Review: The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda

The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda
Series: The Hunt #1
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Expected Publication: May 8th, 2012
Source: NetGalley
Format: eARC
Pages: 293

Goodreads Summary:

Don’t Sweat. Don’t Laugh. Don’t draw attention to yourself. And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.

Gene is different from everyone else around him. He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood. Gene is a human, and he knows the rules. Keep the truth a secret. It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood.

When he’s chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him. He’s thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible—and into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever—but is it worth the cost of his humanity?

This is more suitable for older teens (16+).

My Rating: 3.0 / 5

First thoughts:

At times predictable and weird, I enjoyed The Hunt nonetheless. It's gory and full of action, making it a fast-paced and really interesting read. While it was a bit too gory for me sometimes, I really liked the uniqueness of The Hunt's world-building. And even though I would have preferred for the romance to develop differently (less cheesy, but slower), I liked witnessing it, too.

More detailed:

Imagine being your classmates' favorite type of food, but they must not find out about that under any circumstances - because that will be the last thing you've ever experienced. That's what Gene's life is like: he has to pretend not being human, or rather a "heper", and his thoughts always revolve around it. One slip-up would mean his death.

The world and creatures Andrew Fukuda created are incredibly original - I assure you that you have not read anything similar before. With a slightly dystopian feel to it, the society in The Hunt is made of vampires that you've never met before. They do not only drink blood, but eat raw meat and get crazy when thinking about hepers. 

A story told from a male point of view is almost rare in the Young Adult genre, but when it's done well I absolutely love it. Sadly I had a hard time connecting with Gene, but I'm not really sure why. His narration is easy to follow and I always wanted to know what will happen to him. Maybe it's because my expectations for The Hunt weren't exactly met - it wasn't nearly as dark as I expected to be, but nonetheless it was a bit too gory for me sometimes.

The ending was quite a surprise and is enough reason for me to be interested in reading the second book. All in all, I can definitely recommend this for everyone who is looking for a really unique YA novel, which is action-packed and doesn't concentrate too much on its love story. While I won't put this onto my list of favorites, I enjoyed reading The Hunt and probably will pick up its sequel.

Have you read The Hunt? What did you think about it?
Do you plan to read it?
Carina