You've Read This? Now Read That!: The Compound

You’ve Read That?

Many times while I am reading I will find a similarity or connection to a book I have already read. It might be the same topic, but sometimes it's something not as easy to pinpoint.  I'm highlighting three books I think readers will enjoy based on their experience with a certain book.  

This week's pick: The Compound by S. A. Bodeen

The Compound was our book club pick for May.  I read it over the weekend while I sat in the car waiting for my older daughters at the movie theater and my youngest daughter at a birthday party.

Bodeen's novel was so fast paced that time flew.  Eli was nine when he and his family began life in the Compound.  Fleeing the effects of a nuclear attack, his billionaire father had created a compound where the family could live for fifteen years until it was safe to come back out and not suffer from radiation sickness.

Unfortunately, their grandmother and Eli's twin brother didn't make it into the Compound before the doors had to close, and they are most certainly dead.  

Although it does seem his father thought of everything, there are a few problems with life in the Compound.  The food supply isn't going to last for fifteen years.  And what happens if there is a health crisis? 

Although Eli has never really questioned his father before, when he finds a wi-fi connection (something that supposedly no longer exists after the nuclear attack) and realizes his father has not been honest with the family, he confronts his dad.

And then things get even crazier.

I seriously could not put this book down.  

So, if you've read The Compound....

Now Read This!

Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix-
I feel like this is one of the standard books I hand kids in Grades 3-5 at school.  It's fast paced, and gets kids thinking.  The Population Police don't allow families to have more than three children. But Luke is the third child in his family and must remain hidden. When he discovers other Shadow Children like himself, he is no longer content with remaining hidden.

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer- 
I think this novel is definitely for the high school age group and up.   When an asteroid knocks the moon closer to the earth, everything in the world is affected. Miranda and her family quickly buy up food, but even that isn't enough to survive the devastation. Although Miranda continues to hope for her future, things continue to get worse throughout the novel and daily survival is sometimes difficult.

The Giver by Lois Lowry -
this is a novel that nearly every student reads at some point in school.  Jonas lives in a world where everything is decided for it's residents and it appears everyone is happy there.  However, Jonas starts to question things about this life, especially when his father brings home an infant for them to take care of for a time.  When he is twelve he is named as a Receiver of Memories and learns what his community is really like.

What other books could be added to this list?