2.82k reviews for:

The Compound

Aisling Rawle

3.8 AVERAGE

dark emotional tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I couldn’t put this down after I reached the 40% mark and read the latter 60% in one day. I went into this read cold, wondering if it was a breezy summer read, a sci-fi, or something altogether more eerie. What it ended up as: an unsettling, incredible character study about voyeurism and consumerism. It had the tension of The Hunger Games and the disorienting atmosphere of I Who Have Never Known Men. Will add to my list of “totally weird little books that I loved but might not be for everyone.”
challenging tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
adventurous challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I loved this book. It was such a page turner and I read it so quickly. The plot was super interesting, I liked the romance between Sam and Lily, there were good unexpected twists, and the commentary on contemporary life and social themes was so good. I loved how mysterious it was and how it’s dystopian but you never fully know what’s going on. Sososo good got me out of a reading slump. Also the story itself is such an interesting concept
emotional mysterious reflective tense
dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Was good but not life changing imo. Wanted to see what happened next but felt disconnected at points to the characters
dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was dystopian Love Island mixed with Lord of the Flies, The Hunger Games, and Survivor. I was here for it! I never knew what to expect. This book was a good commentary on consumerism and what people are willing to do for material things. There was a lot of unsettling and disturbing moments, but it kept things compelling.

I would have been interested to know more about the world outside the compound. It was alluded to that there was something going on that would end civilization within a few decades. I’m sure that was purposely omitted to show how contestants remained solely focused on material items despite there being wars and possible cataclysmic events going on.

The ending was a little abrupt to me. I would have liked to see what happened next, but again, I think that was deliberate. Overall, this was a very fascinating book that was easy to binge.

It gets slower in the second half and I didn’t love the ending. I do wish they gave more context on the war they kept referring to and what else was going on in the outside world. I feel like that would’ve made the commentary on the grossness of capitalism even more potent. 
dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I don’t love dystopian, but I love reality shows. 

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