Lockdown

Lockdown
Escape from Furnace
Book 1

Alexander Gordon Smith

Synopsis:
After the Summer of Slaughter, the government had to find a way to punish juvenile offenders. The solution came in the form of Furnace: a brutal prison that would lock murderous teens for life. For Alex, Furnace always seemed like a scary story to keep gangs quiet, but when he is framed of murdering his best friend by the very men who run Furnace, the prison becomes all too real. Alex is quickly thrust into the hard life of Furnace, surrounded by unimaginable horrors. The guards, Blacksuits, are always in their solid black uniforms, but have silver eyes and to strong and fast to be normal. Their dogs, mosterous creatures as tall as a man have no hair, but their muscles bulge, almost ripping out of thier skin. Still, the most horrible creatures only come out durring the blood watch to take prisoners down below the prison for experimentation. These creatures, known as Wheezers, have gas masks sewn into their faces and twitch uncontrollably. Despite the hopelessness of the situation, Alex forces himself to stay positive. When he feels fresh air from a caved in tunnel while on chipping duty, Alex and his friends Donovan and Zee plot their impossible escape...

My Thoughts:
When I first started this book, for some reason I thought it would be a really bad, predictable book, but in reality it is far from that. As you can see from the cover, the book is VERY creepy, but very good at the same time. Somewhat similar to the Maze Runner in the intensity and horrifying situations, and it is right next to Maze Runner on my list of favorite books. I litterally could not put the book down once I started, and I got the sequel from my High School Library the following day. ***SPOILER ALERT*** I nearly lost it when the took Donovan at the end. He was TOTALLY my favorite character, and I was about ready to start screaming with Alex. BAD twist there...***SPOILER OVER*** I'm really not sure what else to say about it, just that you should read it!

NOTE: I must caution this book against younger readers. This book is very intense and contains many horrifying descriptions. Even if you don't think that the cover looks that scary, your mind can make it way worse, and the reactions of the kids to the situations is very realistic and you feel for them. (Other than the scary aspect of the book, I don't recall any language or inappropriate material.)

Questions for Thought:
1. In any circumstances, do you think that a prison like Furnace would be necessary?

2. How would your escape plans have differed from those of Alex, Donovan, and Zee?

3. Would you dare trying to jump in the river to escape Furnace?

Please leave your comments and answers!

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