elisa

March 2026

This month I read 12 ebooks from the Toronto Public Library.

The numbers as they stand, as of March 31st 2026:

Total Reading Goal: 28/100 (+12)

Canada Reads Shortlist: 5/5 (+3) – It's Different This Time by Joss Richards – Foe by Ian Reid – Searching for Terry Punchout by Tyler Hellard

Canada Reads Longlist: 5/10 (+3) – Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid – Julie Chan is Dead by Liann Zhang – Everything is Fine Here by Iryn Tushabe

Nonfiction Goal: 2/12 (+1) – A City on Mars by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith

TPL Reading Challenge: 9/25 (+3) – Multiple Authors: A City on Mars – Small Town: Searching for Terry Punchout – Published in 2026: First Sign of Danger

Battle Ground by Jim Butcher

Synopsis:

Harry has faced terrible odds before. He has a long history of fighting enemies above his weight class. The Red Court of vampires. The fallen angels of the Order of the Blackened Denarius. The Outsiders.

But this time it’s different. A being more powerful and dangerous on an order of magnitude beyond what the world has seen in a millennium is coming. And she’s bringing an army. The Last Titan has declared war on the city of Chicago, and has come to subjugate humanity, obliterating any who stand in her way.

Harry’s mission is simple but impossible: Save the city by killing a Titan. And the attempt will change Harry’s life, Chicago, and the mortal world forever.

My thoughts:

I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but this might actually be the best Dresden Files book. 17 books in, we finally got a great one [a quick sidenote: I think it’s funny that as the books get more and more recent, Harry’s pop culture references also get more and more recent, which is weird since he hates technology and is super 80s core). On the surface, I shouldn’t have liked this book; it’s essentially all fighting scenes (which I don’t care for), and there’s a major character death (which I also hate). Bennet and I were listening to the audio book, and we had to stop and switch to regular books because the constant fight scenes in the audio were too hard to follow. But this entry felt more important than everything else. This wasn’t just some regular battle, this was a battle to save the mortals of Chicago, and humanity itself. Everyone was putting aside their differences and making sacrifices in order to band together to save the city. Harry also seems like he wants to do more. Hopefully that means he’ll pull a Baron Marcone and create an established organization or community, who he can protect. Like some of the more recent books, this book also felt like it was a part of something bigger than itself. Harry has now gained the Eye of Balor, a magical artefact powered by hate that can raze city blocks in the blink of an eye (pun intended). Queen Mab has made a curious remark about the possibility of [Harry] gaining immortality. By the end of next year, Listens-to-Wind has promised to explain what exactly are the implications of Harry being a starborn, and we’ve been introduced to at least two other characters that are starborns. Also in the next year, Harry will be wed to Lara Wraith, Queen of the White Court of Vampires, which will further strengthen the alliance between them and the Winter Court. We finally figured out why Thomas attempted to assassinate Etri in Peace Talks, and we’re peeling back a bit more of the puzzle about the Outsiders. In a way, the Dresden Files is starting to feel like a video game, where each book is a level with its own boss battle, and reveals a small piece of the overall picture.

[As a side note, Lara being Harry’s next romantic partner feels a bit strange, but he constantly sexualizes her [in large part because she derives her vampiric powers from sex instead of blood, etc], so maybe I’m being brainwashed. Because of the whole Thomas ordeal that mainly played out in Peace Talks, Harry and Lara have been teaming up a lot recently. Maybe this is okay? I’m also down for any combination that doesn’t have Harry dating Molly. I know she’s come of age and is now in her mid 20s, but he knew her well as a little kid, and that gives me the ick].

I want to dedicate this paragraph specifically to Karrin Murphy. Karrin, you deserved better than to die, and I cried a lot when you were killed. You were heroic to the very end. You deserved a lifetime of happiness with Harry and Maggie, and I’m mad that Jim Butcher never allowed you to have it. But I think it’s poetic that you died a warrior's death, that you sacrificed yourself, and that you’ll get to go to Valhalla with the Viking soldier Einherjaren that you spent so much time befriending and training with. You were my favourite character, and I will never forget you.

