Hunted Paperback – Import, 27 January 2012

Review: Hunted by Cheryl Rainfield Hunted by Cheryl RainfieldI need to step outside my typical one-line review box for a moment...be right back.I had absolutely no clue what to expect when I ordered Hunted. The synopsis sounded cool and Cheryl Rainfield comes across as incredibly likeable, down to Earth and easily reachable. It reviewed well, but I try not to let that influence my reading list....anyway, I sat down (actually, I was already sitting having just finished another book -it was Sunday, I'm allowed to veg a bit.) and started reading...and couldn't stop myself.Fortunately my family managed to work around my transfixed corpse for the day allowing me to finish. That's right, started Sunday, finished Sunday. Captivated.It touches on so many topics that are so important to its target reader (teens) while telling an amazing story. Bigotry, sexuality, acceptance, defiance, love, sacrifice, being different, loving yourself, being yourself, being strong (I have two daughters and I love strong female characters), turmoil, family...and I'm sure I am scratching the surface.Then there's the plot -people with paranormal abilities being hunted, tortured, killed by the anti-paranormal government. I was expecting to be taken to cool settings in this unique dystopian world where the climax would draw all the necessary elements together but Rainfield kept it tight. Everything was close -literally and figuratively. Her story didn't need to be drawn to fancy settings because of the emotional depth. You experience Caitlyn's (the main character) doubt and fear and inner turmoil as if they're your own. This isn't the product of her being a telepath (making thoughts and experiences seemingly easier to convey), it's a product of good writing. It is obvious Rainfield was writing from a place most of us dare not dwell in order to really find this character -to allow us to feel this character -to almost become her.And yes, I'm a guy. I like Lord of The Rings, Star Wars and anything George R. R. Martin. Despite the testosterone, I was sucked into this world via this character and the only thing that pulled me out was the end of the book.I believe twenty years from now, Hunted will be read in classrooms and the teacher will ask, what's the underlying meaning in this chapter? Overall? etc... Why do I think so? Because it is so rich in depth and teaching potential...it's THAT kind of book.The Hunger Games is great entertainment. Hunted reaches into your psyche and grabs hold of your mind. It takes you places some of us are afraid to go. It makes you face questions many of us are afraid to answer. We all like to think we'd stand on the side of right and good but when fear of the unknown comes into play as it does in Hunted, doing what is right means letting go of both fear and control and most of us aren't ready to go down that road.Read this book. Mull over all the implications and underlying meanings -or simply read the book because it's a great story. One way or the other, read the book!--------------------------------------For more of my writing, short stories, reviews videos, and information about my novel, Exiled, book one of The Never Chronicles (publishing June 5), check out MY WEBSITE! [...]

Five stars because a day after I finished, I'm still thinking, still wondering...Cheryl (yes, I DO know her -- not just name-dropping) has created something new here...a book about the world when we've discovered that Paranormals live among us, able to communicate, to predict, to see what Normals can't. Paras are persecuted, hunted. They're captured and turned into slaves of the state, forced to hunt other Paras.In this world, Caitlyn and her mother are on the run. Caitlyn's father was murdered for the crime of trying to speak reasonably, to keep the peace. She's never seen her brother Daniel since that horrible night.Caitlyn enrolls in another new school, living in another new town...hoping for just a few months of peace before they're forced to run again.The new school has more Para haters,but for the first time, a group of Para supporters...but things spiral out of control quickly as Daniel and his keepers enter the picture, trying to recruit Caitlyn, not to right the wrongs done to Paras, but to destroy the world of the Normals and any Paras who are not totally committed to total destruction.Within this sci-fi setting, Cheryl makes us think about our own world...and our own intolerance of differences -- all differences. She sees the set-up as cultish behavior, mind-control...I see it even more sinisterly: This is the hatred that spews from fearful people right now -- this unwillingness to see beyond differences, to the humanity of our souls. It's so pervasive right now that this book is a cautionary tale, reminding us our own humanity is at stake.And who among us isn't PARA-normal? Which of us isn't quirky, different, strange? Isn't that our beauty? Isn't that what makes us worthy of being cherished and respected?Cheryl's Paras are tortured, as she herself has been. They suffer. Some of them have been warped beyond redemption, just as some of the Normals have. Can one young girl with extraordinary powers save us from ourselves?This book does NOT fit neatly into a specific genre or category, and that's a strength...Caitlyn, her friends and her enemies will haunt you like they haunt me.

As an average reader, I am no authority on writing, however, if a book doesn't grab me from the beginning, I can't finish it. This book had me from beginning to end! Strong characters and story. Thought provoking, how would any one feel being "Hunted" for being different. The world we live in is full of oppressors, like Caitlyn, we all need to draw on our inner strength and strength of loved ones to survive. A definite must read! Cheryl Rainfield is definitely an Author I will be reading more books from!