#sa bodeen

The Compound by S. A. Bodeen. Rating: 2.5 Stars.

Read on January 30th.

I picked this book up a few years ago at a bookstore and it’s been in my TBR pile since then. So finishing it means another TBR veteran off the shelf. However, this was written in 2008. Now, can we imagine why this might be important? Because I read the eight page prologue and knew it was an older book. And that’s how the rest of the book comes across as well. It feels old. Jokes that are made or topics that are discussed do not age well so that just put everyone on the wrong foot from the get go.

I also had an issue with the plot twist of the book. I mean, I don’t know for sure that it’s supposed to be the plot twist when I figured it out in chapter one and it isn’t “revealed” for another 150 pages. There were a lot of obvious signs that either the main character ignored or the author thought were foreshadowing (but it can’t really be called foreshadowing when it’s written in neon lights). I wish there had been more time laying everything out for the reader. I normally don’t like exposition, but it feels necessary there. There are questions that come up for the reader that never get answered. Why was the dad like this? How did everyone not see it coming? Was the dad hiding his mental instability from everyone? If so, how was the reader able to see it so well before the characters do? I just wish I could go through and erase a lot of things that were written as foreshadowing so the author could rewrite it in a better way. That way there’s actually a sense of confusion, not understanding what’s happening, and fear for the main character’s life.

"'you provide everything for your family and how do they repay you?' i got the feeling that was a retorical question." wow how'd ya know that eli

"'Place unopened pouch in warm water for 5-10 minutes.' 'Unopened pouch may be laid on a warm surface.' 'Lay unopened pouch in direct sunlight.' Not much chance of that down here. 'Place unopened pouch inside you shirt, allow you body temperature to warm your MRE.' I was surprised they left out: Place unopened pouch on ground and pee on it." oh damn i dont have water or a warm surface or sunlight or apparently a body even guess im gonna have to pee on it

Leila Sales, Alexandra Coutts, S.A. Bodeen, and Marissa Meyer chat with the Austin Teen Book Festival