Rating: 5/5 stashes of weapons inside the Bean at the Art Institute of Chicago

It’s Different This Time by Joss Richard

Canada Reads 2026 Shortlist

Synopsis: Subject 74 Perry Street So begins the email that turns June Wood’s entire world on its head. Five years ago, she lived on Perry Street with her former best friend Adam Harper. But why is the management company reaching out to her about it now? Still smarting from the news of her hit TV show being canceled, June has nothing else to lose. She boards a plane from Los Angeles to New York City to find out more about the mysterious email and the promised opportunity it alludes to. It turns out that, thanks to an unbelievable legal loophole, if she and Adam can live together in the stunning West Village brownstone for a month, it’s theirs. Any true New Yorker knows you don’t pass up prime city real estate, and that fall in the city is magical—so what’s there to think about? And yet, though most things have changed in the time since they last spoke, one thing hasn’ June and Adam have unfinished business. They didn’t exactly end on good terms when they each went off to chase their dreams. Now, confronted with the consequences of their choices, they must navigate the minefield of their past the best way they know together. Every day they move closer to owning Perry Street reveals misunderstandings, long-term resentments, and long-buried feelings . . . which are suddenly feeling very, very not so buried. But they’ve already lost their friendship once before, devastating them both. Can they risk losing it again for something a little different this time?

My Thoughts: This is your goat, Canada Reads??? First of all, has almost nothing to do with Canada. The book is entirely set in the US, mainly New York but also Los Angeles. The two most overhyped cities in the US, btw, and it’s not even an interesting location. (Logically I understand that the specific reason it’s set in NYC is due to June’s career on Broadway, but there are other places you can live in and participate on Broadway, and there are other cities involved in the film and tv industry. June, the female main character, was born in Toronto, but leaves as soon as she can, never references Canada, living in Canada, being Canadian, Canadian culture, or anything at all. Not even an “I grew up watching hockey and going to Tim’s.” Literally nothing. This would be mildly annoying for a regular book, but I’m peeved that this was the romance novel selected for Canada Reads this year, considering the current political situation; I don’t understand why the selection committee is cozying up to the US for this. I find it incredibly disrespectful and of bad taste. Probably the worst part about this whole thing is that the book itself is SO MID. It’s not even that good. The romance scenes between June and Adam are not particularly great, and seem to be randomly sprinkled in. The eventual demise of their original relationship was due to a staggering miscommunication and general fumbling; not even due to an honest mistake, June literally got distracted by the possibility of giving her number to another guy, and this was supposedly enough to make her give up everything? Also, the names of the characters. Adam is fine; this is a real name for real people. In contrast, June feels saccharinely sweet, like it was specifically chosen to make sure that you knew this was going to be a grumpy x sunshine book. It makes me want to throw up. I also found it cloying how Les Mis/”On My Own” kept being referenced and sung over and over and over again. I get it. It’s her favourite song. Enough already.

Rating: 2/5 found families that you gave up because you couldn’t get over yourself

A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through, by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith

TPL Reading Challenge: Multiple Authors

Synopsis: Earth is not well. The promise of starting life anew somewhere far, far away—no climate change, no war, no social media—beckons, and settling the stars finally seems within our grasp. Or is it? Critically acclaimed, bestselling authors Kelly and Zach Weinersmith set out to write the essential guide to a glorious future of space settlements, but after years of research, they aren’t so sure it’s a good idea. Space technologies and space business are progressing fast, but we lack the knowledge needed to have space kids, build space farms, and create space nations in a way that doesn’t spark conflict back home. In a world hurtling toward human expansion into space, A City on Mars investigates whether the dream of new worlds won’t create nightmares, both for settlers and the people they leave behind. In the process, the Weinersmiths answer every question about space you’ve ever wondered about, and many you’ve never considered:

Can you make babies in space? Should corporations govern space settlements? What about space war? Are we headed for a housing crisis on the Moon’s Peaks of Eternal Light—and what happens if you’re left in the Craters of Eternal Darkness? Why do astronauts love taco sauce? Speaking of meals, what’s the legal status of space cannibalism?

My Thoughts: I thought that this was overall a pretty interesting and well researched book. I thought it was specifically interesting that the authors chose to dedicate a lot of time to the ideas of international law in space, which I will admit hadn’t ever really crossed my mind. So, I appreciated that this inclusion made the book feel a lot more well rounded and realistic, even though I found the biological and sociological issues more interesting. I had mixed feelings on the cartoons that were sprinkled throughout each chapter. Most of them were charming and a nice break from the text, however, I thought the Astrid vignettes at the end of each chapter missed the mark, and this was emphasized by the fact that the book tended to focus a lot more on the Moon, instead of Mars.

