The Fallout by S.A. Bodeen

Series: The Compound (bk. 2)

Genera: Sci-fi/Realistic Fiction/Thriller

Subjects: mystery, family, wealthy people, experiments, Washington state

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 326

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $16.99

Publisher: MacMillan: Feiwel and Friends

Summary/ product description: “In this long-awaited sequel to The Compound, Eli and his family can run but they can't hide.

After barely escaping from the compound where Eli’s dad kept his family for six years, they’re learning to acclimate to “normal” life—whatever that is for them. It seems like the entire world wants to know what happened to this high profile family.

Slowly they begin to make their way back into the world, but Eli can’t escape the creeping feeling that they’re being watched everywhere they go. But by who?

Eli’s anxiety is heightened as unnerving information continually surfaces about Eli’s dad’s company. Not to mention the sketchy new friend his twin brother Eddy has. Nothing seems to be “normal” anymore. New people are entering their lives—but who can Eli and his family trust?"

My Review: The Compound, which was originally a standalone, now has a sequel. I wasn’t sure how a sequel would work out. Everything seemed wrapped up at the end. But now that I’ve finished that sequel, I’m pretty happy that it was written. After living six years in the compound, Eli and his family have to adjust to a more normal life. Everything his father told him was a lie. The world didn’t end and his twin brother is alive. Eddy’s been living in the real world while Eli was stuck in his father’s creation.

The beginning of the book was mostly Eli’s adjustment to the real world. Eli’s family is now famous for something other than being rich. He doesn’t like how the world might see them as freaks, and how social media talks about them. Their mom isn’t ready to let them out into the real world, but they decide they need to adjust, so he convinces her to let them go on outings. The first outing is to Costco. It was a pretty funny choice, since their rich. They do usually shop online, but Reese wanted to do real shopping. The next one is to the aquarium, which sounds fun for the little kids.

The first half of the book did not have a sci-fi feel at all. There was some mystery, but it felt realistic and contemporary. There was a theme of how we are affected by our parenting vs. our genes or parentage. Nature vs. nurture. Lexi want to know who her birth parents are and Eli doesn’t want to be like his dad. It isn’t till the last hundred pages that we get to the sci-fi stuff. There’s an island owned by their father. He kept it a secret, and he apparently had some major plans. This ties in very well with the first book.

There’s a theme of what’s ethical vs. not ethical. Eli’s father did some very unethical things because he likes to be innovative, not because he wants money. It reminded me of Maximum Ride, because their father was kind of like the evil scientists who think their doing the world a favor by playing God, and coming up with crazy innovation that have terrible consequences. What their father wanted to do sound very Benjamin Button-esqe.

The ending was crazy and kind of scary. The book had became unputdownable and I sped through it like a wildfire. I’m not sure if there will be a third book. I don’t think so because the ending seemed to wrap up, but there could be possibilities for a third book. If there is, I will definitely read it.

Cover Art Review: The cover reminds me of the Razorland series. It’s probably the same designer. I like the green, and that it’s metallic and embossed.