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Hunter's Heart
During a long summer in the Cornish countryside, fourteen-year-old Simon escapes his young sister and widowed mother, who is dating his teacher, by indulging his obsessions with hunting, weapons, and an attractive neighbor, a girl two years older and facing major problems of her own.
254 pages, Hardcover
First published July 7, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 9, 2018
This had masses of potential but completely failed to live up to it. It is described as a rite of passage novel but the protagonist does not grow up or make any realisations, other than that shooting people is a daft idea. There is quite a lot of mystery around the characters and none of it is really explained, meaning it is intriguing as you read but ends disappointingly. Sometimes you do actually need to understand a bit about your characters.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 6, 2018
Some bits of this book were great, the description was good and took me straight back to secondary school but Simon is a vile character and nothing really fits.
I felt like it tried REALLY hard to be poignant and one of those books that is quiet and surprising but it just wasn’t.
I felt like it tried REALLY hard to be poignant and one of those books that is quiet and surprising but it just wasn’t.
December 8, 2024
Absolutely no plot 😞
January 17, 2014
Pain is hard to escape; especially when you can’t ever run away from it. You’re stuck, left there to suffer until you collapse. Simon, from Julia Green’s, Hunter’s Heart, has this pain, and the desire to run away, to ignore everyone and everything and get out. The death of his father brought him this pain. Now, Simon doesn’t know what to do with himself, or how to express himself. Instead of sorting through his anger and resentment towards the loss of his father, he chooses to indulge in weaponry, his specialty being the common slingshot and stone. He is constantly thinking about his slingshot and his long-desired air rifle (to his mother’s dismay), and it starts to turn into an unhealthy obsession.
Personally, I believe that Julia Green is heartless, because on top of Simon’s raw, tender pain, she adds a character, Simon’s neighbor Leah, who is a manipulative girl that only wants to use Simon for her own personal, selfish needs. She is someone who doesn’t care about anyone but herself, and only distracts Simon further from recovery. But then again, I realize that we need that distraction, because without it, there would be no fall-out, no final “last straw” where Simon finally breaks from too much pain and hurt. The distraction is a combination of Leah, hunting, air rifles, drinking, walking on a rocky beach. This lasts for the entirety of the book…excluding the conclusion of course.
I had to re-read about 100 pages of this book. I now realize this book was not intended to be read in continuous periods of time, but rather in small doses. I tried to read it too fast, and ended up having to go back. The style of writing shows such tender, raw pain that it can be physically painful to read. But that’s the point, and now that I finished the book, I can appreciate that.
I feel as though I had bonded with the characters in the book. Everything is so personal and direct; it’s hard not to get attached. The characters were very well constructed, as they were consistent—I never once doubted the actions of a character in the book--except for the ending. I’m not supposed to spoil it, but I will say that at first I was really shocked. But, after thinking about it, I really wasn’t. I figured there had to be something big that needed to happen at the end since the first 95% of the book was just telling the story of Simon and what he did during the summer. There are clues in the text that are so obvious, but the author tricks you; your mind is too numb that you don’t realize it until it’s too late. That’s what I loved about this book.
If you aren’t curious like me, you’ll be bored to death. There is a plot, I promise. But you might have to dig through all the pain and suffering first in order to find it.
Personally, I believe that Julia Green is heartless, because on top of Simon’s raw, tender pain, she adds a character, Simon’s neighbor Leah, who is a manipulative girl that only wants to use Simon for her own personal, selfish needs. She is someone who doesn’t care about anyone but herself, and only distracts Simon further from recovery. But then again, I realize that we need that distraction, because without it, there would be no fall-out, no final “last straw” where Simon finally breaks from too much pain and hurt. The distraction is a combination of Leah, hunting, air rifles, drinking, walking on a rocky beach. This lasts for the entirety of the book…excluding the conclusion of course.
I had to re-read about 100 pages of this book. I now realize this book was not intended to be read in continuous periods of time, but rather in small doses. I tried to read it too fast, and ended up having to go back. The style of writing shows such tender, raw pain that it can be physically painful to read. But that’s the point, and now that I finished the book, I can appreciate that.
I feel as though I had bonded with the characters in the book. Everything is so personal and direct; it’s hard not to get attached. The characters were very well constructed, as they were consistent—I never once doubted the actions of a character in the book--except for the ending. I’m not supposed to spoil it, but I will say that at first I was really shocked. But, after thinking about it, I really wasn’t. I figured there had to be something big that needed to happen at the end since the first 95% of the book was just telling the story of Simon and what he did during the summer. There are clues in the text that are so obvious, but the author tricks you; your mind is too numb that you don’t realize it until it’s too late. That’s what I loved about this book.