Rating: 3/5 surprising amounts of references to Canada

Julie Chan is Dead by Liann Zhang

Canada Reads 2026 Longlist

Synopsis: Julie Chan, a supermarket cashier with nothing to lose, finds herself thrust into the glamorous yet perilous world of her late twin sister, Chloe VanHuusen, a popular influencer. Separated at a young age, the identical twins were polar opposites and rarely spoke, except for one viral video that Chloe initiated (Finding My Long-Lost Twin And Buying Her A House #EMOTIONAL). When Julie discovers Chloe’s lifeless body under mysterious circumstances, she seizes the chance to live the life she’s always envied. Transforming into Chloe is easier than expected. Julie effortlessly adopts Chloe’s luxurious influencer life, complete with designer clothes, a meticulous skincare routine, and millions of adoring followers. However, Julie soon realizes that Chloe’s seemingly picture-perfect life was anything but. Haunted by Chloe’s untimely death and struggling to fit into the privileged influencer circle, Julie faces mounting challenges during a weeklong island retreat with Chloe’s exclusive group of influencer friends. As events spiral out of control, Julie uncovers the sinister forces that may have led to her sister’s demise and realizes she might be the next target.

My thoughts: Once you realize that this book is completely insane it becomes a lot more enjoyable. Something like this would typically have been a large stumbling block for me in the past; I normally hate books that go completely off the rails, or feel super unrealistic. So it was actually extremely helpful when Kaitlyn described this book as being “campy,” because it is campy, and it is insane. I wouldn’t describe it as a breath of fresh air, but when compared to other books written about influencers, I think the insanity gave it more depth and substance. I thought the twin sisters in this book created a really interesting juxtaposition. Julie the cashier, who grew up poor and neglected, vs Chloe the influencer, who was adopted by a wealthy white couple. Typically, the author would typecast Julie as being hardworking, but struggling due to circumstances, while Chole would be selfish, greedy, and spoiled by her influencer wealth. However, it seemed like the roles were reversed. To me, Julie seemed greedy and unethical; as we found out more and more about Chloe, it seemed like she was just trapped and unhappy. Specifically, I think getting a glimpse of Julie’s ascent into fame/descent into madness made the book much more compelling than a regular (bland) protagonist whose main emotion is just confusion, trying to decipher the absolute madness going on. Julie definitely commits to the bit.

Rating: 4/5 baby mice… save them…

Foe by Iain Reid

Canada Reads Shortlist 2026

Synopsis:

Severe climate change has ravaged the country, leaving behind a charred wasteland. Junior and Henrietta live a comfortable if solitary life on one of the last remaining farms. Their private existence is disturbed the day a stranger comes to the door with alarming news.

Junior has been randomly selected to travel far away from the farm, but the most unusual part is that arrangements have already been made so that when he leaves, Henrietta won’t have a chance to miss him. She won’t be left alone—not even for a moment. Henrietta will have company. Familiar company.

Told in Reid’s sharp and evocative style, Foe examines the nature of domestic relationships, self-determination, and what it means to be (or not to be) a person. An eerily entrancing page-turner, it churns with unease and suspense from the first words to its shocking finale.

My thoughts: Everything I’ve seen describes this book as “HORROR” “THRILLER” “UNPUTDOWNABLE” “SUSPENSE” but I’m not sure that I agree, mainly because of the writing style. In the hands of a different writer, I think this would definitely been scary and suspenseful. However, Reid’s style came off to me as a lot more literary, and very emotionless; this made everything seem bland and only mildly unsettling. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Similarly, there was very little world-building, but I wouldn’t count it as a flaw. It created more of a fever-dream atmosphere, even though it was mostly dream, little fever. Even when the protagonist was agitated, the story still had a very slow vibe, as if it was moving through honey. Not everything needs to be heart-pounding and action-packed, but I still think that the story had potential to be more.

Rating: 3/5 beetles in the house, that you might want to squish, but conversely you might just want to observe their haunting beauty

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

Synopsis:

Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny weather-lashed island that is home to the world's largest seed bank. As Shearwater risks being lost to rising sea levels, the island's researchers have fled, and only the Salts remain.

Until, during the worst storm in living memory, a stranger washes ashore. The family nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, but it seems she isn't telling the whole truth about why she's there. And when Rowan stumbles upon sabotaged radios and a recently dug grave, she realises that she's not the only one on the island with a secret.

A novel of breathtaking twists, dizzying beauty and ferocious love, Wild Dark Shore is about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love.

