The Fitter, Happier UnLibrarian's Blog of Young Adult Books: The Compound by S.A Bodeen

The Compound by S.A Bodeen

The Compound by S.A Bodeen

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Publish Date: April 2008

ISBN: 0312370156

Page #: 256pp

Reading Level: Young Adults

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Science Fiction/Real Life

Subjects: Apocalyptic, Deception, Family, Family Politics, Survival, Twins, Voigts, War

Annotation:

After the nuclear attack, Eli and his family have been living in a Compound his father had built for six years. When they start to run out of food supplies and Eli gets the internet working he finds that his father may be holding them captive, not protecting them.

Summary:

Billionaire Rex Yanakakis has created a Compound, a three-story underground shelter that will house the family for 15 years in the event of a nuclear war. When that actually happens, not everyone in Eli’s family makes it in, Gram and Eli’s twin brother Eddy are left out because they did not make it in the allotted forty minutes. Now, Eli has been living in the Compound for six years and things start to go wrong not only with their food supply but also with living in the Compound in general. Eli begins to realize his father may have been lying to them all and he gets the internet to work all his suspicions are confirmed and his twin brother is alive. Eli has to figure out why his father would do this and how to save his family and get out of this Compound.

Megan says:

I found this story to be both suspenseful and riveting as it depicts deep philosophical questions on serious issues about what it means to survive; specifically, what are the ultimate boundaries of utilitarian ethics? Where do you draw the line between living and surviving? This story really made me think about a lot issues in society as a whole. On one hand I felt for Eli and pretty much was with him the entire ride, but on the other hand I took the time to see through the fathers eyes, which made this story very interesting as he was mad in the sense of being crazy. I would recommend The Compound to teens who like to read about real life family drama with suspense and apocalyptic attributes.

Stars: ★ ★ ★ ★

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