patients are not so drugged that they're unable to hold a conversation and they're not always drooling (although some medication can cause drooling). But still, the way schizophrenia is constantly described as goat smell and considered contagious is insulting to people who live with schizophrenia in real life. Also, patients do not cackle or catcall. The way the mental hospital and the patients were described are such annoying stereotypes that need to die.

Another major nuisance was how rude Katrina was to Laurel. Seriously, the idea of women competing over the attention of a man is so ridiculous. Especially when the man is not even worth the time.

I am just so disappointed with The Unseen. While there were some interesting moments, it was just not enough to make up for its flaws.