What do you think?
Rate this book
The Hunted
In a future world where people live to be 150, humans have paid the price for their longer lives—the cost being their fertility. Children have become a commodity: they are bought and sold, won and lost, and worst of all, are hunted by the "kiddernappers" keen to make a quick buck on a big sale.
When Deet wins Tarrin in a card game he rents him out to childless couples. They pay for Tarrin to play in their houses, and they pretend he's their child for an hour or two. But as Tarrin gets older, Deet is keen to secure his future, and his interest in "The Peter Pan" operation grows. By having "The Peter Pan," Tarrin would stay a boy forever. He would grow old inside the body of a young boy.
While Tarrin faces a difficult dilemma, someone is watching him. Someone who has plans of his own.
When Deet wins Tarrin in a card game he rents him out to childless couples. They pay for Tarrin to play in their houses, and they pretend he's their child for an hour or two. But as Tarrin gets older, Deet is keen to secure his future, and his interest in "The Peter Pan" operation grows. By having "The Peter Pan," Tarrin would stay a boy forever. He would grow old inside the body of a young boy.
While Tarrin faces a difficult dilemma, someone is watching him. Someone who has plans of his own.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
About the author
Alex Shearer
81 books87 followersAlex Shearer started his writing career as a scriptwriter and has had great success in that field. His credits include The Two of Us, the 1990s sitcom starring Nicholas Lyndhurst. More recently he has started writing for children. His Wilmot stories have been adapted for TV by Yorkshire television, and his children's novel, The Greatest Store in the World, was screened as a feature length TV film on Christmas Eve 1999 by the BBC. Alex's recent novel 'The Speed of the Dark' was shortlisted for the 2002 Guardian Fiction Prize
Alex Shearer lives with his family in Somerset. He has written more than a dozen books for both adults and children, as well as many successful television series, films, and stage and radio plays. He has had over thirty different jobs, and has never given up trying to play the guitar.
Alex Shearer lives with his family in Somerset. He has written more than a dozen books for both adults and children, as well as many successful television series, films, and stage and radio plays. He has had over thirty different jobs, and has never given up trying to play the guitar.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 28, 2012
An open letter to dystopians written before 'The Dystopocalypse'(and yes, that's what I'm calling it):
You guys were usually pretty amazing. Most of you were genuinely creepy and yet very relatable, and I could really see something that happened in your stories happening to the society we have in the future. Now, here's the question. WHERE HAVE YOU GUYS GONE?
Respectfully,
Hayley
As it turns out, at the back of charity book stores.
The Hunted was something I didn't really have high expectations for when I first got it- just another dystopian story which had an okay sounding blurb. This is a book that actually had me shuddering at the idea of the 'Peter Pan' project- in the middle of the day.
Now, unlike a lot of dystopians I read nowadays, it's not about some huge hero who goes and saves the world from this terrible, terrible injustice that is society. Tarrin's just a boy trying to figure out who he is and what he wants to do with his life, instead of having Deet, his guardian using him like a money making machine. No uprisings here, and that was something really refreshing to read about. Sure, it's a bad life, but it's good to see a main character with a will to survive instead of being all self sacrificial.
Speaking of characters, I found most if not all of the characters in general quite well balanced and real. The main character, Tarrin was likable, and while his innocence was a little tiresome at times, but in general I enjoyed how he grew and matured as a character, and got a backbone. I could understand all his frustrations, and I rooted for him pretty much the whole novel. As well as the main characters, I also liked pretty much all of the other characters, whether they appeared throughout the whole of the novel or even down to a few pages. Deet, being in most of the novel was particularly interesting for me to read about. Yes, he's technically the villain, but you get the sense he cares for Tarrin throughout the whole novel- though whether it's real is something I couldn't figure out the whole way through. It was great to see how this semi-villain acted and how real he was, even if he was creepy.
Deet wasn't the only thing that was creepy though. This book was creepy too, to describe it eloquently, because of how close to reality it seemed, and how well Alex Shearer worked on building it up. Live to 150 using health products? On our way there already. Retain youthful until the day you die? Still working on that, but progress is being made. I loved the idea that humans would lose our fertility because of all the things we are putting into our body because of how plausible it would be, and in a way, it kind of worried me about what would happen to us in the future. Whether children would be scarce and become a sort of black market business. But that wasn't the most creepy and yet awesome part. I was genuinely freaked by the idea of 'The Peter Pan Project' that was a huge part of the novel here.
