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A review by starrysteph
We Are Hunted by Tomi Oyemakinde

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

We Are Hunted is a twisty, vivid story with animal horror and anti-capitalist and anti-colonization vibes. 

Femi is less-than-thrilled to tag along with his dad and brother to an exclusive conference on a mysterious island. But he’s heard all about Darlendia, discovered by the famous innovator Richard Jenkins and filled with bizarre animals and habitats, luxurious resort amenities, and the coolest technology. 

It’s all a bit too good to be true, and Femi soon stumbles into the terrible truths of the island – and a plan to expose Jenkins and reverse his schemes. Except that plan involves a lot of bloodshed. And the animals might not be so docile after all.

My favorite moments here were the immersive descriptions and creativity surrounding the animals and the land, the native population fighting back (though of course things went VERY far), and the arc surrounding brotherhood.

The pacing is incredibly slow at first - with some scenes dragging on far too long - but the tension is great. And then everything EXPLODES. There’s a lot of blood and gore and pain and some heart wrenching deaths. Nobody is safe, and things got quite dark for a young adult book.

My biggest stumble here was probably the dialogue. Everything was a bit too precise; it just didn’t sound how most people (especially teenagers) talk to each other. The lines were often stilted and unnatural, and internal monologues were a bit strange as well. There was also some heavy religious (Christian) theming towards the end, which may turn some people off.

Femi has a major arc and learns how to better communicate with his family members, which I appreciated. He also has a deep love of music and never lets go of his creativity. 

An element I couldn’t quite make up my mind on were the interludes narrated by various characters. I appreciated getting out of Femi’s head and was curious about some of the backstories, but I do think they chopped up the pacing and felt like they were only there to deliver information that we could have learned otherwise.  

The stakes couldn’t be higher and the ending of the book flies by – though not everything worked smoothly for me, I think young readers will have their heads buried in this one.

CW: murder, death (child/parent), animal cruelty/death, body horror, blood, gore, grief, guns, car accident, chronic illness, classism, colonization, vomit

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(I received a free copy of this book; this is my honest review.)
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