Description

“A compellingly drawn dystopian future.” —BCCB

The Maze Runner meets The Hunger Games in this heart-pounding trilogy—now in paperback.

Orphaned teens, soon to be hunted for sport, must flee their resettlement camps in their fight for survival and a better life. For in the Republic of the True America, it's always hunting season. Riveting action, intense romance, and gripping emotion make this fast-paced adventure a standout debut.

After a radiation blast burned most of the Earth to a crisp, the new government established settlement camps for the survivors. At the camp, sixteen-year-old "LTs" are eager to graduate as part of the Rite. Until they learn the dark truth: LT doesn't stand for lieutenant but for Less Thans, feared by society and raised to be hunted for sport.

They escape and join forces with the Sisters, twin girls who've suffered their own haunting fate. Together they seek the fabled New Territory, with sadistic hunters hot on their trail. Secrets are revealed, allegiances are made, and lives are at stake.

As unlikely Book and fearless Hope lead their quest for freedom, these teens must find the best in themselves to fight the worst in their enemies.

Catch the rest of the series in The Capture and The Release!


They were raised to be prey. What happens when the hunted start fighting back?


  • Hunted for Sport: In the Republic of the True America, orphans called “Less Thans” aren’t raised—they’re bred for the chase. Their only hope is a desperate escape.
  • High Stakes Survival: Book is an outcast with a secret. Hope is a fearless survivor. Together, they must lead a group of runaways across a hostile wasteland with sadistic hunters on their trail.
  • A Desperate Rebellion: Faced with a government that wants them dead, their only choice is to fight. But every step toward the fabled New Territory brings them closer to a truth more dangerous than they imagined.
  • A Hint of Romance: He’s cautious, she’s fearless. In a world this brutal, trust is a liability they can’t afford—and a connection they can’t ignore.

About the author(s)

Tom Isbell is an actor-author-professor. A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, he has acted in theater, film, and TV, working opposite Robert De Niro, Ed Harris, Sarah Jessica Parker, and others. Currently a theater professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth, he has had three of his plays produced by the Theater for Young Audiences at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, including Teddy Roosevelt and the Treasure of Ursa Major, which was adapted into a book with then–First Lady Laura Bush penning the foreword. Tom and his wife, Pat, live in Duluth, Minnesota.

Reviews

Readers will appreciate the irony and subtle, deeper meanings in character and location names as Isbell shapes his own vision of a dark world. Pair this with other blockbusters about hope in the midst of despair and danger, Veronica Roth’s Four, Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games, and James Dashner’s Maze Runner - ALA Booklist

“Avid dystopian fans will anxiously await the next installment.” - School Library Journal

“A compellingly drawn dystopian future.” - Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

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