A reality show set in an unnamed place in a dystopian future. It reminded me of what I think the show Big Brother is like but I’ve never seen that show myself.
A group of people come together and have to complete tasks in order to get things they need individually or as a group..
I enjoyed the book and the writing but I really disliked the main character Lily. She drove me crazy. I’m sure she was supposed too be like that to be competitive but man she wore on my last nerve.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for a honest opinion. 3.75⭐️because I didn’t like Lily

I’m going to be chewing on this one for quite a while. This was an absolute banger - I tore through it in under a day and wish I had more. The Compound strikes the very rare balance of being both an addictive story that sucks you in as well as a stunning social commentary. I read another comment that said the description of this book sold it short, and I could not agree more. I almost didn’t pick it up as it was marketed as a mix of Love Island and Lord of the Flies, but it’s so much more than that - I would really describe this more as a modern day Animal Farm embedded within the familiar social constructs of reality tv, providing one of the sharpest commentaries on capitalism that I can ever remember reading in a piece of fiction. There’s so much to unpack here about the decisions we all make in order to survive within a system only designed to benefit a select group, and what we’re willing to trade in order to gain or maintain power within our current constructs. Listeners of Diabolical Lies will be absolutely smitten with this read, and it should be required reading for every AP English course. A 10/10 read, and one I’ll definitely return to again in the future.

I'll admit I'm a sucker for Love Island, so naturally, when I saw this being described as Love Island meets Lord of the Flies, I dropped everything to read it. And it was a spectacular decision! This is Rawle's debut novel, and they knocked it out of the park! While the main theme of this remains similar to Love Island, it gives reminiscences of Black Mirror, Survivor, Big Brother, and a bit of The Hunger Games. This novel takes a magnifying glass to our society and forces us to reconcile with the construct of reality TV, the need for fame, societal performance, consumerism, capitalism, gender roles, our need for connection, and so much more. This book truly felt like I was watching a show play out, rather than reading it. I want to say so many things about it, but this is one of the novels where the less you know going in, the better.

This is truly a one-of-a-kind experience, and I highly recommend it to everyone. This is peak summer reading, and it just might be my favorite book of the summer.

Thank you, Random House Publishing, and Aisling Rawle for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I look forward to many more books from Rawle.

The Compound is a compelling debut. It’s a slow burn character study that is difficult to describe without spoilers. Let me repeat myself: this book is a slowwwwwwww burn! It has dramatic elements and is psychologically thrilling, but the first third of the story is rather mundane. The pacing is not going to work for every reader, but I found the story to be gripping from the first few chapters — even when not much was going on.

The novel is packed with commentary of consumerism, capitalism, reality TV, gender roles, performance, and honestly so much more. Rawle has a lot to say, and she executes it in a way that never feels overwhelming or overwritten.

Overall, I really really enjoyed my time reading this! Thank you to Random House, Netgalley, and the author for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Review posted to Goodreads 6/18/25.

Review to be posted to Instagram stories 6/19/25 and in my monthly reading wrap up at the end of June.

I loooooved this book. Is it the perfect book? No. But it hooked me from page one and did not let go of me until the last word.
The Compound tells the story of Lily, a young beautiful woman, on a reality tv competition show with 18 others. Think Bachelor in Paradise meets The Hunger Games. If that isn’t the best setup for a book you’ve ever heard, I want to know what is. You are immersed in the action right away and it is so engrossing and propulsive. I liked getting to know Lily and the other characters but I really enjoyed the unhinged drama and craziness. This book would be an amazing reading slump buster.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for an advanced copy of this book.

this book is truly one of the best i have read in a longggg time. imagine love island with some dystopian vibes sprinkled in there. such a cool plot!!!

One of the true 5 star reads of the year for me - I was hooked from the start all the way to the end. What starts as a simple gameshow quickly becomes desperate, then tense, and ultimately totally unhinged.

A really unique premise, a fun cast of characters (especially when it gets pared down a bit, it was hard to keep track of people at first), and a protagonist who neither terribly heroic or smart but instead cunning and pragmatic - I really really enjoyed this one.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

A poor shopgirl wakes up on the set of her favorite reality show with several other female contestants and a group of men trekking across the desert to them and the compound they'll call home.

