REVIEW The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda

The Hunt
by Andrew Fukuda
Hardcover
St. Martin's Griffin
May 8, 2012

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?

There are no words for how much I loved this book.  NO WORDS. But I'm going to try and review it anyway. Please excuse me if I get a little ramble-y, but this book was so good that I had to keep putting it down so that I could chase my family around the house to gush about how good it was.  I think I scared them a little. *blushes*

The Hunt follows a teenage boy living in a vampire-ruled world. There aren't really any humans left since the vampires that Fukuda has created kind of revert to I-MUST-EAT-THAT-RIGHTNOW as soon as they see a human.  The only problem is that the main character IS a human (or a heper, as the book calls them) and he's been faking being a vampire all his life. He has a mental list of rules and a strict regimen of physical cleanliness that he has to go through so that he won't give himself away. Because vampires don't sweat, they don't smell, they don't laugh, they don't do a million little things that we take for granted that would get him killed in an instant.

And now The Hunt has been announced.  A small group of vampires are to be chosen by lottery to have the privilege of hunting and killing the last of the hepers that will be released into the wile.

The problem is that HE has been chosen as one of the hunters, and all of his little ways to keep himself from being noticed have all gone out the window because they're no longer available to him at the training compound.  Now he must hide his true nature while surrounded by vampires whose only purpose is to hunt him down and eat him.

I was completely blown away by this book.  The world that Fukuda has created is just so intricate and involved that I had no choice but to keep reading.  It was beautifully crafted.  Gene is perfect. He's strong yet flawed, and is constantly conflicted because he isn't a vampire and yet he can't see himself as one of the harmless hepers that have been raised in captivity.  Also, he's a little bit in love with a girl that could tear him to pieces.

Seriously awesome read. 

This is definitely going on my birthday wishlist!

Loved it!

Happy Reading!

-geekgirl