Showing posts with label S.A Bodeen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label S.A Bodeen. Show all posts

Thursday, July 29, 2010

The Compound by S.A Bodeen

Summary: (from back of book) Safe or Sorry? 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 desrtoy their sanctuary- and their sanity- Eli can't help but wonder if he'd rather take his chances outside. Eli's father built the compound to keep them safe. But are they safe- or sorry?
Review: I picked up this book because it was reccomended for people who liked The Hunger Games, I read the summary, and decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did. This book is really good. throughout the story the plot doesn't move all that quickly, but I was constantly making new discoveries about their life in the compound that kept me reading until the end. I liked the way that Bodeen made living in a place like the compound a realistic idea. The characters dealt with things that would really be a problem for people if anyone had attempted to live like this. Bodeen almost made it seem possible. There were also a few things that brought an added level of suspense to the story. As, the story progresses you really see what sacrifices must be made if Eli and his family are going to survive in the compound.
 Eli is a really self centered at the beginning of the book. As he deals with life in the compound and everything he misses from his old life had becomes less close to the rest of his family over the years. I really came to like him though and thought he really changed toward the end.
  The climax of the story was tense. I continued to be surprised up until the very end. There were alot of things happening at once and it was suspenseful and exciting. I don't think I would have enjoyed this book as much if there hadn't been always been that shadow of doubt as to whether they are doing the right thing.
  My only problem was that I wish there had been more information about what happened at the end. I felt like it ended a little bit to soon. Overall, though this book was good and you should really pick this one up if your looking for a suspenseful read.