As I mentioned before, 'The Peter Pan Project' was something that creeped me out completely (I blame watching the movie Orphan partially). The idea behind it is that as a child, you can be given this drug (illegally, of course) which will stop your growth on the outside, and that you would remain a child forever, or at least until you died. The descriptions in the story Hunted make it just so daunting, and yet with today's technology, you wonder whether it would be actually possible in the future and whether people would resort to that, considering the circumstances. In other cases, I probably would have found this idea ridiculous, but the way the author built it up made it completely plausible.
Plot wise, I'm not sure whether this is The Hunted's strongest points. Sure, it's interesting to see the world unfold as you find out more about it, but it never seemed to build up into a climax and the ending for me was a little anticlimactic, which is a little disappointing as there were just so many great twists in there. It was enough to keep me interested, though I would have liked it if they had amped up the action just a LITTLE bit more.
Overall, The Hunted is one of those dystopians that you kind of miss in the wake of super revolutionary heroes and crazy political leaders. If you're looking for a cynical dystopian, The Hunted is definitely something you should read. Four stars.
You guys were usually pretty amazing. Most of you were genuinely creepy and yet very relatable, and I could really see something that happened in your stories happening to the society we have in the future. Now, here's the question. WHERE HAVE YOU GUYS GONE?
Respectfully,
Hayley
As it turns out, at the back of charity book stores.
The Hunted was something I didn't really have high expectations for when I first got it- just another dystopian story which had an okay sounding blurb. This is a book that actually had me shuddering at the idea of the 'Peter Pan' project- in the middle of the day.
Now, unlike a lot of dystopians I read nowadays, it's not about some huge hero who goes and saves the world from this terrible, terrible injustice that is society. Tarrin's just a boy trying to figure out who he is and what he wants to do with his life, instead of having Deet, his guardian using him like a money making machine. No uprisings here, and that was something really refreshing to read about. Sure, it's a bad life, but it's good to see a main character with a will to survive instead of being all self sacrificial.
Speaking of characters, I found most if not all of the characters in general quite well balanced and real. The main character, Tarrin was likable, and while his innocence was a little tiresome at times, but in general I enjoyed how he grew and matured as a character, and got a backbone. I could understand all his frustrations, and I rooted for him pretty much the whole novel. As well as the main characters, I also liked pretty much all of the other characters, whether they appeared throughout the whole of the novel or even down to a few pages. Deet, being in most of the novel was particularly interesting for me to read about. Yes, he's technically the villain, but you get the sense he cares for Tarrin throughout the whole novel- though whether it's real is something I couldn't figure out the whole way through. It was great to see how this semi-villain acted and how real he was, even if he was creepy.
Deet wasn't the only thing that was creepy though. This book was creepy too, to describe it eloquently, because of how close to reality it seemed, and how well Alex Shearer worked on building it up. Live to 150 using health products? On our way there already. Retain youthful until the day you die? Still working on that, but progress is being made. I loved the idea that humans would lose our fertility because of all the things we are putting into our body because of how plausible it would be, and in a way, it kind of worried me about what would happen to us in the future. Whether children would be scarce and become a sort of black market business. But that wasn't the most creepy and yet awesome part. I was genuinely freaked by the idea of 'The Peter Pan Project' that was a huge part of the novel here.
As I mentioned before, 'The Peter Pan Project' was something that creeped me out completely (I blame watching the movie Orphan partially). The idea behind it is that as a child, you can be given this drug (illegally, of course) which will stop your growth on the outside, and that you would remain a child forever, or at least until you died. The descriptions in the story Hunted make it just so daunting, and yet with today's technology, you wonder whether it would be actually possible in the future and whether people would resort to that, considering the circumstances. In other cases, I probably would have found this idea ridiculous, but the way the author built it up made it completely plausible.
Plot wise, I'm not sure whether this is The Hunted's strongest points. Sure, it's interesting to see the world unfold as you find out more about it, but it never seemed to build up into a climax and the ending for me was a little anticlimactic, which is a little disappointing as there were just so many great twists in there. It was enough to keep me interested, though I would have liked it if they had amped up the action just a LITTLE bit more.
Overall, The Hunted is one of those dystopians that you kind of miss in the wake of super revolutionary heroes and crazy political leaders. If you're looking for a cynical dystopian, The Hunted is definitely something you should read. Four stars.
January 28, 2013
Title: The Hunted
Author: Alex Shearer
Genre / Bingo Board: Thriller, male character
The Hunted is set in the future where living to 150 has become possible. While this initially sounds like a good idea, the problem is that this has come at the price of most people being unable to have children any more. The story follows Tarrin a child as he searches for his birth parents after escaping from Deet, the man who makes money by renting him out to childless families and who wants him to have an operation to prevent him ever looking older than he does now.
