The Compound

The Compound

By: S.A. Bodeen

Eli and his family have lived in the underground Compound for six years. The world they knew is gone, and they've become accustomed to their new life. Accustomed, but not happy. 

For Eli, no amount of luxury can stifle the dull routine of living in the same place. with only his two sisters, only his father and mother, doing the same thing day after day after day.

As problems with their carefully planned existence threaten to destroy their sanctuary - and their sanity - Eli can't help but wonder if he's rather take his chances outside.

Eli's father built the Compound to keep them safe. But are they safe - or sorry?

summary from book

My Rating: 3.5/5



The Compound is a thrilling novel that is packed with many twists and turns as well as a multitude of secrets. I thought the concept to be highly intriguing and original as I had not read anything similar prior to reading this book. I found the beginning to be a little slow but only for a handful of chapters. Once the suspicions began rooting themselves in the protagonist Eli's mind, the remainder of the novel really flew by rather quickly. I was in that had- to- know- what- was- coming- next trance, not being able to read as fast as I wished I could. I think The Compound is marketed as a dystopian novel but above all I see it as more of a thriller/suspense sort of book. And that is all I can tell you.  ;) Nonetheless, it's a captivating read.

As always, I pretty much speculated through the entire book's duration. I was on the right track but not entirely so as I did not predict the final larger twist whatsoever which is excellent! It's always kind of a downer when you are correct with your predictions especially with books such as The Compound whose one of many intentions is to keep the reader veiled in secrecy. The best part for me is always the excitement that is affiliated with not knowing the whole truth and then discovering it at the end and being equally as excited by the surprise of it all. But being a frequent reader and or movie watcher can at times take this sort of thing away from you as you start to get good at predicting and picking up on premature hints. That's why not being able to uncover everything by the end is a very large plus in my eyes. 

I enjoyed the characters in this novel although I do admit that the driving force for me was the plot. It's what really hooked me in and kept me reading for consecutive hours. I did like the connection between certain members of the family especially between Eli and his two sisters. They were terribly mean to one another at times but I found that to be realistic and very much enjoyed watching them grow and come together when the time came for them to do so.

Overall: The Compound is a fairly short read packed with a lot of secrecy and suspense. It is one of those novels that you will not be able to put down until you have finished. If you're looking for something intriguing and fun to read, The Compound is definitely a great choice.