Review: The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda

Title: The Hunt
Author: Andrew Fukuda
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publishing Date: May 8th 2012
Pages: 304
Genre: YA Horror/Paranormal Adventure
Series: The Hunt #1
Source: Audio

  

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?

I thought the premise of this book sounded interesting and a bit creepy, so I added to my TBR, then I forgot about it. Recently I acquired it on audio and decided to give it a listen. The book wasn't at all what I expected and even though I have some mixed feelings about the plot, I couldn't stop listening to this book. It kept me interested all the way through and it did have a great creepy vibe going on. It was a very unique read and I enjoyed it. 

Gene is a human living in a society of vampires. Humans are a delicacy, almost extinct. Gene has lost his family but before his father died, he taught Gene how to act vampire, to live among them. He goes to school with them, he socializes among them, he lives like a vampire. Things seem to be working out until he is called to participate in The Hunt. A hunt that allows a few, select vampires to hunt down a handful of humans. Who ever catches and eats the most wins. Gene is to go to training for 4 days before the hunt begins, the issue, he can't shower, he doesn't have drinking water, and he is living among vampires for 24 hours a day. Gene must find a way to keep his secret hidden and figure out a way to survive The Hunt. 

This book was hard for me to rate and even harder for me to review. There were some really great things about this book and then there were some really odd things in the book that made me go "huh?" The story was very intersting. I liked the idea of a human living in a society of vampires. I liked that the human had to act vampire. Its different than all the stories about a vampire trying to act human. The story was very creative and very addicting to read. I seriously could not stop. There were a few odd things I had a hard time with in the book. There were certain things that the vampires did... scratch writs instead of laughing..... and more. They were just too weird for me to really appreciate. I think that it would have been better to leave these strange things out. It almost made the book feel like a spoof at times. It was very strange... not in a good way. 

The only other thing that really bother me... is how would a human ever live among vampires and not notice. This was a bit unrealistic for me. I did eventually get over it, not because it ever made sense, but because I enjoyed the read. I still feel that the vampires would catch on. I mean I do believe they would at least hear their heartbeat.... I think if vampires would have been explained to only have certain abilities like super speed and strength but not super smell and ultra hearing.... It would have made more sense to me. The way I know of vampires to be, they would have heard the heartbeat and smelled the human... no matter how much they bathed. 

So other than those couple of things, the story was good. It was thrilling, adventurous, creepy, and very intense. Very fast paced and wonderful character building. I adored the main character, Gene and I also adored Ashley June. 

Gene was a very interesting character and I felt he was developed very soundly. I was able to connect to him quickly and I enjoyed his story. The story was told from Gene's point of view and there were quite a few memories shared to really get the feel for Gene, past and present. I admired his sense of survival. There were quite a few things that he sacrificed (emotions) and things he endured (eating raw meat) to continue the pretense that he was vampire. This of course was the only way he could survive in a world full of vampires. With very few humans left, there was no more turning just ravishing.

Ashley June was a very curious character. Since the story was not told from her point of view, I didn't connect with her until the end. I did feel there was something up with her and there was. She was a great character and a great addition the overall story. 

The story didn't have too much romance, mainly just survival, but there was the beginning of one and it was very interesting. It was well written and fit into the story perfectly. I hope to see more of it in the next book, if not then maybe a new romance. That was one thing the story lacked, romance, however it made sense why there wasn't much. Who thinks about romance when they are surrounded by vampires that want to eat them. 

So there were a few things that bugged me but all in all I really got into the story and I enjoyed it from beginning to end. 

It was very thrilling read and I will for continue the series. 

Born in Manhattan and raised in Hong Kong, Andrew Fukuda is half-Chinese, half-Japanese. After earning a bachelor's degree in history from Cornell University, Fukuda worked in Manhattan's Chinatown with the immigrant teen community. That experience led to the writing of Crossing, his debut novel that was selected by ALA Booklist as an Editor's Choice, Top Ten First Novel, and Top Ten Crime Novel in 2010. His second novel, The Hunt, the first in a new series, was bought at auction by St. Martin's Press and will be published in May 2012. Before becoming a full time writer, Fukuda was a criminal prosecutor for seven years. He currently resides on Long Island, New York, with his family.