The show itself is very heavily Love Island-coded with a dash or two of The Hunger Games -- the boys' trek across the desert, the tasks for supplies they'll need to live (and more luxurious rewards along the way), the shift to more competition and fewer restrictions as the end nears...

The dystopia is very light and really only hinted at in the periphery. The drudgery of existing in late stage capitalism, the threats of war and climate change. While it's not quite as violent and certainly not dealing with the same social commentary as Chain Gang All Stars, I felt a similarity here with the suffering-as-entertainment angle and the sense that this is a world that our own could very easily become in the near future.

What social commentary there is seems pretty blatantly pointed at overconsumption. Contestants complete personal tasks ranging from betraying a friend to publicly humiliating oneself to receive clothes, jewelry, makeup, champagne, record players... The final prize being the ability to stay in the compound as long as you like and have any item you want on demand, no tasks needed.

The very final chapter was a bit of a letdown to me. I don't feel that the protagonist experienced much character development.

But boy oh boy, the ride to get there was PEAK poolside reading. Almost every big plot twist is an exciting, climactic scene. This was every bit as bingeable as any actual guilty pleasure reality show, even (maybe especially?) when things tilt from tense to horrifying.

I am a reality TV and psychological fiction fan so this seemed so up my ally, and it was done SO well!!!! I absolutely adored this book. Wow. The writing was excellent, the plot was wonderful. I spent so much time thinking about the ending, the plot, and what I'd do in this situation.
THANK YOU to netgalley and the author/publisher for the ARC

This book? Unhinged. In the best, most bingeable, “did-that-just-happen?” kind of way. If you’re tempted to read the blurb first—don’t. Trust me. Going in blind makes the reveal so much wilder.

Forget what they say about Love Island meets Lord of the Flies—this is more like Big Brother on a bender with a side of psychological warfare. You wake up in a desert compound with nine other women and a million questions. Cameras. Rules. Viewers. And then the men show up...

What follows is a slow burn that explodes into chaos. It's dark. It's satirical. It's disturbing. And yet you won’t be able to look away. Aisling Rawle pulls no punches, and by the end, I was left staring at the wall asking, “What did I just read… and why do I kinda want to read it again?”

Not for the faint of heart. But definitely for those who love their fiction fierce, freaky, and full of WTF moments.

“The Compound” by Aisling Rawle presents a narrative that emulates the format of a reality television show. The characters are readily relatable, and the plot is straightforward and easy to follow. The narrative is structured from the primary character’s perspective.

There was this underlying tension throughout that made it feel like a messy, intense reality show unfolding in real time. The concept was definitely unique, and I can see why some people compare it to Love Island (even though I haven’t watched it myself). The writing was solid, and the pacing kept things moving, but overall it just wasn’t for me. I have a hard time connecting with characters whose motivations feel overly materialistic, and that made it tough to stay invested.

I devoured this book in one sitting, and even stayed up late to finish it. I think the writing and world building is good to draw you into the scheming of the reality show these characters are living within, even though it gets very dark and morbid in the end. Lots of themes that are critical of reality culture and how it impacts people, as well as the participants of these shows. In the end, this wasn't my favorite book, but I did have a good time reading it!

I enjoyed this book much more than I anticipated. It was a great character study of a group of young people who are part of a reality show that cuts them off from the rest of the world, which has been some sort of war for years. It is like Big Brother, Survivor and Hunger Games all in one. It is fascinating to watch the characters change as contestants are banished and the game becomes more competitive. The only thing I would I liked is an epilogue sometime in the future with an update on Lily. I can definitely see this becoming a TV series too. This was a great debut from Aisling Rawle and I look forward to reading more from her in the future. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

Something bad has happened in the world and now Lily and nine other women are on a sort of reality show where they compete with one another to bed down for the night with one of nine men who are also at the mysterious compound. Oh and they compete, and cooperate with one another to obtain simple things at first and then later for luxury items. Thing is, anyone who doesn't wake up with a partner is out. It's reality show adjacent with a sly side eye at the genre. I found this slow to start and would have liked more context and worldbuilding but Rawle kept me reading to find out what would happen to Lily. No spoilers. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A fine read,

The Compound is exactly the type of quiet dystopian novel that I enjoy. Set in a vaguely dystopian future, this novel focuses on a reality TV that has similarities to Love Island and Perfect Match with a hint of Survivor, but with much higher stakes.