My Thoughts:

I’ve seen this book recommended in lots of places, but I was hesitant to pick it up because I wasn’t sure that I would like it. I feel like the Goodreads plot summary isn’t super fair; to me, the bulk of the book focuses on Rowan and the Salt Family, and how they’ve adapted to living on Shearwater Island. All of the characters are coping with a loss of some sort, and I would definitely characterize it more as literary than as a thriller. That’s not to say the book isn’t atmospheric and moody. The setting of Shearwater, an isolated island off the coast of Antarctica, is definitely a huge factor in making this a good book. There’s a large focus on all the amazing nature that’s available, especially the seals, whales, and albatrosses, but the research station and the seed vault also play a huge role in defining the setting. This book definitely focuses a lot on climate change; Rowan’s house was burned down by wildfires, and everyone on Shearwater is packing up because the island is slowly flooding as the sea levels rise. The ending was tragic but very moving, and it was a tense but fitting end to the story.

Rating: 4/5 broken hydrophones that you used to record whalesong with

Searching for Terry Punchout by Tyler Hellard

Canada Reads 2026 Shortlist TPL Reading Challenge: Small Town

Synopsis:

Adam Macallister's sportswriting career is about to end before it begins, but he's got one last shot—a Sports Illustrated profile about hockey's most notorious goon, the reclusive Terry Punchout—who also happens to be Adam's estranged father. Adam returns to Pennington, Nova Scotia, where Terry now lives in the local rink and drives the Zamboni. Going home means drinking with old friends, revisiting neglected relationships, and dealing with lingering feelings about his father and dead mother—and discovering that his friends and family are kinder and more complicated than he ever gave them credit for. Searching for Terry Punchout is a charming and funny tale of hockey, small-town Maritime life, and how, despite our best efforts, we just can't avoid turning into our parents.

My thoughts:

I think this is one of the better books selected for this year’s Canada Reads, but I came to that conclusion more through the process of elimination rather than a genuine affection for this book. I thought the book itself was a bit awkward and strange (but in a totally normal, small town way; not in a sci-fi or literary way), but the ending was rather sweet. Not to brag, but I feel like I have my life together at least a bit, so this book was really not for me. I also am pretty ambivalent towards hockey; I basically only watch Team Canada during Olympic Hockey, so I didn’t have any hockey nostalgia for this book.

Rating: 3/5 shitty poutines from the local rink’s concession stands

Heartwood by Amity Gage

Synopsis: In the heart of the Maine woods, an experienced Appalachian Trail hiker goes missing. She is forty-two-year-old Valerie Gillis, who has vanished 200 miles from her final destination. Alone in the wilderness, Valerie pours her thoughts into fractured, poetic letters to her mother as she battles the elements and struggles to keep hoping.

At the heart of the investigation is Beverly, the determined Maine State Game Warden tasked with finding Valerie, who leads the search on the ground. Meanwhile, Lena, a seventy-six-year-old birdwatcher in a Connecticut retirement community, becomes an unexpected armchair detective. Roving between these compelling narratives, a puzzle emerges, intensifying the frantic search, as Valerie’s disappearance may not be accidental.

My thoughts:

I initially picked this up because I thought it would be similar to God of the Woods by Liz Moore. Upon reflection, it’s not really all that similar. The main connection is really just a woman who has gone missing in the woods, and the investigation. God of the Woods was much more of a family saga, focusing on unravelling the mystery of what happened to Barbara and Bear. Heartwood is much more atmospheric, focusing a lot more on the beauty of the woods and the transformative nature of backcountry hiking. It also focuses a lot more on the search for Valerie, which comprises pretty much the entire book.

I wasn’t super satisfied with the pacing of Heartwood. I thought that Lena’s role would be overall at lot larger, but instead it felt like a single plot point that was being stretched out too much, and made me wonder why we were spending so much time with Lena in the first place. However, I was impressed with Lt. Beverly, and her determination to find the missing hiker. I wouldn’t characterize her as a detective, or this book as a police procedural; it was more about Lt. Beverly fighting a truly insurmountable challenge. I definitely had “Heart of the Woods” by Kacey Musgraves (a song, not a book) on repeat in my head the entire time reading, both because the titles are nearly identical, but also because the vibe of the song definitely matched the book.

Rating: 3/5 cozy clearings where you can lay down your head, and watch the rain drip into your water bottle

Everything is Fine Here by Iryn Tushabe

Canada Reads 2026 Longlist

Synopsis:

Eighteen-year-old Aine Kamara has been anticipating a reunion with her older sister, Mbabazi, for months. But when Mbabazi shows up with an unexpected guest, Aine must confront an old her beloved sister is gay in a country with tight anti-homosexuality laws.

Over a weekend at Aine’s all girls’ boarding school, sisterly bonds strengthen, and a new friendship emerges between Aine and her sister’s partner, Achen. Later, a sudden death in the family brings Achen to Mbabazi’s and Aine’s home village, resulting in tensions that put Mrs. Kamara’s Christian beliefs to the test. She issues an ultimatum, forcing Mbabazi to make a difficult choice, but Aine must too. Unable to convince Mama to reconsider, Aine runs away to Mbabazi’s and Achen’s home in Kampala. There she reconnects with Elia, the sophomore at Makerere University she’s had a crush on for a while.

Acclaimed writer Iryn Tushabe’s dazzling debut novel, Everything Is Fine Here, explores the choice Aine must make, and its inevitable and harrowing results.

My thoughts:

I actually forgot that I read this so I’m just going to do a very mini review. It was a fine book, not to my personal taste, but definitely not bad. I think it was a worthwhile inclusion in the Canada Reads Longlist because the book is set in Uganda, which is an underrepresented culture in the Canadian public consciousness (unlike the US), and one of the major characters spent time living and studying in Canada, which has mildly influenced their personality (unlike a certain romance book we won’t talk about any more).

Rating: 3/5 oversized suits that are your best outfit for any occasion

Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

Canada Reads 2026 Longlist

Synopsis:

Pro hockey star Shane Hollander isn’t just crazy talented, he’s got a spotless reputation. Hockey is his life. Now that he’s captain of the Montreal Voyageurs, he won’t let anything jeopardize that, especially the sexy Russian whose hard body keeps him awake at night.

Boston Bears captain Ilya Rozanov is everything Shane’s not. The self-proclaimed king of the ice, he’s as cocky as he is talented. No one can beat him—except Shane. They’ve made a career on their legendary rivalry, but when the skates come off, the heat between them is undeniable. When Ilya realizes he wants more than a few secret hookups, he knows he must walk away. The risk is too great.

As their attraction intensifies, they struggle to keep their relationship out of the public eye. If the truth comes out, it could ruin them both. But when their need for each other rivals their ambition on the ice, secrecy is no longer an option.

My thoughts:

To pretty much everyone’s surprise, I actually was impressed by Heated Rivalry. To be clear, I have not and will never watch the show, but I thought the book was pretty good. First things first, there is A LOT of sex. Like multiple times every chapter, a lot. But I feel like it makes sense in-universe. Shane and Ilya don’t have a normal relationship; they are either playing hockey/appearing at NHL events, or they are hooking up in secret. The only time they are able to interact in private is during a hookup session, and for the majority of the book, Shane and Ilya feel that the only relationship that they can have is just secret hookups, so I understand why there are so many hookup scenes. So I was pretty fine with it (as opposed to It’s Different This Time, which had much less inspired and more randomly inserted sex scenes, and those did not impress me). My only real problem with the sex scenes overall was that they started when Shane and Ilya were about 18 or 19 (ie, young enough that it gave me the ick to be reading them). The thing that I liked the most about Shane and Ilya’s relationship was the amount of yearning; both characters desperately want each other but they equally feel like they can’t be together, and I thought that this “equality” of thought was very compelling. (I’m gonna take another dig at It’s Different This Time, because that was a book where the characters definitely could be together if it weren’t for June fumbling everything for very little reason; that was very one-sided). It actually kind of reminded me of my own relationship. Readers will know that my fiancé Bennet and I spent the vast majority of our relationship as being long distance. I actually had to recalculated it for this article, but for the first 100 months of our relationship (which roughly matches up with when we moved in together in Toronto and then got engaged), we spent about 60 months of it being long distance between Toronto and Kingston/Ottawa. Those 60 months were hellish for me, and I thank my lucky stars every day that I know longer have to live my life counting the weeks until the next time I can see my boyfriend. During those 60 months, I felt a lot of longing and yearning, wishing that we could just be together, but knowing that we couldn’t, since we were attending universities in different cities. I’m not saying that being a cis-het white couple that is 3-5 hours drive apart is the same as being a queer couple in a hugely homophobic industry is the same thing, but I had a lot of empathy for Shane and Ilya’s predicament. Overall I was pleasantly surprised, and felt like this book had more depth than I was prepared to give it credit for.

