Eli Yanakakis, son of ungodly rich mogul Rex Yanakakis, had pretty much anything a kid could want. An awesome twin brother, a life of luxury, trips to faraway destinations. The dream life. All of it comes to end one fateful night, when his father ushers him, his sisters, and mother into an underground compound. Nuclear war. The end of society has befallen the world. And to his horror, Eli realizes his brother, Eddy, and his grandma didn't make it in with them. With no other choice, the Yanakakis clan adjusts to life in The Compound. For six long years. But the monotonous routine is about to be turned on its head, and secrets no one saw coming are going to come to light...
A sequel, known as The Fallout, was released in 2013.
Tropes featured in this book:
- Angsty Surviving Twin: Eli. Subverted when he messages Eddy with his computer while in the Compound.
- Batman Gambit: Its revealed in the climax that Rex's getting the family into the compound while leaving out his mother-in-law was this. First, he made sure that Terese (a six-year-old animal lover) would find a stray kitten, knowing that she would smuggle it into the RV and set off Eddy's allergies. Then, he made sure that the RV's medicine cabinet didn't have any allergy medication, forcing the grandmother to drive back to the vacation house for some. Knowing that she'd likely not be back until morning, Rex waited a few hours before waking his family up saying that nuclear missiles had been launched and rushing them, half-awake and panicking, into the compound.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Eli sees Terese as this, as she (despite being twelve) still carries around a battered stuffed animal, dresses predominantly in purple, wears her hair in two braids, watches Mary Poppins at least once a day, and speaks in a faux English accent. It's revealed towards the end that this was her coping mechanism; once things start falling apart in the compound, she wears her hair down, changes into black clothes, and loses the English accent..
- Flashback: Eli has several over the course of the book to his childhood. While they mainly focus on how Eli, Eddy, and the other Yanakakis kids had everything growing up, they also show how some of Rex's behavior (such as forcing vegetarians and vegans to eat meat at a Christmas party) raises a few red flags.
- Fleeing for the Fallout Shelter: Eli recalls how his family had a doomsday plan that involved them all speeding into their massive, high-tech, luxury bunker. Unfortunately, because of the chaos, his grandmother and his twin brother Eddy both got left behind when they were rushing to escape the nuclear fallout. Once they were in the bunker, there was no way out, which meant that the family was separated, and Eddy and the grandmother had to be presumed dead. It's later revealed that there was no nuke drop, and that his father was simply unstable and very much aware of the fact that the outside world was completely safe; this was merely an experiment, and Eddy and the grandmother were the lucky ones for not getting to the bunker in time.
- I Am a Humanitarian: The real purpose of the Supplements, should the Compound's food situation come to it.
- Hates Being Touched: Eli really doesn't like people touching him.
- Heel–Face Turn: Eli spends most of the book as a brat who hides his guilt over believing he caused his brother's death through Jerkass behavior and body building. As the book goes on, though, he starts to connect more with his mother and sisters as he begins to wonder if his father's been completely honest about everything. By the climax, he's made up with his sisters, stood up to his father and becomes fully devoted to protecting his family and being a better older brother.
- Manipulative Bastard: Rex, full stop.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Eli thinks that Terese and Lexie, who were somewhere in the woods, are gone after he leaves the exploding Compound.
- The Unfavorite: Even Eli knows people liked Eddy more than him.
- When You Coming Home, Dad?: Rex had grown up in an orphanage and, during his kids' childhood, realized he didn't spend enough time with them. So he faked a nuclear attack and made them live with him in an underground bunker for 6 years. He was planning to keep them there another nine, even if that meant they'd have to eat the younger siblings who were born underground. Well, the thought was there...
- Would Hurt a Child: Eli wants to drop Quinn the first time he holds him. Rex is also this when he threatens to hurt Lucas if Eli does not give him the code.
