Shelly's Book Blog

The Compound is S. A. Bodeen's first novel and it's a doosie. I read this in one sitting, and although I think the plot is rather far-fetched, I was willing to overlook this because I simply had to find out how the story would play out. Eli loses his twin brother, Eddy, at the beginning of the novel. Their billionaire father has built an amazing underground compound as a means of surviving in case of a nuclear war, and Eddy does not make it there in time when their father's worst fear is, in fact, realized. For six years Eli, his mother and father, and his two sisters live in the underground compound, believing they must stay there for at least 15 years before it will be safe to go above. Things get more interesting, though, when Eli discovers that his father has not been totally honest with his family. This is a great book to recommend to reluctant tween and teen readers. Others that I think relunctant tweens and teens might like include: