Judgment, No. 6

To be honest, these next three books I'm previewing here are not because of their covers (though they are still aesthetically pleasing). I'm getting them en masse because, oh yeah, they were three bucks online. Whether that is a reflection of their worth remains to be seen. But they were on my "To Read" list, they weren't ugly, they're all paperback (I have such a weakness for paperback), and they were practically free. So. There's that disclaimer. And so we begin.

The Compound is a book that hardly seems as aggressive as it's cover. It's a YA novel about a spoiled rich kid stuck in a compound with his family thanks to his all-controlling and paranoid father who thought a nuke was about to go off and so he prepared a place to reside in safely for nine years. Or something like it.

Well, actually, it's only half his family. Because his grandmother and twin brother didn't make it in before the attack. But I'm putting my money on the world still going on above them and they're the stupid jokes stuck in a hole because the father's too proud to admit he was wrong. The twin is going to be alive, the grandma is going to be alive, and the spoiled kid will do a whole lot of growing up to face his father and get him to open the door.

In theory, at least.

It seems entertaining if a little cliche. And, like the cover, it might be trying too hard. Plus, teenage boy POVs are always hard for me to buy into because they're just so...stupid. It's either too stone-age-male-grunting or all touchy-feely-introspective. Either way, I usually can't get along with them. Especially when they're introduced as that unlikeable, spoiled rich kid.

Also, I'm a little worried that nothing can go down in a compound with four people. It could be boring. And seeing as I don't believe the compound is necessary, I might wind up shaking the book and daring them to get a move on and just walk out already. But I don't know; the book with the ultra-macho cover might surprise me.

For three bucks, I'll happily give it the benefit of the doubt.