Format: Hardcover, 384 pages
Release Date: December 8, 2020
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Dystopian
Two teens must work together to fight a tyrannical government that has divided society into classes living underground, in a heart-pounding apocalyptic novel perfect for fans of Divergent.
Four generations ago, Earth was rendered uninhabitable, the sun too hot,
the land too barren. Those who survived were forced underground, where
civilization divided into compounds. In Compound Eleven, only the
cruel survive. Fighting is entertainment, violence is a way of life,
and hierarchy is everything. For the Primes who inhabit the fifth
floor, life is comfortable. For the Means and Grounders on the floors
below, it is anything but. Sixteen-year-old hobby fighter Else Hamilton
may have been born on the second floor, but she was born to survive.
Except
she doesn’t want to survive compound life. She wants to be released
above ground, to feel fresh air against her skin, to taste true freedom,
even if the price is certain death. But the government has a
stranglehold over who is even allowed to view the outside world. One
Prime, Wren Edelman, is as unhappy in Compound Eleven as Else, despite
his privileged status. Yet as determined as Else is to taste freedom, he
is determined to make her stay—because despite the fact that romances
between upper and lower floors are all but nonexistent, Wren and Else
are proving the first of their kind in more ways than one.
Escaping Eleven is the first installment in author Jerri Chisholm's Eleven trilogy. Four generations ago, Earth was rendered uninhabitable, the sun too hot, the land too barren. Those who survived were forced underground, where civilization divided into compounds. In Compound Eleven, only the cruel survive. Fighting is entertainment, violence is a way of life, and hierarchy is everything. For the Primes who inhabit the fifth floor, life is comfortable. For the Lower and High Means and the Denominators who live on the floors below, it is anything but.
16-year-old Eve Hamilton is a hobby fighter who was born on the second floor. After 9 years, Eve is still holding a huge grudge against the upper level Preme’s who shoved her younger brother out of the compound and into the supposed desolate world due to a violation of the compound’s population controls. Think forced abortion and forced sterilization. As the story opens, Eve is in a bad place emotionally. She’s been trained to fight by her father and that’s all she knows.
Eve knows that in 6 weeks, she must finally choose a career which she will likely work until the day she days, but she doesn’t bother going on any career day visits. One of those career’s could be a fighter on the Blue Circuit since she’s rather good at it. In the meantime, she picks up fights against any comers, including 18-year-old Wren who beats her to a bloody pulp. Sorry, but that’s the fact! Wren is an upstairs Preme who has everything that Eve doesn’t. But Wren is as unhappy in Compound Eleven as Eve.
Despite his privileged status, he wants something else; Eve. Eve has an agenda. She wants to be released above ground, to feel fresh air against her skin, to taste true freedom, even if the price is certain death. But the government has a stranglehold over who is even allowed to view the outside world. She desperately tries to access a place called Oracle which she believes will lead her to the outside. I am just going to say this; the most interesting parts of this story was watching from Eve’s eyes take in the wonder that she sees when she finally breaks the combination to get into the Oracle.
This also gives her hope that maybe her brother could still be alive, if there are any survivors outside the Compound. She also knows that there are other Compounds within close distance to Eleven. Wren is determined to make Eve stay—because despite the fact that romances between upper and lower floors are all but nonexistent and frowned upon. Wren and Else are proving the first of their kind in more ways than one. The book spends a whole lot of time between Eve and Wren’s romance and her struggles.
Eve is lucky in that she has supportive friends like Maggie, Emerald and Hunter. She also made some Denominator friends like Jules, Monica, and Avery. She has a bunch of antagonist males who want to make her life a living hell as well, and they do. The most curious part of this story is watching the intermingling between those who are supposed to want nothing to do with each other. The book ends on a cliffhanger ending which leads to all sorts of questions as to what will happen next.
Escaping Eleven is a combination of The City of Ember, The 100, Hunger Games, and Divergent.
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