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Hunter in the Dark
Also published: Toronto; Clarke, Irwin, 1982.
131 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
About the author
Monica Hughes
580 books120 followersMonica Hughes was a very popular writer for young people, and has won numerous prizes. Her books have been published in the United States, Poland, Spain, Japan, France, Scandinavia, England, and Germany. She has twice received the Canada Council Prize for Children's Literature, and was runner-up for the Guardian Award.
She is the author of Keeper of the Isis Light, an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults, which also received a Certificate of Honor from the International Board on Books for Young People; Hunter in the Dark, also an ALA Best Book for Young Adults; and Sandwriter, among many other titles.
She is the author of Keeper of the Isis Light, an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults, which also received a Certificate of Honor from the International Board on Books for Young People; Hunter in the Dark, also an ALA Best Book for Young Adults; and Sandwriter, among many other titles.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 30, 2016
'Hunter in the Dark' (1982) is an inspirational story about a young man attempting to overcome the ordeal of being diagnosed with leukemia by fulfilling his life-long dream of going hunting in the Swan Hills. However, the book's somewhat facile writing ruins what could have otherwise been a rather evocative story.
The recent success of John Green's 'The Fault in Our Stars' (2012) has raised a lot of questions about the treatment of disease, and other such life-changing ordeals, in literature. As one other reviewer here on GoodReads pointed out, Monica Hughes, the author of 'Hunter in the Dark', has a vision very similar to that of Green in that she also focuses on the point of view of a young cancer patient, the only real difference being that Hughes' story preceded Green's by thirty years. In Hughes' afterword, in my Reader's Digest Edition, she explains that the idea was inspired by her own son, who although he did not have leukemia shared the same dreams and ambitions of Mike Rankin, the protagonist of this story.
If the story had a little more substance besides its rather simplistic plot, I would certainly recommend 'Hunter in the Dark' as a lost classic. As it is, the resonant dialogue and the then unique point of view are the novel's two only redeeming qualities.
The recent success of John Green's 'The Fault in Our Stars' (2012) has raised a lot of questions about the treatment of disease, and other such life-changing ordeals, in literature. As one other reviewer here on GoodReads pointed out, Monica Hughes, the author of 'Hunter in the Dark', has a vision very similar to that of Green in that she also focuses on the point of view of a young cancer patient, the only real difference being that Hughes' story preceded Green's by thirty years. In Hughes' afterword, in my Reader's Digest Edition, she explains that the idea was inspired by her own son, who although he did not have leukemia shared the same dreams and ambitions of Mike Rankin, the protagonist of this story.
If the story had a little more substance besides its rather simplistic plot, I would certainly recommend 'Hunter in the Dark' as a lost classic. As it is, the resonant dialogue and the then unique point of view are the novel's two only redeeming qualities.
January 5, 2015
Gets as much right as John Green gets wrong in The Fault in Our Stars. A brief book about a young athlete dealing with his illness by sneaking off to a solo camping trip in the deep woods.
Mike seems to have a great life. He's a popular basketball player in his school, has a cute girlfriend, well-to-do and understanding parents, and a great friend with a family he feels a part of. However this all changes when feeling under the weather, he passes out during a basketball game. This signals the onset of leukemia, and his world slowly slips away from him. Desperate to make some sense of life, he disobeys his parents and runs off to hunt whitetail deer in the forest.
This is most of the book. It's very brief compared to most modern teen fiction, 50k words if even that. I liked it far more than a modern book that deals with similar subjects, The Fault in our Stars. The reasons are numerous:
-Mike is far more realistic a teen than Augustus will ever be. He's not an accessory to a female love interest, but a teen really suffering from a disease. Augustus is a basketball player who sounds like a twenty year old hipster; Mike is a teen with real problems and real desires. I could go on, but it's striking how honest Mike felt as a protagonist.
-it's not a Hollywood disease either. Hughes manages to portray in a fraction of the words Green does how bad having something like leukemia is; the worry, the uncertainty, the reaction of friends, family, and lovers. As well as the often toxic and painful diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
-there is no sappy or quirky element to the book. Hughes manages to make life in the natural world more of an epiphany than Green's silly author and search for a book does. It plays it straight.
