Compound by S.A. Bodeen

Disturbing.  That's the best way to describe this middle grade novel.  Downright disturbing.

We have this at WHHS, courtesy of the Scholastic Warehouse Sale, which is where my son got it.  It was on his summer to-read list and suggested I read it when he had finished.  He knows I like creepy books, but this was outside my realm of tolerable.  Parents should never want, nor let, harm befall their children.

Eli, his twin brother Eddy, older sister Lexie, and younger sister Teresa seem to have it all, except their father's real love.  Rex is a multi-billionaire tech firm owner who, although giving his kids everything, doesn't seem to have time for emotional connection.  Adopted himself, we learn he and his wife adopted Lexie from the orphanage his millions helped found.  Rex is also obsessed with the nuclear apocalypse.  He pays for the construction of an elaborate bunker for his family in case of fallout. 

While on a camping trip, war starts.  The family heads for the bunker, but Eddy and the kids' grandmother get left behind.  Eli and his siblings believe their brother is dead, along with their Gram and dog Cocoa.

Six years pass and Eli is bored.  His mother has given birth to 3 other children and is pregnant with a fourth.  It seems though the family's food will run out before 15 years pass (when radiation levels will be normal).  The flour is tainted with mold.  Their livestock have all died from rat poison.  No more dairy or nuts.  It's then the reader realizes what the new kids are for.  They're going to be cannibalized if the older ones run out of food (or, perhaps the older ones will be the food for the youngers...)

So, yeah, disturbing.  It gets worse.

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All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.