Rating: 3/5 bottles of ginger ale that you stash in the fridge because you know it’s his favourite

First Sign of Danger by Kelley Armstrong (Haven’s Rock #4)

Synopsis: Detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton, are entering a new chapter of life as parents to their six-month-old baby. Their family is hidden away in the sanctuary town of Haven's Rock where they can live safe and private lives. But when they encounter hikers too close to the borders of Haven's Rock, they realize they're in danger of being exposed.

When they find one of the hikers dead the next day, they realize that their paranoia was justified, but they're no closer to finding out who these people were and what they were doing in the vicinity of Haven's Rock. Only by tracing the hikers' movements, as well as examining the recent behavior of their closest neighbors, the workers of a secretive mining camp, will they be able to figure out where the threat is coming from and shut it down. Otherwise, the lives of everyone in Haven's Rock—and their safe, secure new existence—are at risk.

My Thoughts:

Another Haven’s Rock book has been released! As per usual, I really liked this book. Obviously it’s not the best series in the world, and Eddie has often named his complaints with this series and its prequel series. To me, the prose is so addicting that I feel like I’m inhaling it; the way that I might devour a piece of grocery-store sheet cake: it’s not the best, but I crave it much the same, and it also gives me an insane crash afterwards (holy run-on sentence). After finishing this book I definitely had a reading slump. Nothing felt enjoyable to read, and I felt listless and bored. (Not all the blame can be given to Kelley Armstrong, since I probably would have been feeling poorly without reading the book, but it was a factor just the same). I am a bit disappointed that there’s only going to be one more book in the series, but honestly it’s probably for the best.

New in this installment is how Casey and Eric are adapting to being new parents, and I found the support network of people willing to watch their baby while they were off investigating crimes to be very heartwarming. It was so picture perfect as to be a little saccharine, and it had me jealously wondering how they are going to cope when Rory stops being a loveable baby and grows up to become a tantrum-throwing toddler, or a sullen teenager. The murder plotline itself was fine, nothing to write home about in particular, but I really was interested in the overarching series details that were revealed (namely, the history of the neighbouring mining compound). This is getting similar to the Dresden Files where each book is just okay but they add up to something greater than themselves.

Rating: 4/5 boxes of obscure valuable coins

The Compound by Aisling Rawle

Synopsis: Lily—a bored, beautiful twentysomething—wakes up on a remote desert compound alongside nineteen other contestants on a popular reality TV show. To win, she must outlast her housemates while competing in challenges for luxury rewards, such as champagne and lipstick, and communal necessities to outfit their new home, like food, appliances, and a front door.

The cameras are catching all her angles, good and bad, but Lily has no desire to leave: Why would she, when the world outside is falling apart? As the competition intensifies, intimacy between the players deepens, and it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between desire and desperation. When the producers raise the stakes, forcing contestants into upsetting, even dangerous situations, the line between playing the game and surviving it begins to blur. If Lily makes it to the end, she'll receive prizes beyond her wildest dreams—but what will she have to do to win?

Addictive and prescient, The Compound is an explosive debut from a major new voice in fiction and will linger in your mind long after the game ends.

My Thoughts: Readers will know that I am generally not a fan of reality TV, but I thought that this book was very compelling. Lily’s character felt very unique; not because she was extraordinary in some way, but because she was so ordinary. She wasn’t making big social moves to stay in the game, she wasn’t excellent at completing challenges, she wasn’t the most beautiful or the most well-like contestant. The main thing that set her apart was that she wanted to stay in the compound more than anyone, just because she didn’t want to go back to her shitty retail job in the disastrous society that is continually hinted at. The other contestants often have a desire to go home, but Lily never has that. She just wants to stay in this fabricated paradise even though she fully understands that it’s fabricated. She understands that she has to edit herself to be more palatable to viewers and sponsors (hiding her sexuality, etc), but as long as she continues to live in this mansion and receive gifts, she doesn’t really care. I also thought the hints at the overarching dystopia made the book compelling, especially the references to the outer desert that surrounds the compound.

Rating: 3/5 gold necklaces from Dior that go with any outfit and are real 24 karat gold that will never tarnish or lose luster. Thank you, Dior! I’ll be wearing it every day!!

i am, your most faithful blogger, elisa