The Fallout

Gr 7–10—This book picks up in the weeks after the shocking events at the end of The Compound (Feiwel & Friends, 2008) and basically recounts the fallout of the family members' escape from the compound, where they were locked away for six years, and the death of its brilliant but unstable patriarch. Justifiably shell-shocked, most of the Yanakakis clan, believing the world as they knew it has fallen, concentrate on shielding themselves from the intrusive media and survival nuts who want to know their story. Pages are devoted to them settling in to a new home, but nothing much really happens. Eli has been reunited with his twin, who avoided imprisonment at the faked Armageddon, and the narrative reveals what everyone eats and wears, and how they pass the time. Mom is furious that her husband's henchman, Phil, is in charge of YK Industries until the boys become 25, and they go to the company to make a show of interest. Eli randomly picks from many charitable involvements a folder detailing the Progeria Institute's grants and demands a visit to the facility. Lackluster plot elements are thrown in: an adopted older sister's interest in her birth parents; trips to Costco, a Mariner's game, and the aquarium; stomach flu; and people posting online with sightings of them. None is particularly compelling. Eventually a threat of sorts to Eli and two of his siblings results in abduction and some discoveries, but few readers will experience shock or dismay on the characters' behalf.—Suzanne Gordon, Lanier High School, Sugar Hill, GA