Even though Deet is the only father-figure Tarrin has really known, and offers him security in a world where being a child can be a real danger, Tarrin shows great bravery by refusing to have the illegal Peter Pan implant to stop the aging process. The book shows that sometimes people realise that what they are being asked to do is wrong and they have to make a brave decision to stick to their principles rather than do what other people want them to do. Tarrin shows us that we all have a chance to stand up for what we believe.
This is relevant to our own world where the images in the media suggest that only young people are beautiful. Tarrin’s decision means he will get old naturally and die sooner. This makes him an outsider in his own world and being an outsider is always difficult. It takes courage to go against what everyone else is doing. His brave decision also shows us that our appearance is not the most important thing in our lives.
Author: Alex Shearer
Genre / Bingo Board: Thriller, male character
The Hunted is set in the future where living to 150 has become possible. While this initially sounds like a good idea, the problem is that this has come at the price of most people being unable to have children any more. The story follows Tarrin a child as he searches for his birth parents after escaping from Deet, the man who makes money by renting him out to childless families and who wants him to have an operation to prevent him ever looking older than he does now.
Even though Deet is the only father-figure Tarrin has really known, and offers him security in a world where being a child can be a real danger, Tarrin shows great bravery by refusing to have the illegal Peter Pan implant to stop the aging process. The book shows that sometimes people realise that what they are being asked to do is wrong and they have to make a brave decision to stick to their principles rather than do what other people want them to do. Tarrin shows us that we all have a chance to stand up for what we believe.
This is relevant to our own world where the images in the media suggest that only young people are beautiful. Tarrin’s decision means he will get old naturally and die sooner. This makes him an outsider in his own world and being an outsider is always difficult. It takes courage to go against what everyone else is doing. His brave decision also shows us that our appearance is not the most important thing in our lives.
December 8, 2020
I wanted to like this book, I really did. My grandma gave it to me years ago, and I'd put it off for so long for some reason, so, times being what they are, I thought I'd do some digging for a book I had but hadn't yet read. Enter The Hunted.
It had a really interesting premise: touching on immortality, sterility-dystopia setting, the main character being "rented" to perform as a child. It was really intriguing. I just couldn't get past a few things.
There is so. much. repetition.
Over and over again, the main character, Tarrin, is confronted by the possibilities in his future, and every single time the book repeats how unsettling and queer the situation is. I can't remember how many times something "gave him the creeps". Even Tarrin's guardian, Deet, repeats himself too much. I understand he's not to clever, but he says "kid" so many times during his speeches that it's infuriating. A lot of the dialogue doesn't seem... human, for lack of a better word. It feels forced in an obscure way.
The main conflict of the novel takes far too long to come about, nearly two-thirds of the way in, and even then it doesn't feel very impactful. There's a lot of talking and not a whole lot of doing.
It's an interesting world Shearer has constructed, but "The Hunted" falls flat on its face in the presentation of it.
It had a really interesting premise: touching on immortality, sterility-dystopia setting, the main character being "rented" to perform as a child. It was really intriguing. I just couldn't get past a few things.
There is so. much. repetition.
Over and over again, the main character, Tarrin, is confronted by the possibilities in his future, and every single time the book repeats how unsettling and queer the situation is. I can't remember how many times something "gave him the creeps". Even Tarrin's guardian, Deet, repeats himself too much. I understand he's not to clever, but he says "kid" so many times during his speeches that it's infuriating. A lot of the dialogue doesn't seem... human, for lack of a better word. It feels forced in an obscure way.
The main conflict of the novel takes far too long to come about, nearly two-thirds of the way in, and even then it doesn't feel very impactful. There's a lot of talking and not a whole lot of doing.
It's an interesting world Shearer has constructed, but "The Hunted" falls flat on its face in the presentation of it.
March 1, 2018
I must have read this nearly a decade ago, I remember being absolutely enthralled. One of the first dystopian novels I can remember reading, and I was absolutely hooked. Uses the concept of growing infertility, which I have enjoyed in The Handmaid's Tale and other texts, in a novel way. Definitely will be seeking out to read again.
