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protoman21's review against another edition
4.0
This book started so positively for me, but sort of fizzled out towards the end. I liked the set-up to the compound and finding out how Eli and his family lived down there, but at some point during the reveal of the reason for them being there and the escape it all just seemed to take too long. I prefer a book that keeps you guessing until the very end, but due to the nature of this story, the reveal had to come too early on, and then the rest was all a little anticlimactic. Still, I did enjoy the characters and the story enough to keep me interested in sticking around for the second book.
paigebach's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
stephxsu's review against another edition
3.0
THE COMPOUND is an interesting but not life-changing “action” read. Bodeen’s descriptions of the extent of the compound is fantastic and almost makes you okay with the idea of living in one place for 15 years…until she begins to describe the personality alterations inflicted on the family members from all those years of confinement. So the world-building is fantastic, but Eli is a bit difficult to get behind as a protagonist. He is admittedly selfish, sullen, and a giant pain in the you-know-what, and he doesn’t grow nearly quite enough through the course of the short novel to make me sympathize with him.
ivan_reads's review
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
laurenb's review against another edition
3.0
Quick and easy read. It was just too shallow a story to be more than 3 stars. I didn’t get to know any of the characters very well, and the story happens so quickly. I think another 100 pages would’ve helped flesh it out. Overall interesting enough though.
glomdi's review against another edition
3.0
The biggest disappointment in this book was the slow start, and believe me, it was slooooooooooow. For the first 100 pages or so Eli is just wandering around the Compound, talking about how their life is. It was interesting for a while, but you expect something to happen before 100 pages into the book.
Eli was another very annoying thing. I got that they Bodeen was trying to get the spoiled rich kid down but it was laid on way too thick. You can make someone a spoiled rich kid who's mainly looking out for himself and have him actually love his family, too. But instead he had absolutely no feelings for his family, and then when the major plot came into focus he instantly loved them with all his heart. It was like an instant transformation. Same thing with his touching fetish. One minute he hated to be touched and the next he was touching people constantly.
With these major flaws, it seems like this would be an awful book, but it actually turned out pretty good. The ending was slightly predictable but it was written well and I thought overall it was satisfying.
Eli was another very annoying thing. I got that they Bodeen was trying to get the spoiled rich kid down but it was laid on way too thick. You can make someone a spoiled rich kid who's mainly looking out for himself and have him actually love his family, too. But instead he had absolutely no feelings for his family, and then when the major plot came into focus he instantly loved them with all his heart. It was like an instant transformation. Same thing with his touching fetish. One minute he hated to be touched and the next he was touching people constantly.
With these major flaws, it seems like this would be an awful book, but it actually turned out pretty good. The ending was slightly predictable but it was written well and I thought overall it was satisfying.
samna's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Toxic relationship
Minor: Pregnancy, Sexism, Gaslighting, and Cannibalism
tsmail's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Great YA book (middle grades) to explore ethics and abuse of power.