-in the end, there is no sense of characters as ideas. This doesn't feel like a book about two quirky lovers whose illnesses are a plot device, but about a teen trying to find some measure of peace dealing with a life-long illness.
I also loved the wilderness scenes. Hughes did an excellent job of making the current scenes in the forest as meaningful as the past scenes of Mike's day-to-day life.
All of this is done in a tiny little novel not much thicker than a chapter book. My only dislike is that they didn't have any scene after where Mike returns to his family and friends with the self-awareness he now has. It's surprising though how good it was; it could have been either very sappy or very brutal, but manages to avoid those extremes.
Mike seems to have a great life. He's a popular basketball player in his school, has a cute girlfriend, well-to-do and understanding parents, and a great friend with a family he feels a part of. However this all changes when feeling under the weather, he passes out during a basketball game. This signals the onset of leukemia, and his world slowly slips away from him. Desperate to make some sense of life, he disobeys his parents and runs off to hunt whitetail deer in the forest.
This is most of the book. It's very brief compared to most modern teen fiction, 50k words if even that. I liked it far more than a modern book that deals with similar subjects, The Fault in our Stars. The reasons are numerous:
-Mike is far more realistic a teen than Augustus will ever be. He's not an accessory to a female love interest, but a teen really suffering from a disease. Augustus is a basketball player who sounds like a twenty year old hipster; Mike is a teen with real problems and real desires. I could go on, but it's striking how honest Mike felt as a protagonist.
-it's not a Hollywood disease either. Hughes manages to portray in a fraction of the words Green does how bad having something like leukemia is; the worry, the uncertainty, the reaction of friends, family, and lovers. As well as the often toxic and painful diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
-there is no sappy or quirky element to the book. Hughes manages to make life in the natural world more of an epiphany than Green's silly author and search for a book does. It plays it straight.
-in the end, there is no sense of characters as ideas. This doesn't feel like a book about two quirky lovers whose illnesses are a plot device, but about a teen trying to find some measure of peace dealing with a life-long illness.
I also loved the wilderness scenes. Hughes did an excellent job of making the current scenes in the forest as meaningful as the past scenes of Mike's day-to-day life.
All of this is done in a tiny little novel not much thicker than a chapter book. My only dislike is that they didn't have any scene after where Mike returns to his family and friends with the self-awareness he now has. It's surprising though how good it was; it could have been either very sappy or very brutal, but manages to avoid those extremes.
August 8, 2013
this was a class book we had to read. wow. I couldn't take reading this book. it was terrible. like literally. there was 0 climax and they kept switch the past and present the like every chapter which made it more confusing as it is. I wanted to go up to the teacher and say that he is down right crazy for us to read this horrible down right stupid nonsence novel.
December 27, 2018
Yet another book that I read for my students and not for myself.
My school has thirty copies of this book so I thought it would be convenient if I ended up seeing anything of value in it. It's difficult for me to compartmentalize and see value in it as a YA book that a student would enjoy. Personally, I didn't like this novel at all.
The story is about Mike, a high school student who dreams of getting his hunting license and killing a prize buck. Unfortunately, he suffers from an illness that gets in the way of his dreams. He decides to go on a forbidden adventure in the woods in order to get his trophy deer.
The book was so simplistic. The characters were flat as pancakes. Even Mike didn't have much going for him. Although I suppose a kid might find some parts of his character compelling, like his perspective on death and how he rebels against his parents.
I wasn't a big fan of the way that the chapters alternated from the present (in the woods) to the past (the progression of Mike's illness). I respect the author's decision to write it this way, but it didn't really do anything for me. One of the things I strongly disliked about this book is how Mike's parents and the doctors keep him "in the dark" about his illness for so long. It seems unrealistic and it just needlessly delays the plot from advancing. I also absolutely hated the ending of the book. It wasn't logical and it made the entire book seem like one big tease with no payoff.
