The Prey

“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!

Can a handful of outcasts survive a government that wants them dead?

• A High-Stakes Hunt: In the Republic of the True America, teens aren’t just orphans—they’re prey. Their only chance is a desperate escape to the fabled New Territory.
• Unlikely Allies: Book, a boy who buries himself in books, must join forces with Hope, a fearless survivor on the run with her twin sister.
• A Touch of Romance: Amid the constant danger and desperate fight for freedom, a powerful connection forms between two teens who have nothing left to lose.
• For Fans of The Hunger Games: A heart-pounding thriller perfect for readers who love stories of rebellion, survival, and corrupt governments.

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.