Take a photo of a barcode or cover
orla_h 's review for:
The Compound
by Aisling Rawle
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
In the desert, there's a compound. Ten women are there, waiting for ten men to arrive. When the men arrive (late and less one of their number), the game is afoot. Every person who is not sharing a bed with a member of the opposite sex when the sun rises is banished.
Everything is filmed, everything must be earned through tasks (communal or personal), and the contestants are punished for breaking any of the rules.
The Compound really doesn't read like a debut novel. It's assured and propulsive, and uses its premise to examine all kinds of social issues without losing any of its pace or bite.
The contestants are mostly interesting and well drawn, Lily especially so. She's hyperaware of how she looks, how she'll look on camera, the effect she's having on the men, and initially seems pretty shallow. Another blonde who lives and dies by her fashion magazines, who likes to be dolled up to the nines, and wants shiny things. She's not just that, though - people seldom really are what they seem on the surface.
Most of the contestants are morally grey and are nudged one way or another by the unseen producers. It's fun to see the manipulation, until it suddenly isn't and the tension ratchets up several gears.
The last third of the book is genuinely scary in places - it earns its comparison to Lord of the Flies.
I stayed up way too late (on a school night!) to finish this, and had trouble sleeping afterwards (complimentary). By rights, The Compound should be one of the buzziest books of the summer.
Thanks to Harper Collins and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Everything is filmed, everything must be earned through tasks (communal or personal), and the contestants are punished for breaking any of the rules.
The Compound really doesn't read like a debut novel. It's assured and propulsive, and uses its premise to examine all kinds of social issues without losing any of its pace or bite.
The contestants are mostly interesting and well drawn, Lily especially so. She's hyperaware of how she looks, how she'll look on camera, the effect she's having on the men, and initially seems pretty shallow. Another blonde who lives and dies by her fashion magazines, who likes to be dolled up to the nines, and wants shiny things. She's not just that, though - people seldom really are what they seem on the surface.
Most of the contestants are morally grey and are nudged one way or another by the unseen producers. It's fun to see the manipulation, until it suddenly isn't and the tension ratchets up several gears.
The last third of the book is genuinely scary in places - it earns its comparison to Lord of the Flies.
I stayed up way too late (on a school night!) to finish this, and had trouble sleeping afterwards (complimentary). By rights, The Compound should be one of the buzziest books of the summer.
Thanks to Harper Collins and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Misogyny, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Biphobia, Body shaming, Sexual violence, Suicide, War