We Couldn’t Put Down ‘The Compound’—Here’s Why Everyone’s Talking About It

Last night, after weeks of anticipation, the very first The Everygirl Book Club meeting finally took place. I have to admit, I was definitely a little nervous before logging on—like I’m sure a few other Everygirls were. I was plagued with flashbacks to my COVID-era college virtual lectures, with 30 people keeping their cameras off while a professor practically begged someone to answer a question. But I was immediately put at ease by the welcoming energy and collective excitement about our shared obsession: books.

Throughout the hour (okay, fine—more like an hour and a half, because we couldn’t stop chatting), we giggled, we deep-dived, and we most definitely had thoughts about our inaugural book, The Compound. From playful fancasting debates to spinning our own conspiracy theories, it was true bookish fangirling, and I’m already counting down the days until we meet again. If you weren’t able to make the meeting, here are my—and our book club members’—final thoughts on The Compound before we head full steam into our February pick.

What is The Compound about?

The Compound follows Lily, who wakes up in a remote compound in the desert surrounded by other reality show contestants. They must couple up and complete challenges for luxurious rewards, but as the competition grows tougher, so does the price of survival. Lily can’t tell what’s real and what’s for show, and she’s no longer sure what she’ll have to sacrifice to win the prizes she desires most. The book is packed with expertly crafted tension, and without spoiling anything, it is ripe for book club discussion.

The Everygirl Book Club’s review of The Compound

We were glued to every page

If there was one thing everyone in the meeting agreed on, it was that we couldn’t tear ourselves away from the page once we opened the book. Rawle’s ability to craft tension, even in the most mundane conversations, was something we all absolutely loved. Multiple readers said it had been a while since they’d felt that visceral “I need to be reading my book right now” urgency, and that’s exactly what The Compound delivered. While some readers felt the tension built and built without a wild plot twist was a bit of a letdown, it still made the reading experience equal parts addictive and stressful—in the best way.

It made us consider our own relationship with consumerism

The best books force us to take a long, hard look at our own lives, and based on our discussion, The Compound absolutely delivered on that front. While no one on the call had joined a dystopian reality dating show (yet), we’ve all felt the pressure of living in a consumerist society. Watching Lily fight for rewards that never truly bring happiness or satisfaction felt uncomfortably familiar—and if my Amazon order history is any indication, I’ve definitely tried to solve problems through material things, too.

“Multiple readers said it had been a while since they’d felt that visceral ‘I need to be reading my book right now’ urgency, and that’s exactly what The Compound delivered.”

A common theme in our conversation was aiming to be more intentional about our consumption and to recognize the constant influences pressuring us to shop. Whether it’s perfectly timed Instagram ads, influencers raving about a new “life-changing product,” or sales convincing us we need something because “it’s such a good deal,” we’re bombarded with media encouraging us to stay in a state of wanting on the daily. But after reading and discussing The Compound, we’re committed to stopping to ask what we actually want a product to do for us, and what we’re trying to fix by purchasing it.

The ending was divisive

The open-ended ending definitely divided readers—and, confession, that’s part of the reason we chose this book in the first place. The best book club convos are the ones that have you vehemently defending your position, right? Some readers (myself included) loved being left to fill in the blanks ourselves. Without closure, the eeriness of the story lingered long after the final page. Others, understandably, wanted more information and found themselves desperate to know what happened to the characters.

A common critique was wishing for a reunion-style epilogue. If we weren’t going to learn more about the outside world, some readers were left begging for at least a glimpse into life after the compound. We spent plenty of time theorizing about where everyone ended up (Ryan is definitely in a Skims ad somewhere in this fictional universe), because if the author won’t spell it out for us, you can trust we’ll write our own ending.

It’s exactly the kind of book you want to debrief with friends

Because you either loved or hated the ending, The Compound is the kind of book you immediately want everyone around you to read just so you can debrief it together. It was incredibly satisfying to finally voice all those “WTF?” thoughts out loud while revisiting the book’s twists and turns together. It was also fun to see which scenes stuck with people most (the creepiness of the first pool scene with Becca and Tom is still playing in my head). There’s truly no better feeling than having 70 people who are just as invested as you are to brain-dump your thoughts to, rather than boring your roommate or significant other for the hundredth time.

So, should you read The Compound?

Hopefully, you read along with us—but if you haven’t picked it up yet, The Compound is absolutely worth your time. Just don’t go in expecting a traditional thriller with formulaic beats, a third-act twist, and an ending tied up with a bow. Instead, expect a more literary take on the genre, with slow-building tension and character development that can be even creepier than a masked killer. If you’re planning to start the book, join our BFF group—there are plenty of readers ready to discuss at a moment’s notice.

