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Book Summary and Reviews of We Are Hunted by Tomi Oyemakinde

We Are Hunted by Tomi Oyemakinde

We Are Hunted

by Tomi Oyemakinde

  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Published:
  • Sep 2024, 320 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

A boy must work with his family and other resort guests to make it off an island after the animals turn feral in Tomi Oyemakinde's We Are Hunted, where White Lotus meets Jurassic Park for the young adult audience and exploring guilt, spectacle, and the dangers of capitalism.

Experience paradise, reimagined.

When 17-year-old Femi Fatona and his older brother are forced to accompany their dad to an island resort, Femi is not looking forward to it. After all, he hasn't exactly been getting along with either of them lately. Not much is known about the resort they'll be staying at, as it's on a newly-discovered island and shrouded in nondisclosure agreements, but at least it promises to be full of all the extravagant luxuries they're used to.

Once they arrive, Femi is thrilled to find that the island is bursting with new and spectacular species of plants and animals. But he soon realizes that sometimes pretty exteriors hide ugly truths―truths that are begging to come to light.

But those truths come with a price. And, when the island is thrown into chaos from animals suddenly becoming feral, what was meant to be a peaceful bonding experience quickly becomes the stuff of nightmares. Femi will have to put aside tension with his family and work with other guests, in order to escape the animals, the island, and his own guilt at the part he may have played in all of it.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Oyemakinde's sophomore novel balances nail-biting action with explorations of guilt, forgiveness, familial relationships, and the consequences of neocolonialism. Vivid imagery captures the awe-inducing, colorful world of Darlenia. An engaging thrill ride of a story that spotlights a complex, relatable hero." —Kirkus Reviews

"...inventive action sequences and intense thriller elements prompt excited double takes throughout this Jurassic Park–inspired horror adventure by Oyemakinde." —Publishers Weekly

"Full of twists and turns, a cast full of characters to root for, and so much heart, We Are Hunted is impossible to put down. Tomi Oyemakinde is truly a master of suspense, in a league of his own." ―Jamison Shea, author of I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me

This information about We Are Hunted was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Tomi Oyemakinde

Tomi Oyemakinde grew up in London, before being uprooted at the age of 6 to head across the North Sea to the Netherlands. He is committed to crafting stories centered on Black protagonists thriving across genres, audiences & worlds. When Tomi is not busy writing, he can be found daydreaming about his future dog (namely a Rottweiler named Pan) and geeking out over all things anime. The Changing Man is his debut novel.

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