My school has thirty copies of this book so I thought it would be convenient if I ended up seeing anything of value in it. It's difficult for me to compartmentalize and see value in it as a YA book that a student would enjoy. Personally, I didn't like this novel at all.
The story is about Mike, a high school student who dreams of getting his hunting license and killing a prize buck. Unfortunately, he suffers from an illness that gets in the way of his dreams. He decides to go on a forbidden adventure in the woods in order to get his trophy deer.
The book was so simplistic. The characters were flat as pancakes. Even Mike didn't have much going for him. Although I suppose a kid might find some parts of his character compelling, like his perspective on death and how he rebels against his parents.
I wasn't a big fan of the way that the chapters alternated from the present (in the woods) to the past (the progression of Mike's illness). I respect the author's decision to write it this way, but it didn't really do anything for me. One of the things I strongly disliked about this book is how Mike's parents and the doctors keep him "in the dark" about his illness for so long. It seems unrealistic and it just needlessly delays the plot from advancing. I also absolutely hated the ending of the book. It wasn't logical and it made the entire book seem like one big tease with no payoff.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 17, 2018
I was forced to read this book in my English class, and I absolutely despised it. The character of Mike Rankin is unlikable and it didn't feel like someone I could follow. The book also sets up this "arc" for Mike, but by the end of the book, he actually seems to be a worse person because of the event. I have nothing wrong with anti character arcs, but this was not the way the book was setting up for Mike to go. The truth is, this is a book that didn't need to be made, it didn't have anything to add to the discussion of cancer or being a good person. The worst part is, I know that this book could have been good, with changes in how the book was presented (linear story), and to mike and his character arc.
October 11, 2020
I came upon this book years ago when my high school library withdrew some old books - but this book is surprisingly a hidden gem. While occasionally predictable, with not too complex a story line, this YA, coming-of-age novel set in the woods of Canada discusses tough questions about life and death, life facing death, and life accepting death. The metaphor of man hunting prey extends beyond the confines of the so-called bush in this book, blurring together the differences between predator and prey.
July 27, 2023
Not a bad book for a class read, especially for a rural school since it has hunting sequences that would interest a avid hunter. It also deals with childhood cancer, so it might open the conversation for students who have an illness, or know someone who does.
December 22, 2022
I remember reading this as a textbook in junior high. A story about a teenager in how he copes with cancer and intertwining with his solo hunting trip.
September 13, 2011
Dr Gage speaking to Mike who has leukemia, “Life is fair, or unfair. It just is. It’s a gift whether it’s long or short. Perhaps it’s the way we live, the quality of our life, that counts, rather than the quantity.” Life isn't fair? What is fair, is there one human being in this universe that is grateful for the life he/she is in now? It must have been so hard to be God with such ungrateful human being that grunts at Him every nano seconds.
May 9, 2012
This book is about a boy who enjoys the wilderness and outdoors, but there is something in the way of letting him enjoy the things he loves. Having a hunting trip planned a sudden blood disease (leukemia) is found in his bloodstream, and he needs to start on treatments right away. The only thing holding him back from his hunting adventures for the whitetail deer is his disease and his parents, but this doesn't stop him.
September 18, 2012
I thought it was a good book. It was about a boy that was the star basketball player that was diagnosed with cancer when he fell during a basketball game and wanted to go hunting but his dad wouldnt let him so he drove off by him self to go hunting, he came up with the plan to go hunting with his friend while he was in the hospital. I was confused at the end though when he said he let the buck run away and at the same time say that he shot at it. Overall i would recommend this book for people.
March 6, 2009
This book is about a teenage boy named Mike Rankin. A star sports player who blackouts on the basketball court. After going to the hospitol his parents say he has to go back again and stay for a couple days. Yet they hide the reason. He spends his time trying to get better to go on his hunting trip and find out the mysterious illness that he has.
April 11, 2014
I got to page 30. Terrible dialogue, you son of a gun. The cancer plaguing the main character seems to be revealed slowly through a series of flashbacks, but one can infer it by reading the back cover.
January 31, 2013
It was terrible.
March 18, 2026
This was so dumb. Bro went through all that only to not be able to bag a buck
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews