Escape from Furnace 2: Solitary

I love this series! This book is the second installment and Alex is stuck in Solitary. It was different from the first, yet still worked nicely. I thought it was very well done because I found myself trying to guess what would happen next and I was always unable to. Kept me on my toes as I was

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wondering at the beginning just how Smith would make this book action packed when it is taking place in solitary confinement. I liked that this book dove more in to the psychological aspect of what was happening to Alex as well. In all, very well done filler book and I can't wait for the final chapter and what will happen to these characters. 8/10.

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I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Lockdown, so I'm not sure why I waited so long to read book 2. This book did not suffer from the sequel slump for me. I was immediately pulled back into Alex's plight and could not wait to see what awaited them underneath the Furnace. Alex opens up

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this story by telling how horrible of a person he really is and why he feels he deserves to be in the Furnace and not be pitied. However, as you follow his attempt to escape and also rescue his friends you cannot help but feel sorry for him. Despite doing some pretty terrible things he does not deserve this horrible fate.

Donovan was a favorite character of mine in book 1 so I was a little worried we wouldn't see him in this one since he was taken away in book 1. So I was surprised at how deftly the author brought him back as a subconscious figure that keeps Alex company when he is alone and despairing. It comes off almost as if Donovan was still there without seeming cheesy. We also see the introduction of a few new characters that provide a new level of intrigue to the story line. There is also the revelation that the head bad guy isn't all that first thought. There are a few surprises that are going to leave you eagerly waiting to get your hands on book 3. The whole story was an exhilarating roller coaster ride that had me immediately wanting to dive into the next book.

I won't say this is a "guy" book per say because obviously I really enjoyed it but if you have a teenage, male, reluctant reader this might be a great series to start them out on.

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Mixed emotions about this one guys. I LOVED, “Lockdown: Escape from Furnace” and I expected to read equally good things with this book.

I must say there were some great well written lines.

“My entire body was rice-paper frail”

“The human mind is a powerful thing in many ways. But in others

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it’s endlessly fragile- it takes only a single moment of pure terror to tear a hole in it, like a finger through a cobweb, leaving you forever just a shadow, a half-person”

“...For what is reality other than the commotion of senses- with images witnessed by our own eyes and the noises that enter through our ears?”

Maybe this was the entire point Alexander Gordon Smith was trying to get across (and I should have taken the hint from the title “Solitary”) But I felt maddened by Alex’s experiences in this book.

Not really a shocker to readers...Alex finds himself locked up in “Solitary” which was to be expected as Solitary was described so well in “Lockdown” So, we have Alex’s point of view, which is ....well....nothing. Most everything happens while Alex is in solitary confinement which means we are pretty much in Alex’s head the entire time.

And Kudos to Smith for making me feel bonkers-out of my mind with this book because Alex’s insanity became my own. However, the characters that I got to know and love in the first novel just didn’t appear here to me. And I’m not talking about old characters carried over, even what few new characters did appear were flat and lifeless to me, completely lacking development.

I was thoroughly frustrated and banging my head against the concrete prison cell that was this book! By book two I thought we would have a few more answers.

Who is the Warden?

What does he want with the prisoners?

What are the Dogs, Blacksuits, Wheezers, and now Rats???

What purpose does it all serve???

I hope the next book really pulls through for me.

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What I Liked
Intense
This book is intense, Alex deals with the loss of hope and the possibility of never getting out of the hell hole that is Furnace. At a few points he does hit rock bottom and you completely feel sorry for this kid that deserves to be in prison, but not in Furnace. Alex is on an

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emotional roller coaster ride of the loss of hope and the light of hope. He has worked his way into being the provider of hope for other kids, what a heavy burden.
The Furnace
Maybe the place isn't at sealed up as the inmates are lead to believe. A few more potential escape routes are discovered by Alex, he is one handy kids to have around when you need to escape from an inescapable place.
A New Nasty
The Blacksuites, Wheezers, the Warden, the dogs and now these mutant rat things that can chew through anything. These disgusting things must be avoided at all costs, they are gross and scary and with the revelation of what they use to be is even worse.
Ending
Oh my goodness, I can't believe it ended like that, so close yet so far away. I can't wait to start reading the next book.

Distracted
Dirty
I got distracted by being grossed out by how filthy everything in solitary is. Licking the walls to get some water, having a hole to squat over with nothing to wipe with, searching for bits of slop on the floor near the squat hole, no showers or washing hands . . . the list can go on for ages. I love my soap even more after reading this book.

Recommendation
This is book 2 in the series, got to read this series.

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Wow, this was a gripping read...hard to put down! Just as you think things can't get any worse, the tunnels squeeze tighter, the monsters close in, and the suspense is palpable. I can't even finish this review, because I'm reaching for the third book!

Like the first book in this series, Solitary is an action-packed, tension-filled thrill ride. You might not expect that a book about a boy trapped in Solitary would be so exciting. Surprisingly, though, it totally was.

On the one hand, it's kind of ridiculous and silly that the boys still think they

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can escape from this incredibly creepy and heavily guarded prison. But still, it works, because considering the possibility of escape is the only way the inmates are able to keep their courage, sanity and regular personality. Whether or not the plans actually work, like the first one spectacularly did not, they do help the boys in a very real way, disregarding the consequences of failure.

Having a look at the guts of the prison was really interesting. This gets us (Alex, Zee, the reader) a closer look at what's going on in there. Still, I need some questions answered. So many of them. Somehow I suspect that won't happen until the final book in the series.

The books have been very consistent thus far. If you liked book one, you'll probably like this one just as much. Although I don't love these, they are interesting and fast-paced. I probably won't reread them but getting through the series isn't a struggle at all.

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This was a solid, exciting novel. The swings between hope and despair make the character very real and believable.

The main character spends a lot of time in solitary confinement, so we're reading a lot about his hallucinations, thoughts and inner conflict. I'm surprised he started to go crazy right away. I thought it would take longer. Only the beginning and end of the book was exciting for me. But overall it

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wasn't bad.

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Alex and Zee find themselves thrown into solitary confinement after their failed attempt to escape Furnace. Can they stay sane long enough to plan another escape, rescue Donovan and beat the Rats and Balcksuits that are intent on seeing them die?

Still interested in the series, but this book Alex has hardly any interactions and the reader spends too much time inside his head. It got boring in a lot of places for me.

LOVE this series. This installment didn't grab me the way the 1st book did but it was still a book that once I started I couldn't stop reading. Smith did a fairly good job of refreshing your memory on bits and pieces from the 1st book, even so I wouldn't recommend reading them out of order. Already

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have the next one on hold and can't wait to read it. So why didn't I give it 5 stars?? Well, I really can't give an answer. It just didn't give me that same heart-pounding that the 1st book did. In places it was predictable and that wasn't the case in the 1st one. Still...this book is every bit a winner as the one before and once again I say. Stop...Read this series.

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Alex and his buddies have attempted the unimaginable - they've found a way to break out from the horrible underground prison known as "Furnace." But more challenges quickly present themselves, the black suits capture the escapees, and Alex is tested even further when he and Zee are thrown into

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"Solitary", prison cells built small, totally dark and far away from the regular prison level. But not everything is as bleak as it first appears - once again, Alexander Gordon Smith takes his readers on a roller coaster ride of surprises- new characters- and plot twists. Spoiler alert: the ending of this book turns out to be grimmer than most readers expect...

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How do we deal with our fears? Should we really be afraid? Is it possible that inmates are dealt a raw hand?

This book was as good as the first. In this book Alex is caught escaping with zee and try's to escape.
Soon the meet someone who is not exactly normal. His name is Simon and he was taken to the infirmary and mutated by the gas masks. I don't want to give much more away. This book is defiantly worth

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reading.

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This is the second book in the ‘Escape from Furnace’ series. In this book, Alex and Zee get out of gen-pop (general population, aka the prison) but end up underground in a huge cave. They gets caught and put in ‘solitary confinement’ for a month. They meet a guy named Simon who was

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experimented on and so one of his arms is really big. He breaks them out of their confinement and they try to get out through a hole in the celing. That doesn’t work and they get caught. Alex gets experimented on and he turns into a black suit.

