The Compound by S.A. Bodeen

While on a camping trip one night nine-year-old Eli, his billionaire father, and his family are alerted of a pending nuclear attack, and rush to the safety of an underground compound that Eli’s father has built to house the family in case of nuclear war. Only after the door is sealed, Eli realizes that his Gram and his twin brother Eddy didn’t make it into the compound. And Dad won’t open the door. Heartbroken, Eli finds that Dad has created a world very similar to their life above ground. There’s a gym, a library, a media room with more CDs and DVDs than Eli could ever watch or listen to in fifteen years. And fifteen years is the amount of time they need to spend in the compound to outlast the nuclear fallout. Six years pass, and in spite of Dad’s planning for every contingency, the family’s situation has become dismal. Eli has created a routine for himself that involves as little contact with his family as possible. He can’t bear to think about his brother Eddy, and distances himself as much as he can. The family’s food supplies have started to dwindle and the livestock that was supposed to sustain them has died. Dad has a plan involving something called “The Supplements,” but Eli is sure that he wants nothing to do with it. One day, Dad gives Eli a CD with a faulty label. As Eli peels it away, he sees that it was recorded only a few weeks ago. But if that’s true, how did his Dad get it? And what is happening in the outside world? Was there really a nuclear threat, or is the family captive for another reason?

The writing in the book is very action driven. In some sections there doesn’t seem to be enough words on the page to fully describe what is happening. I had to reread sections just to make sure I understood at least part of what was going on in the scene. In that sense, I don’t think the writing was very well done. However, the plot really was interesting, and I was impatient to know what was going to happen next. Another criticism I have is that there were a few characters that would be more believable if the author had given them some flaws. Eddy, the twin left behind, was described as being the “good” brother. In all the memories that include Eddy, the reader never sees him doing anything remotely bad. He’s always the hero. I didn’t feel that this was very realistic. Also, Eddy and Eli are supposed to be twins, but I really felt the way their relationship was described, Eddy seemed much older than Eli. I thought that the character of the older sister Lexie was very well done. She was written as a very complete character. She had mean qualities, and a rough relationship with Eli, but she was smart and knew where her loyalties needed to be even if it meant she was in some danger.

I didn’t love this book, but the plot was so intense and unique that I rushed to finish it. I would recommend it.