Present positive reviews.Īs reviewers note this would be a great novel to use as a class read, it is filled with topics for discussion. Have challengers read the entire book and decide if the way in which these issues are presented are still objectionable. Could be integrated into discussion about the Cold War and nuclear arms testing. I think this would be a perfect pick for even the most reluctant reader.īiomedical ethics or science classes. Fabulous introduction of many ethical dilemmas. Bodeen created a roller-coaster ride of a plot, as soon as I thought I had it all figured out, another twist appeared.

The children and their mother do escape and begin a quiet life in Hawaii, but the threat of their missing father looms over them all.Įxcellent.

A final battle remains as Eli rescues his family from underground. Between Eli and his siblings the code is discovered and Eli opens the door. Eli and his family must go up against their father and wits to escape the underground prison-the father is the only one with the password to open the hatch, a secret is not willing to part with easily.

At this point, the book undergoes a transformation from science fiction to a horrific psychological survival story. The conversation is cut off when Eli’s father emerges from his office and discovers the laptop. Eddy and their grandmother are safe and sound, all this time they thought the rest of the family was dead. After verifying that they are both who they say they are, Eddy lets Eli know that there was no nuclear attack, it was all a ruse. Eli successfully gets online and into Instant Messenger. Bits of the truth of their situation begin to seep in when Eli discovers his twin’s never-used laptop and a mystifying internet connection near his father’s office. But Eli’s father thought of everything, he has a stockpile of Supplements to feed his family with, should the food run out. The livestock has all died, the hydroponic lights are flickering, and supplies are dwindling all around. Things in the Compound have started to go wrong.

It is six years later Eli is now fifteen and still misses his twin. Eddy, Eli’s twin, and their grandmother aren’t so lucky. Eli, Lexie, and Terese, along with their parents all make it into the underground shelter. When the United States is under nuclear attack the Takanaki family thinks they are lucky to have the Compound. The Compound was supposed to be a safe place for fifteen years after such an attack, but supplies are dwindling and Eli is starting to ask questions. Adventure/Survival/Science Fiction/Post-ApocalypticĮli has lived the past six years of his life underground after a nuclear attack on Washington State.

The Compound by S.A. Bodeen