Like I said in the last book I really love this series! I would rate it a 4 ½ because it wasn’t as good as the first but I still liked it. I think this book had a little more action in it. But then again this book was kind of predictable. Since the first book, you knew someone was going to be turned into a black suit. Some of the twists or adventures in the book leave me re-reading it over again to see if it really happened. Like I said in the last review, I would recommend this book!

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Solitary by Alexander Gordon Smith is a very good book . it is about a boy who iwas framed for murdering his best frien,and is sent to furnace . Furnace is the most cruel place you will ever hear of . The story of alex and his friends and how they survive it is a rollercoaster .It is the second

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book in the series, and what I really like is how the second book picks up exactly where the first left off. Usually in other series i have read there is a big gap between where one book ends and another starts off. I really like this you will never be left hanging at the end of a book in this series.

This book throws your spirits up high and then completely destroys them throughout the whole book. If you read this you will get frustrated and for short bits of time you will be happy. the book is very descriptive and it never leaves holes in the story. The book is some what predictable but that doesn't mean it is a bad book this is one of the best books i have ever read.

Anyone who is into thrillers should read this book, you will be on the edge of your seat the whole time you read it. THe book is never boring there are many times where you are blown away by what the characters are able to do. Everyone should read this book

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We follow the first book and see the aftermath of the explosion and the escape. But all does not end well and it's not all sunshine and burgers. Instead, our protagonists are thrown into Solitary. And who knows if escape is even possible. Ever.

I thought the first book was decent, and I had middling

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hopes for Solitary (yeah, I'm not that optimistic for sequels). But this book quickly made me regret that.

To be honest, the first book's greatest appeal was the exploration of the world, to see the horrors and strange creations that would appear next. With those mysteries mostly seen and solved, this book fell flat.

First of all, the plot was crap. I cannot beleive that Alex and Zee would be the first to go pull out their grill and bang it to stay sane. Or that a group of people would depend completely on Alex to get them out when he doesn't even have a freaking plan. Or that no one has thought of the incinerator as an escape. Or that they didn't get caught leaving Solitary. Too many unrealistic plot movements that made me roll my eyes. I can take some incredulity, but not for an entire book!

I think there was also some very thoughtless character development. That story about stealing his mother's locket for money and not feeling guilty? Obviously the purpose of that story is to show us that our protagonist is quite a bad kid. But when the rest of his first person thoughts and tone comes off across as very innocent (especially as he tries to save all his friends for the most part), it seems like he is bipolar or not true to his character.
Similarly, why is Donovan always portrayed as such a good guy?
There is also not enough character development for me to believe that Alex would choose friendship over self-survival. In this book and the first book. Where does this inherent stick-together and save-my-friends come from? It isn't natural for humans to think that, but he does.
Yeah, yeah. Sure someone could point out that he does make the decision to leave them behind once. But that was more like in the face of impossible odds, and even then he quickly retracted it. Like a fake dip into selfishness to pretend he's isn't a glowing protagonist.

The only scene I thought was worth reading was the very last scene with Donovan. That is it. The rest wasted my time.

One star. I didn't like it at all. The shine of this world has worn off and the characters and plot are not enough to make me stick around to see more. I'm going to drop the series.
Not recommended.

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Imprisoned for a murder he did not commit, fourteen-year-old Alex Sawyer thinks that he has escaped the hellish Furnace Penitentiary, but instead he winds up in solitary confinement, where new horrors await him.

Solitary continues the Escape from Furnace story directly on from Lockdown, whilst it's quite a quick read at around 300 pages it is none the less a pretty enthralling little book as Alex & Zee struggle to escape once again after their initial breakout failed and just rendered them moved to

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solitary confinement.

It's here they once again run into the creature they bumped into during their original escape attempt and together they work towards escaping the prison. As the story progresses me learn more about the prison and it's environs and creatures, and once again the story finishes on a cliff hanger, yet does so in a way that doesn't leave you feeling like you've only read half a book.

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