Author: Aisling Rawle

Nothing to lose. Everything to gain. Winner takes all.

"I dare you not to tear through The Compound at lightning speed."--Zakiya Dalila Harris, New York Times bestselling author of The Other Black Girl

"The Compound is a debut so gripping and propulsive that it beats reality TV at its own game."--Torrey Peters, bestselling author of Detransition, Baby

"Impossible to put down."--Leila Mottley, New York Times bestselling author of Nightcrawling

Lily--a bored, beautiful twenty-something--wakes up on a remote desert compound, alongside nineteen other contestants competing on a massively popular reality show. To win, she must outlast her housemates to stay in the Compound the longest, while competing in challenges for luxury rewards like champagne and lipstick, plus communal necessities to outfit their new home, like food, appliances, and a front door.

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 unseen 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.

Publisher: Penguin Random House
Published: 06/24/2025
Pages: 304
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.08oz
ISBN: 9780593977279

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 04/01/2025 pg. 95
Publishers Weekly 04/07/2025

About the Author
Aisling Rawle was born in 1998, originally from a very small village in Leitrim in the west of Ireland, but now living in Dublin. She works as an English teacher in a secondary school. She loves working with kids, and teaches piano in her spare time. The Compound is her first book.