Book Review: The Compound

I am so excited that @theeverygirl has finally started The Everygirl Book Club — I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for this! Their very first pick is The Compound by Aisling Rawle.

The Compound is a fast, edgy novel about a group of young people competing on a reality TV show set in a remote desert compound. As the contestants complete challenges and chase prizes, the cameras are always watching, and it becomes hard to tell what’s real and what’s just for show. Rawle uses this setting to poke fun at our obsession with fame, social media, and entertainment, while also showing how far people might go for comfort, attention, and approval. It reads like a mix of a reality show and a thriller — fun to follow, but also a little unsettling. By the end, it made me think about how much we perform for others in our own lives, even when no cameras are around.

Image from Penguin Random House

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