“Putting yourself out there and hopping on a call with strangers can be intimidating, but the meeting felt more like old friends gossiping about fictional characters than a book club with people you’ve never met.”

Discussion Questions for The Compound

Ready to dive deeper into The Compound? These book club discussion questions are designed to unpack the twists, explore the characters’ motivations, and spark thoughtful (and maybe slightly heated) conversations with your fellow readers. Whether you flew through the book in one sitting or needed a few pauses to process that ending, this is your space to dig in, reflect, and share your take. Spoiler warning: These discussion questions contain spoilers—proceed only if you’ve finished the book.

1. The contestants aren’t allowed to talk about life outside of the compound, leaving Lily to fill in the blanks of what little information she gleans from her competitors. At times, she reduces everyone to their looks (frequently commenting that she is one of the “prettiest” girls in the house), and at others, she imagines everyone to be much smarter and more successful than she is. Over time, we learn the truth behind Lily’s imagined characterizations. What does this reveal about Lily’s own self-perception?
2. The early days in the compound are kind of glamorous. The group works together to win rewards and on their individual tasks, slowly filling the house and living in relative paradise. But when Lily first arrived, we saw the house in complete disarray—a mess left by the previous season’s contestants. At what point did it become clear to you that this group’s period of bliss was going to be short-lived?
3. When Tom and Andrew became the compound’s de facto leaders, it seemed like everyone else in the group just went along with it—why do you think that is? What was it about Tom and Andrew that made everyone fall in line?
4. Tom is clearly the villain of the story, but he and Lily have some similarities. They’re both obsessed with physical rewards and eventually turn to violence in pursuit of them. At what point, if any, do you think Lily crosses the line in terms of what she’s willing to do for the rewards?
5. Lily’s plan is to be the last contestant standing and then stay in the house as long as possible—forever, even. She tries to rope Andrew, Candice, and Sam into her plan, and for a while, they’re all on board. If they had stuck to the plan, do you think it could have worked out for them?
6. Lily is ultimately the last contestant standing at the compound. She spends a significant amount of time having her every whim catered to. Initially, she believed this outcome would solve all of her problems. Why didn’t it work out the way she envisioned?
7. The producers quietly dictated how life in the compound worked. What influences or pressures in the real world guide our decisions in similar ways, even if we don’t always notice them?
8. Do you think the compound changed the contestants? Or did it just bring out qualities that were always in them?
9. In what ways does our world mirror the compound? Think about the pressure to “couple up” in order to be successful, the constant chase for physical “rewards” only to feel disillusioned once we get them, and the way we grow apathetic toward our environment—leaving the mess for the next “group of contestants” to clean up.
10. How did you feel about the ending? Did you wish we learned what happened after the compound? Or did you like how it was left up to interpretation?
11. Fancast the main characters: Lily, Sam, Candice, Andrew, Tom, Jacintha, Ryan, and Becca.
12. The Compound proves that real life has a way of catching up to us, no matter the lengths we go to disassociate or escape. On the surface, this message is bleak, but what positives can you take away from it?

Everything else you missed at The Everygirl Book Club meeting

If there’s one takeaway from our first The Everygirl Book Club meeting, it’s that it was truly a safe space to talk about books. There was no worrying about unmuting or stressing that your thought was too half-baked to share (this isn’t an English Socratic seminar). Instead, it was a supportive group of women eager to meet new people, make friends, and bond over a shared love of reading.

As the meeting wrapped up, our collective sign-off was filled with people sharing how much fun they had, how excited they already were for February’s pick, and how glad they were that they joined. Putting yourself out there and hopping on a call with strangers can be intimidating (I was nervous, too!), but the meeting felt more like old friends gossiping about fictional characters than a book club with people you’ve never met. At a time when temperatures are in the single digits, and every time we turn on the news, we’re met with heartbreaking stories, taking space to connect with others feels more important than ever. I know I needed it this week—and I think our Everygirls did too.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lauren Blue, Assistant Editor

As an Assistant Editor for The Everygirl, Lauren ideates and writes content for every facet of our readers’ lives. Her articles span the topics of must-read books, movies, home tours, travel itineraries—and everything in between. When she isn’t testing the latest TikTok trend, she can be found scouring Goodreads for new releases to feature on the site.

READ LAUREN’S FULL BIO

The post We Couldn’t Put Down ‘The Compound’—Here’s Why Everyone’s Talking About It appeared first on The Everygirl.

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