The Compound [Paperback]

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 sanctuaryand their sanityEli 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 safereally?

The Compoundis a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

* 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'sRunning Out of Time(1995) and Kazuo Ishiguro'sNever 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

Eli's father built the Compound to keep their family safe. Now, they can't get out. He won't let them.

S.A. Bodeenis the author ofThe Gardenerand several picture books, includingElizabeti's Doll, winner of the Ezra Jack Keats Award.The Compoundearned her an ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults, a Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year, and aPublishers Weekly Flying Start. Bodeen grew up on a dairl“+