The Compound (The Compound Series #1)

by S. A. Bodeen

Overview

S.A. Bodeen's The Compound is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Eli and his family have lived in the underground Compound for six years. The world they knew is gone, and they've become accustomed to their new life. Accustomed, but not happy. No amount of luxury can stifle the dull routine of living in the same place, with only his two sisters, only his father and mother, doing the same thing day after day after day. As problems with their carefully planned existence threaten to destroy their sanctuary—and their sanity—Eli can't help but wonder if he'd rather take his chances outside. Eli's father built the Compound to keep them safe. But are they safe—really?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312578602
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	09/01/2009
Series:	Compound Duology Series , #1
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	103,278
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)
Lexile:	570L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

S.A. Bodeen is the author of The Gardener and several picture books, including Elizabeti's Doll, winner of the Ezra Jack Keats Award. The Compound earned her an ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults, a Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year, and a Publishers Weekly "Flying Start." Bodeen grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. Her first friends were cows, which she named after characters in books. From there she went on to be a Peace Corps volunteer in East Africa, and has lived in seven states, as well as a remote Pacific island. She adores books and is a big fan of cheese. She lives in Oregon.

Read an Excerpt

I knew what had happened that night. We had been prepared. Other kids got bedtime stories about fairies and dogs. We fell asleep with visions of Weapons of Mass Destruction dancing in our heads. . .

Dad gripped my shoulders and pulled me away from the silver door, twisting me around to follow the rest of my family. What was left of it. I clung to my father’s hand. He rushed ahead of me, his hand dropping mine.

I lifted my hand to my face. It reeked of fuel.

The corridor ended. We paraded through an archway strung with twinkling white lights, then entered an enormous circular room. The place reminded me of a yurt we’d built in school, but about 80 times bigger. The curved walls were made of log beams; the same type which criss-crossed over our heads in an intricate pattern. The roundness of the room was odd yet comforting . . . Dad flicked a switch.

A plasma television dropped down from the ceiling, blank monitor glowing. “I figured we’d be in here a lot.” The blue from the television tinted Dad’s face and blonde hair in a garish way. He startled me when he threw his arms out to the side. “Cozy, yes? What do you think?”

“It’s not what I expected.” Mom’s voice was shaky.

Dad rubbed his jaw. “What did you expect?”

Reading Group Guide

Questions for Discussion

Eli believes that Mom is a strong woman and that "gentleness" should not be confused with "weakness." Is he right? What are Mom's strengths and weaknesses?

On page 95, Lexie calls Mom "lucky" because she doesn't have the same worries that most mothers do. To what extent is this true? Is this a fair statement?

On page 117, Eli asks, "What are we surviving for?" Put yourself in his place. Would you want to survive a nuclear disaster? Why or why not?

Human cloning has not yet been achieved but it would theoretically allow for the creation of a genetically identical "copy" of a person. How do you think a clone would be similar to and different from a "regular" person? Is it fair to value a clone's life less than a "regular" person's?

Eli is a dynamic character. Discuss how he changes from the start to the end of the book. Is Dad a dynamic character as well? Why or why not?

What challenges might you and your family encounter upon reentering "the real world" if you had an experience like the Yanakakis family's?

S.A. Bodeen purposefully withholds some important details at the start of the story and then slowly reveals some of these details as the story progresses. What are some of these important details? How does it affect the plot?

On page 169, Dad argues that the Supplements have grown up better than the other children because they were sheltered from so many bad things in the world. Do you agree? Why or why not?

This novel explores the relationship between proximity and closeness. Can proximity damage closeness? In what ways are the Yanakakis family members close? In what ways are they not close? How might your own family relationships change if you never saw anyone else aside from your family?

Perhaps the most disturbing element of the novel is the Supplements. Would you put your own life ahead of another's?

What does it mean to "play God?" In what ways does Rex Yanakakis try do this with the Compound? What goes wrong? Is there a lesson to be learned?

We learn that Eli never thought he was "worthy" of being touched by his family. Explain why he believed this. Why do you think people withhold things from themselves like Eli did?

In this novel, nuclear war and unlimited resources both threaten the Yanakakis family. Compare and contrast these threats. Which do you think is more frightening?

Several nations currently house nuclear weapons. What could be the consequences of harboring such weapons? Should countries be allowed to possess nuclear weapons?

