The Compound by Aisling Rawle

 The Compound

by Aisling Rawle

Published Year: 2025

Page Count: 315 pages

Medium Used: Kindle PW

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Reality TV, Horror, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, 2025-Read.

Rating: 4.5/5

Very gripping. Very compelling. I guess what really kept me hooked and what worked out for me is that there is always a hint of danger, of things going out of control with the whole world sitting on its butt and watching, doing nothing, while a bunch of young contestants try to best each other, no matter how far they go, because stakes are high and they don't want to get back to the "real" world where their lives mean boring, exhausting and nothing.

 It is a reality TV game which is set up in a desert like setting. The participants are ten boys and ten girls collected from different walks of life. They are given community tasks which all of them must participate in and they are rewarded for them with things they lack like wood, freezer, food and water. Should they fail to do, they will not be given these rewards and it is easy to see how the will power of those who want those things can compel and force the weaker of them to participate and either win or get banished. Sometimes they are starved without food for days, sometimes there is no water for days and those who have had the foresight to hoard are beaten, broken to steal that away from them. There are also individual tasks that would give them exclusive gifts like scarves, diamond jewelry which are compelling enough that they do them. In these games and fun, they force a member to spend a day in the desert with no aid, dunk a weaker member under water in a pool, run a race with water deprived and weakened bodies .. and do other horrid things. The suspense got worse as the number of contestants reduced.  Those remaining harbor desires of making this compound their forever home and nevertheless, they must face the challenges and get banished. All except one. The final winner. She has seen all, been through it all, won all and carried all she wanted home. It is a happy-ending but I didn't feel the elation. I thought some of the contestant reactions are neutered, not reflective of their desires or natures so that the story would progress. I guess they just gave up too easily and too conveniently. What would have happened if they were as driven as Lily and as conniving as her to win? Why would Tom or Andrew just walk away, without harming Lily who has shown little kindness to them? Why would they not be attracted to her when all the other guys were and she being so beautiful, accessible?   

I debated with myself to give this book a 5 pointer or 4 pointer - there is a relentless build-up of suspense and horror till the end but also a sense that the danger that is lurking would always be bested at the last moment. There is an assurance - unmentioned, unspoken - that all will be well - that it is just a game that is designed to be TRP centered, audience catering and nothing life threatening would happen. Nevertheless, the things that have happened - the betrayals, the manipulations that reflected the true natures of some of the contestants, their willingness to go however far the game would take so that they get to be the final one standing hoarding and collecting all the luxurious things they have always craved, handed down to them without question, should they only want them .. is shocking, to say the least. The narrator herself came across as a psychopathic extreme .. she betrays her beau, although she justifies it with his adulterous affairs and rendered another contestant blind and helpless .. it just made me shudder. 

The author shows multiple ways this reality TV game could go awry but just narrowly avoids the consequences. I think this is a very important book that shows how easily the "evil" in us can come out when we want something and wouldn't back down for silly concerns like compassion, empathy, loyalty!