The Compound

The Compound
by S.A. Bodeen [YA Bodeen]

The Compound by S.A. Bodeen is a nice dose of originality in the often cluttered genre of YA fiction. Eli has been in the compound for six years and in that time has learned to hate it, and himself. When they entered the compound, believing there was a nuclear war, Eli was separated from his twin brother, Eddy. After years in the compound Eli hates himself for Eddy being left outside and believes that Eddy, along with the rest of the world, were destroyed. Eli and his sisters cope with their entrapment in different ways, none all that healthy. Food is running low in the compound as well, and Eli and his mother and sisters can't bear to even consider the other option. The Supplements. Eli refuses to even acknowledge that part father's plan. Then Eli discovers that not all his father told him is true, that his brother may in fact still be alive. And he will do anything to escape. The story moves very quickly and is fast paced. I never really bored while reading, though I thought the writing was a bit simplistic. The story itself was quite clever and I felt the ending was satisfying though expected. I did have a very strong dislike for Eli however, and that made him a very hard main character to relate to. With strong concepts and an interesting setting, reluctant readers will definitely enjoy this book. -- recommended by Wyatt P. - Gere Branch Library [If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the sequel to The Compound, The Fallout.]

[Also available in book-on-cd and Playaway formats.]

[ official S.A. Bodeen Blog on LiveJournal ] | [ official website for Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen a.k.a. S.A. Bodeen ] 

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