On page 2, upon realizing that Eddy is above ground, Dad tells Eli, "I still have one of you." How does the meaning of this change once you read the ending? Go back and revisit some of Dad's earlier conversations with Eli. Upon rereading these conversations, does Dad say anything else that can have multiple meanings?

Editorial Reviews

* A high-wire act of a first novel, a thriller that exerts an ever-tighter grip on readers. . . . The audience will feel the pressure closing in on them as they, like the characters, race through hairpin turns in the plot toward a breathless climax.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“Debut novelist Bodeen effectively builds the claustrophobic suspense with each chapter as readers slowly discover the Compound is not the refuge it seems. Combining elements of Margaret Peterson Haddix's Running Out of Time (1995) and Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go (2005), published for adults, this post-apocalyptic thriller will also pique the interest of Nancy Werlin and L.J. Adlington fans.” —Booklist

“Suspenseful and riveting, this debut novel raises serious issues about what it means to survive.” —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

Bodeen, acclaimed as the writer of such picture books as Elizabeti's Doll, turns out a high-wire act of a first novel, a thriller that exerts an ever-tighter grip on readers. Eli, the 15-year-old son of a billionaire techno-preneur, has spent the last six years with his family in the massive underground shelter his father has built, knowing that nuclear war has destroyed the world he knows-and killed his grandmother and his twin brother, who couldn't reach the compound in time. With nine years to go before the air outside will be safe to breathe again, the food supply shows signs of running out, but Eli's father has a solution-provided they jettison all morals and ethics. Repulsed and already suspicious, Eli begins investigating his father's claims, and sets up a family death match against a man who grows increasingly irrational and sinister but no less powerful. As far-fetched as the premise may be, Bodeen keeps Eli's actions true to life and uses clues planted fairly and in plain sight. The audience will feel the pressure closing in on them as they, like the characters, race through hairpin turns in the plot toward a breathless climax. Ages 12-up. (June)

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Publishers Weekly

Gr 8 Up

Following a nuclear holocaust, nine-year-old Eli and his family race into the underground compound his billionaire father created in this post-apocalyptic novel (Macmillan/Feiwel & Friends, 2008) by S.A. Bodeen. The hatch is slammed shut, but without Eli's twin and their grandmother. The family must stay underground for 15 years until the radiation levels are safe. Fast forward six years and Eli is beginning to have some doubts, as do his two sisters and mother. They have trusted their father, but now he is behaving strangely. Eli believes that his father created the entire scenario as some kind of sick hoax, right down to cloning and creating human babies, The Supplements, who might actually be needed someday as a food supply. Repulsed and frightened, Eli teams with his sisters, his mother, and The Supplements in a race to discover what is really going on, what happened that fateful night, and how to escape the powerful madman who has them trapped. Suspense galore is brought to life by Christopher Lane's masterful reading, fraught with tension, anger, and a gamut of powerful emotions. The taut, fast-moving plot will grip listeners.-Jane P. Fenn, Corning-Painted Post West High School, NY

School Library Journal

A teen questions the world his father has created and finds some shocking answers. Fifteen-year-old Eli and his family live in the Compound, a state-of-the-art underground shelter designed by their billionaire father to withstand a nuclear attack and protect them for the "next fifteen years in luxurious comfort." After six years of isolation, Eli still thinks about his twin brother Eddy and his grandmother, who were "accidentally" left behind the fateful night his father herded everyone else into the Compound and locked the door. Eli wonders why his mother keeps producing children, why his father stays in his locked study and why certain supplies are running out. When Eli unexpectedly connects to the Internet, he discovers his father has sealed them away from the real world. As his awareness of reality grows, Eli matures from a callow kid into a caring person who knows it's up to him to save his family. Suspenseful and riveting, this debut novel raises serious issues about what it means to survive. (Fiction. 12+)

Kirkus Reviews

Debut author Bodeen creates a thrilling young adult tale that is sure to engage adults as well. Set somewhere near the time of the apocalypse, the story tells of Eli and his family, who are forced to live in the compound his father has built for them. Eli doesn’t know why his father refuses to let them leave. Narrator Christopher Lane captures every character with honesty and believability. Lane brings his audience into the story, placing them right inside the compound with the family. Appropriately, the story emits a palpable feeling of claustrophobia, but the exciting plot twists and explosive action keep listeners engaged. L.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2009 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

JULY 2008 - AudioFile