January 17, 2019
A great read. Thoroughly enjoyed it and a great twist at the end
October 15, 2017
Well reading this book I had no idea where it was going I didn't know if Tarrin was going to be kidnapped, or sold, and or run away from Deet. But I am really happy about how it ended. Just one question, how old was Tarrin? I couldn't work it out, but it is possible that I read over his age. Anyway it was a great book and I am definitely going to read it again, and maybe do a reading log on it :)
March 29, 2020
Such an interesting concept and so interestingly written - some of the characters were repetitively annoying and the ending was a bit too perfect but I'm technically not a YA reader anymore. This one will definitely stay with me a while!
July 24, 2021
Read as a teenager and this is a really good book with a very interesting concept. Also the creepy aspect of some of the novel is played very well. Would recommend.
March 7, 2024
One of the first dystopian books i read, truly hooked me as a child, i can remember never wanting to put this down just from how thrilling it was, Tarrin's journey was so thrilling and the twist at the end definitely left me with a few tears. Definitely will be coming back to re-read this sometime in the future !
Thanks for Reading <3
Thanks for Reading <3
November 24, 2014
You never know what to expect with a dystopian novel I find. They can differ quite immensely. I have to say they are 1 of my favourite genres. I found this book at a charity shop for 50p so no harm, no foul.
Having read the back of the book, I liked the sound of it. Set in a future where people can live to 150 if they take a anti aging pill, so people don't age past the day they took the pill, however do eventually die from organ failure. As mankind can live a lot longer, people stop being able to conceive, all but a precious few, as you can imagine the world would get overcrowded quickly as death rates become 90% less, so do birth rates. This makes a lot of sense scientifically, mother nature at its best.
Told through the eyes of a rare genuine teenage boy who was kidnapped at a very young age. He is now used as a commodity to rich people willing and able to pay to rent him for an hour so people can experience what it is like to have a child for a short period of time. However there is an awful side to this as lots of children start taking the anti aging drug as a child and don't age, however can be fifty years old. They still pretend to be children for showbusiness or renting themselves to would be mother's and fathers.
It is a real page turner and very well written and thought out, things you just don't even think of if something like this actually did happen:- Loss of jobs as no more schools, children wards, nurseries, child minders, nanny's, child clothes manufacturing, toy manufacturing, playgrounds, etc are needed, the list is endless.
A fascinating read and a lovley ending. 4 stars.
Having read the back of the book, I liked the sound of it. Set in a future where people can live to 150 if they take a anti aging pill, so people don't age past the day they took the pill, however do eventually die from organ failure. As mankind can live a lot longer, people stop being able to conceive, all but a precious few, as you can imagine the world would get overcrowded quickly as death rates become 90% less, so do birth rates. This makes a lot of sense scientifically, mother nature at its best.
Told through the eyes of a rare genuine teenage boy who was kidnapped at a very young age. He is now used as a commodity to rich people willing and able to pay to rent him for an hour so people can experience what it is like to have a child for a short period of time. However there is an awful side to this as lots of children start taking the anti aging drug as a child and don't age, however can be fifty years old. They still pretend to be children for showbusiness or renting themselves to would be mother's and fathers.
It is a real page turner and very well written and thought out, things you just don't even think of if something like this actually did happen:- Loss of jobs as no more schools, children wards, nurseries, child minders, nanny's, child clothes manufacturing, toy manufacturing, playgrounds, etc are needed, the list is endless.
A fascinating read and a lovley ending. 4 stars.
November 23, 2020
I wanted to read this book, honestly, because of the cover. This book takes place in a dystopian society in which children are so uncommon that they are actually available for purchase. The main character, Tarrin, is one such child; he was won in a card game and his caregiver rents him out to couples who want to spend a few hours pretending to be parents. Tarrin doesn't attempt to save his dystopian world, he just wants to find his parents, which makes this dystopian novel different from most.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of dystopian novels. I think that "The Hunted" is a refreshing take on the popular dystopian novel. I like the fact that the government plays such a small role in the novel, and that the responsibility for the state of things really does fall on the society and their desire to stay young and beautiful. It is an interesting commentary on the cost of vanity, which is a huge propellant in almost every industry in the United States.
That being said, if I were going to use this book in a class, I would do one of two things: compare and contrast it to another dystopian novel, like "Brave New World," or with Slave Narratives, since Tarrin is bought and sold, or, I would have my students pick one toxic element in our current society, such as vanity, racism, social media addiction, and then have them write a short story based on the issue they used.
WARNINGS:
DRUGS: They all take anti-aging pills to keep them young.
SEX: No.
ROCK & ROLL: Kiddnapping, runaways, slave trade.
LANGUAGE: Very mild.