Lily and nine other girls awaken on a compound; not able to share information about themsleves in the real-world, the girls set to tidying up the disheveled property while waiting for 'the boys' to appear. When the boys finally show up after being dumped in the expansive surrounding wilderness with encroaching wildfires, the premise becomes clear. Girls and boys are rated on physical appearance and are required to pair up. If you are not paired up you are banished from the compound. Group tasks are completed to get rewards such as furniture and food. Personal tasks get contestants luxuries such as cosmetics, jewelry or other expensive rewards, gifted from brands that are required to be thanked by the contestant. Hidden cameras record the contestants vying to be the last one(s) standing, who are allowed to remain at the compound as long as they can survive. The show itself is never to be mentioned.

The societal commentary is strong here. The 'divided' roles see all the women performing the domestic tasks, such as cooking and cleaning. The men self-elect themselves to be in charge. The least attractive men and women are the first ones to be banished. The tasks are sometimes mundane but often cruel or used to embarrass the contestants. The women are pliant, with Lily self-monitoring her thoughts and rehearsing talking points so she will get more male attention. It all seems so unhinged, as a reader you have to wonder why someone would chose to participate in it.

But the Compound stands as a stark contrast to the regular lives of the contestants. The book doesn't outright tell you what has happened to the world outside, but there is mention of smog and poverty and 'the wars'. Lily herself talks about her inability to be able to progress in her life and her isolation and loneliness. By her own admission and through the lens of others, Lily is physically beautiful but does not have much else going on. She feels unintelligent and vapid and coasts primarily on her looks and is dependant on others. For her, the compound is an escape from reality and her opportunity to finally make something of her life. It is all she has. Soon, however, Lily starts to confuse what's fake and what's real and she must stand on her and make her own decisions about her future.

This novel was so wild and eerie and thought provoking, it's still living rent free in my mind. Thank you Random House and Netgalley for allowing me an advanced reader copy of a book I soon won't forget.

This whole book gave me Love Island vibes but with a twist. These women land in this home that needs cleaning up and a repair, and they all wake up in different parts of the home, and they all know it’s a tv show and they are waiting for the guys to get there. The plot is the same as Love Island, except that they all haver tasks that they do as a team and a task they do individually where they get things that their either need or want, they are not allowed to talk about anything person, YET, and they create a little system as they start building and fixing their home for now. I am not going to lie, I don’t like love island I watched one season, and I hated the show, but I really liked this book. The need to win is HUGE, but to win WHAT? Is the question, and I went from rooting for Lily and the rest that stayed over to really feeling sorry for them. This book was a good one.

Thank you Netgalley and the Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Fans of reality tv, especially shows like Survivor and Big Brother, this book is for you! It was literally like watching a reality show on tv. I could picture it all as the story went. An original storyline for sure. Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review

This was an interesting deep-dive into current topics such as young adults without a purpose, fame seeking without any talent to back it up, over-consumerism, surrender to marketing by making yourself a live billboard, the importance of having a purpose in life, not let opportunities pass you by,... so many contemporary topics to cover that I highly recommend this as a book club pick.
A great recommendation for anyone interested in the big brother trope, and whoever is into sociology and psychology. I loved watching those individuals evolve, falling apart, flipping in the confinement of this compound in the middle of the desert.

A pleasant surprise overall, especially for a debut!

What an absolutely interesting book. I was hooked from the absolute beginning. It felt like binging my favorite TV show. I didn't want to put the book down.

This book covers a reality TV show where contestants are living in a compound and must compete for basic necessities like food and water, along with luxuries like new jewelry, couches, clothes, etc. Along with these challenges you are also trying to couple up with someone so that you won't get banished from the compound. It was described as Love Island meets Lord of the Flies and I think that's such a wild combination.

Something I really liked about this book was how often I disagreed with the main character. She wasn't particularly likeable and reading about her perspective on things was so interesting.

I loved learning about the rules of this show and how no one on the compound knew what was real and what was just for prizes. I would definitely watch this show and I don't know what that says about me lol.

I think the ending made sense for this book. Yes it felt unfinished but I think that was the point of the entire story. How far will we go to get what we want? Will that be enough to make us happy? No clear answers were given and I think that's what makes the entire reading experience so great.

Everyone should go read this book!!

Thank you NetGalley, Aisling and Random House for the ARC in exchange for my thoughts & review.