Delayed sequels are interesting, particularly if they’re for teens. Presumably, the primary audience for the first book has aged out of the target group for the second. If the first book is still being read widely, though, that’s a different story.

It would appear that The Compound belongs to this category. It still circulates fairly well in my public library, and this post on Bodeen’s website shows that the teens at my library are not alone. It’s still making recommended reading lists as recently as 2012, so librarians and other gatekeepers recognize there’s still a teen readership for it as well.

As sequels go, this one is perhaps not “necessary.” By that I mean that the plot points of The Compound were all wrapped up fairly well, with no glaring loose ends or cliffhangers. That said, I can certainly see how teens would wonder how Eli and his family recovered from their ordeal. And that story is told in The Fallout. (I love this punny title. It’s the best.)

The Fallout is not just about recovery, though that’s a good part of it. There’s also a conspiracy involving Eli’s dad’s company, which he is set to inherit, and a very shady businessman who is trying to keep control of the company at all costs. Naturally, this very shady businessman is working with some very shady science – dangerous as well as lucrative, and Eli and his family are involved in his plans.

The story works well as a fast-paced thriller, in much the same way that The Compound did. What this shady businessman has in store for Eli and his family is gradually revealed, and it’s horrifying. (Though it’s not as horrifying as what Eli’s dad had in store in the first book. But then again, what could be as horrifying as that? Nothing.) It’s also interesting to see how Eli and his family adjust to living outside of the compound. They’re famous for all the wrong reasons, recognizable wherever they go, so a “normal” life is out of the question. They have their own set of stalkers, with websites dedicated to spotting them. They don’t know who to trust, and everything is foreign to them – from Costco to a football game.

What doesn’t work so well is the development of the relationship between Eli and his twin brother Eddy, whom Eli assumed had died in the first book. What the boys’ father did to their family is front-page news. Most of the awful details are very public. Therefore, it’s very hard for me to buy Eddy’s continued defense of his father. I get that Eddy could resent the return of these family members whom he barely knows (or doesn’t know at all, in the case of the youngest siblings). What I don’t get is Eddy’s envy of Eli for spending so much time with their dad. It’s not just a matter of not having the whole story, though there are some bits he’s still ignorant of. He knows enough of the truth to know better. I get that Bodeen was trying to instill some tension between the two, and it’s necessary for the plot, but it’s a weak link.

The science, too, is shaky, but I can forgive this a bit more (I’m being deliberately vague about what science is involved, as it’s quite spoilery). I may be ridiculed by hardcore SF fans for saying this, but shaky science doesn’t bug me much. If it gets me to wonder “what if,” then it’s done what I want it to do.

Faults aside, fans of the first will gobble this up. It’s intense, twisty, and should be catnip for reluctant readers.

Review copy received by the publisher. The Fallout will be published September 24.