VIOLENCE: No.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of dystopian novels. I think that "The Hunted" is a refreshing take on the popular dystopian novel. I like the fact that the government plays such a small role in the novel, and that the responsibility for the state of things really does fall on the society and their desire to stay young and beautiful. It is an interesting commentary on the cost of vanity, which is a huge propellant in almost every industry in the United States.
That being said, if I were going to use this book in a class, I would do one of two things: compare and contrast it to another dystopian novel, like "Brave New World," or with Slave Narratives, since Tarrin is bought and sold, or, I would have my students pick one toxic element in our current society, such as vanity, racism, social media addiction, and then have them write a short story based on the issue they used.
WARNINGS:
DRUGS: They all take anti-aging pills to keep them young.
SEX: No.
ROCK & ROLL: Kiddnapping, runaways, slave trade.
LANGUAGE: Very mild.
VIOLENCE: No.
December 12, 2012
Tarrin is a young boy who's on the brink of hitting puberty and becoming a teen. The danger in this is that when he does, he will no longer be in such high demand. Right now he makes a living working with his partner, or rather his leach, Deet, an adult who schedules appointments for adults (99% of the population) who want to have a kid for an afternoon because there are so few children born anymore. The world is set in the future where modern medicine has created a way for people to live indefinitely (at least for a century and a half to two) without showing hardly any signs of aging, but of course that comes with its own drawbacks which Tarrin discovers as he meets "children" whose eyes are dead becaue they are actually in their fifties, sixties or seventies. Tarrin's only desire is to find his true family, but he has to beware of the kiddernappers who are out to get him for money.
This book was a fun read. It was a little bit dark, but not nearly so much so as a lot of newer dystopian novels. And I enjoyed the little surprise ending. I think the book does a good job of helping us realize how important it is to enjoy life, and not covet the things we don't have. It also helps us realize that we're going to get what we asked for, or what we paid for. And sometimes what we thought we wanted is really not what we wanted at all.
This book was a fun read. It was a little bit dark, but not nearly so much so as a lot of newer dystopian novels. And I enjoyed the little surprise ending. I think the book does a good job of helping us realize how important it is to enjoy life, and not covet the things we don't have. It also helps us realize that we're going to get what we asked for, or what we paid for. And sometimes what we thought we wanted is really not what we wanted at all.
January 24, 2009
Imagine there is a world where you do not age. Where everyone looks young and healthy until the day they die, which might be 150, or almost 200 yrs old even. Imagine that this eternal youth comes with a heavy price: not being able to bear children.
Natural children are so rare that they became more precious than gold; the prized children are hunted, rented, purchased and sold. So rare the children are, they can be, willingly or against their will, ‘changed’ so that they stay children forever.
This is the horrifying world that Alex Shearer created in “The Hunted”. But a probable future too, given the advancement of science and technology today. An easy read that got me thinking.
Just that, somehow I can’t shake the feeling that I was reading a book with subtle all-natural/all-organic, anti-GM underlying themes, but that’s just me. I don't like the ending that much (too perfect an ending, oh well).
Anyway, I was thinking adults may get more out of it even though it is considered children's book.
Natural children are so rare that they became more precious than gold; the prized children are hunted, rented, purchased and sold. So rare the children are, they can be, willingly or against their will, ‘changed’ so that they stay children forever.
This is the horrifying world that Alex Shearer created in “The Hunted”. But a probable future too, given the advancement of science and technology today. An easy read that got me thinking.
Just that, somehow I can’t shake the feeling that I was reading a book with subtle all-natural/all-organic, anti-GM underlying themes, but that’s just me. I don't like the ending that much (too perfect an ending, oh well).
Anyway, I was thinking adults may get more out of it even though it is considered children's book.
March 31, 2013
The ending kind of disappointed me (And I am obsessed with great endings). The book as a whole was quite good, and the thrilling scenes have you turning page for page. I wish Alex Shearer would've have showed more of the emotional impact of running away from Deet, such as the one her showed when he was with the Hartingers. But yeah, apart from that, good book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 28, 2008
I think this is supposed to be a kid's book, but I don't see any child enjoying the cynicism. I liked the ideas about eternal youth and how it might not be all it seems to be. The ending was not to my liking however.
December 22, 2010
This book takes place in an amazing world of medical science.
February 19, 2016
Good book!
September 27, 2013
loved it! it was soo unexpected and kept me going.. so far the first mystery book i read this year and it made me want more
March 2, 2014
One of shearers best books.Creates a haunting view of the future.Strongly reccomended.
April 22, 2014
the hunted is most definitely not my favourite book and I didn't enjoy it, no more is to be said! :(
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews