This is a Children's Book?! The Hunted by Alex Shearer

Child MC, adult themes. This is a hidden gem.

One of the joys of being a reader is discovery. I’d never heard of this book or its author before recently entering a charity shop on the lookout for dystopian novels. It was shelved with the adult books, nestled among crime and thrillers (likely because of its cover), but The Hunted was first published by Macmillian Children’s Books in 2005, and written by Guardian Children’s Fiction Award shortlisted author, Alex Shearer.

It’s set in a world where medical science has solved the issue of aging. The side effect? The human race is becoming infertile, and children increasingly rare. Many children who do exist are not actually children at all: they are adults who underwent the PP (Peter Pan), an irreversible procedure to stop aging completely.

The main character, Tarrin, is a real boy, put to work by Deet, who rents him by the hour to adults who would like to taste parenthood. Deet wants Tarrin to get the PP so they can keep working together for as long as possible, but Tarrin wants to grow up…

This is not a children’s book full of silly humour and fast-paced plotting. It is thought-provoking, mature, and has appeal for auidences of all ages.

I think books sometimes get unfairly pigeonholed into certain target auidences based on the ages of the main characters. While Tarrin is a child, he occupies an adult world, and the questions this book raises about childhood, parenthood, aging, trust, authenticity — they are are universal.

‘People don’t want things are they are, ma’am,’ Deet said. ‘They want things as they used to be in those good old days, they want things like they ought to be.’

At times, I felt like I was reading The Handmaid’s Tale. Yes, it’s not as heavy, but this book is not light, either. There were some seriously uncomfortable moments and ideas, especially when Tarrin encounters PP “children”.

I highly reccomend this book, whatever your age. I can imagine that if I had read this as a child, it would have been one of those books that stuck with me forever.

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments or subscriber chat!