If you aren’t curious like me, you’ll be bored to death. There is a plot, I promise. But you might have to dig through all the pain and suffering first in order to find it.
February 20, 2009
Angry teen Simon is struggling with his father's death in the past, his mother moving him to a new town and his mother dating his art teacher. Simon's only interest right now is survival........
He likes sling shots and guns.
His neighbor, Leah wants to be friends while she waits for something else to happen. She also likes the art teacher. Her mother is an alcoholic and her father is an adulterer.
The book is aimed at teens..........I don't really like that for all of the drinking and sex with no strings.
Simon eventually doesn't deal well with the stress of his life. Buy's an air gun and shoots up his art teacher's studio along with Leah's. He snaps when he find's Leah at the studio as the teacher sketches her semi nude. Luckily no one finds out that Simon was the one that did the shooting.
Mysterious..........and never gets any clearer.
He likes sling shots and guns.
His neighbor, Leah wants to be friends while she waits for something else to happen. She also likes the art teacher. Her mother is an alcoholic and her father is an adulterer.
The book is aimed at teens..........I don't really like that for all of the drinking and sex with no strings.
Simon eventually doesn't deal well with the stress of his life. Buy's an air gun and shoots up his art teacher's studio along with Leah's. He snaps when he find's Leah at the studio as the teacher sketches her semi nude. Luckily no one finds out that Simon was the one that did the shooting.
Mysterious..........and never gets any clearer.
April 23, 2013
This is a young adult story about teen angst, friendship and the first flush of romance.
Simon is a young 14 year old who is quite content to mess around with his mates until he becomes acquainted with Leah a 16 year old neighbour who begins looking after his younger sister.
Before long Simon and Leah become an inseparable pair during the long Summer. As Simon discovers the first flush of love and romance things spiral beyond his control and jealousies soon creep in.
This is a reasonably short read, that's quite well written and had enough to keep me reading. It's an ideal book for the age group that it's aimed at.
Please do not be put off by the dates above that I read the book as I'd to put it to one side unfortunately as other books needed to be read before I'd chance to finish it.
Simon is a young 14 year old who is quite content to mess around with his mates until he becomes acquainted with Leah a 16 year old neighbour who begins looking after his younger sister.
Before long Simon and Leah become an inseparable pair during the long Summer. As Simon discovers the first flush of love and romance things spiral beyond his control and jealousies soon creep in.
This is a reasonably short read, that's quite well written and had enough to keep me reading. It's an ideal book for the age group that it's aimed at.
Please do not be put off by the dates above that I read the book as I'd to put it to one side unfortunately as other books needed to be read before I'd chance to finish it.
March 13, 2015
Hunter's Heart is about a boy named Simon who has some troubles in his life. His dad passed away and his mom thought it would be a good idea to move to a new town. Simon is quite artistic and he finds out his mom has been dating his art teacher. Simon is more than furious. Every day Simon goes out with his friends to go shoot some rabbits. He meets his neighbor Leah and instantly falls in love with her, but finds out that she's just lots of trouble. I liked how Julia Green worded her words and the layout of the story. I don't like how some things were a little confusing. I would recommend this book to teens because they will surely like it.
March 8, 2013
I honestly didn't go past page 93. The book doesn't seem to be going anywhere so I just gave up. I thought it would be a nice romance/action book. But no! It wasn't. Sorry to disappoint.
It wasn't going anywhere and I didn't like Leah. She's thinking of the guy as a toy and in my view is very slutty. I don't like the fact that she's older than him plus she's playing him... A big factor on why I can't be bothered to finish the book.
People, do not bother reading this, I have to honestly say, just to save you from wasting time.
It wasn't going anywhere and I didn't like Leah. She's thinking of the guy as a toy and in my view is very slutty. I don't like the fact that she's older than him plus she's playing him... A big factor on why I can't be bothered to finish the book.
People, do not bother reading this, I have to honestly say, just to save you from wasting time.
December 5, 2013
This book was very good because it’s what I love to do and the main character is very outdoors like and doesn’t get scared in the dark in the woods like people I know. I would recommend this book to people who like to hunt and/ or surf because there is a little bit of surfing in this book. Also it is very suspense filling because they go camping and someone misses up their camp sight and they don’t know who it is.
February 21, 2011
Didn't completely finish.. :P
May 19, 2012
It was alright. But a bit of a strange ending. :/
May 1, 2013
I have read four other books by Julia Green and usually I like her writing, but this one I'm not sure about. The writing doesn't seem to flow the way it did in her other novels.
July 10, 2013
I read this a long time ago and I remember disliking the ending, I think it all suddenly came to an end. Perhaps I wasn't old enough to appreciate it? I will read it again and re-evaluate.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews