The Compound by S.A. Bodeen

I love Thanksgiving break! Nothing like sitting around with a full belly and reading a good book! Working on my Texas Lonestar List, I brought home The Compound by S.A. Bodeen and polished it off in less than a day. The books on this list are definitely worthy and I'm so glad I'm trying new stuff, because The Compound was a riveting read!

Eli and his family have been residing in an underground nuclear fallout shelter built by his billionaire father, called "The Compound". Six years in the shelter are proving to be difficult for Eli, who is haunted by the loss of his twin brother Eddy and his grandmother who didn't make it through the compound doors in time before the supposed nuclear attack his father received forewarning about from inside military sources. Even though Eli's father has thought of every necessity and has built the compound to meet the family's every need, Eli can't help but question the true motives to his father's elaborate planning. Eli also feels that his brother is still alive, and wants to take his chances in the outside world before the fifteen year isolation sentence (enforced by his father) expires. Wierd things are also happening with Eli's father, and now more than ever, Eli needs to find the code to the hatch time-lock.

Think Blast from the Past (the Brendan Fraiser movie) meets Stephen King and you have The Compound. Bodeen has created a world full of anxiety and uber creepiness! I wish Bodeen would have explored the many layers of Eli's father before revealing the motivation behind the creation of the Compound, and drug out the resolution a bit more. This book will rope you in from chapter one and keep you biting your nails until the very end.