The Compound

by S.A. Bodeen

What if the world had been nuked? 

What if your family had an escape plan? 

What if your family had a well-stocked fallout shelter? 

What would happen when things went wrong?

Eli has lived for six years in his family’s compound. An unending compound with room for the whole family, filled with enough supplies to last a nuclear winter of fifteen years. But the time for Eddy has not been one of relief, because for the last six years his identical twin, Eddy, has been dead. Left outside. Because of Eli.

For six years he has not cut his hair. He has not touched anyone. He has cocooned himself from life and from himself, just as much as the compound has cocooned the whole family. After all this time, the strangeness of his life underground doesn’t seem shocking.  But then Eli finally makes the choice to enter his brother’s room in the compound. And his world is torn apart.

Review:

Excellent! I would actually say that the ideas presented in this book were more disturbing than the violence of The Hunger Games or the mercy killing in This World We Live In. The pacing is fast and exciting, and despite the brevity of the book, I developed a connection with the characters, especially Eli (narrator) and his older sister, Lexie.

I have a few complaints. First, this book should have been longer. There are a lot of ethical issues that could have been delved into deeper. Second, had the plot been more developed, it would have given more time for Eli to discover more about the compound and his father’s insane plans. Hence, as a reader, I would have learned more. I love scientific background stories.

Grade: B+

Hunger (sequel to Gone)

by Michael Grant.

One day all the adults disappeared, and only children under fifteen were left in San Perdido, California. One day an impenetrable dome surrounded the town. One day all the children learned they were on their own, in a new world: the FAYZ.

Three months after the FAYZ occurred, life is still the same: the adults are gone, some children have superpowers, and Caine and Drake are still the menacing enemies. But now they are hungry.

As children go hungry, tempers flare, and a rift grows between the "normals" and the "moofs" (mutant freaks).

While Sam Temple, the protagonist, tries to create order out of chaos, find food, and mediate squabbles and fights, Caine - a cruel, power-hungry (with super powers to boot) kid from Coates Prep School - devises a way to topple Sam from his position of leadership. He decides to take over the local power plant.

But Caine's not the only enemy now. Sam and his friends are now fully aware of "The Hunger" a creature that lives underground and is growing more powerful and evil...

My Review:

Perhaps it's because I've read close to thousand pages of this series in the past two weeks, or perhaps it's the actual novel, but I felt like there was some real character development in this book. Astrid, Sam's girlfriend, and Edilio, Alberto, and Quinn (normals who are Sam's friends) become more interesting and create more depth in this fast-paced plot.

Once again, Grant's story was exciting and compelling - although for a brief spell (pages 200 to 300 or so) I lost interest.

Ethically, the book becomes more interesting as character have to deal with prejudices and mistrust between the moofs and the normals.

Each time you think you're unpeeling the mystery of the FAYZ, you find out there is another layer that you didn't know existed, and these mysteries have me chomping at the bit to read the next book: Lies.

Grade: B+

Gone

By Michael Grant

Gone is touted as a modern-day Lord of the Flies. It's not that good. By that I mean, you won't be weighed down with any heavy ethical issues. No guilt for Piggy.

But it is good fun. And like all teenaged fun, it's best not to have the adults around.

San Perdido, California. One minute - normal life. The next? All individuals over the age of 15 have disappeared. There one second, gone the next.

Sam Templeton, a quiet 14 year old boy, becomes the leader who helps band the local kids together - fighting the bullies and also the rich, private school students who come down from their mountain to try to gain control of the town. The young children must be cared for, fights resolved, and a community must be governed.

In all honesty, there's enough to that story line to develop an engaging read.

But Grant gives us more. Along with the disappearance of adults comes the children's development of super powers. And the impenetrable domed barrier that prevents anyone from leaving the area. Oh, and did I forget to mention the mutating animals?

Throughout all the trials, the characters and the reader struggle to determine how? and why?

Honestly, that's a lot of ingredients for one story. And a lot of authors (especially if they were a seventh grader) would lose control of everything. But Grant does a good job tying it all together, juggling it all to help create a compelling mystery that drives the reader forward. I imagine that the reader's hunger to know the mystery is comparable to the series Lost (which I have never watched), Defying Gravity (awesome sci-fi series that was cancelled), or Battlestar Galactica (Best. Series. Ever.).

Of course, all this action and mystery has to take a toll on some aspect of the novel and it does: character development is rather shallow. But you'll forgive the book for this because you don't care so much for the characters as for the strange events, the mutations, the super powers, the fights, and the mystery. The fast pacing of the story line won't give you a moment to reflect on the weaknesses of the book anyway.

If you liked Hunger Games, super power stories, action-packed books, The Girl Who Owned a City, I Am Number Four, you will like Gone.

Grade: B+